Selena Gomez announced on Dec. 20 that she was cancelling her tour. The 21-year-old singer said she was forced to stop the tour, which was scheduled to begin on Feb. 1 in Australia, because of personal reasons.
In a statement Gomez said that she needed to take some "me time."
"My fans are so important to me and I would never want to disappoint them. But it has become clear to me and those close to me that after many years of putting my work first, I need to spend time on myself in order to be the best person I can be," she said. 'To my fans, I sincerely apologize and I hope you guys know how much each and every one of you mean to me."
According to Popdust.com, Gomez's canceled tour wasn't the result of "me time" but for health reasons. A source told the website that the "Come and Get It" singer was diagnosed with Lupus, an autoimmune disease, a few years ago.
"Selena has been going full throttle the past few years and her Lupus is really catching up with her now," the source said. "She knows that she needs to take some time to address the disease and look after herself better if she wants to live a full and healthy life."
Reportedly the singer's rigorous schedule has caused her to suffer from "flares" that causes headaches, joint pain, extreme fatigue and facial swelling. According to lupus.org, the disease can damage parts of the body and can cause chronic symptoms that could last weeks and even years.
In Lupus, the body can't tell the difference between healthy and foreign tissues and creates antibodies that attacks and destroys a person's healthy tissue. R&B singer Toni Braxton has been very vocal with her struggles with Lupus following her diagnosis a few years ago.
Braxton was forced to step out of the spotlight so she could focus on her health.
"Lupus is like the worst flu you've ever had in your life," she told reporters in August, the Tampa Bay Times reports. "It completely drains you."
