Conservatives continue mocking Mexican American actor Selena Gomez for emotionally breaking down over the mass deportation of immigrants under Republican President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration on day one of his second term in office.
In a now-deleted heart-wrenching video, the Emilia Pérez actor sobbed over the families of illegal immigrants being ripped apart as ICE raids aggressively sweep across the country.
“All my people are getting attacked. The children...I don’t understand," said Gomez, adding, "I’m so sorry. I wish I could do something, but I can’t."
Gomez, whose father is of Mexican descent, concluded the video with:
"I don’t know what to do. I’ll try everything, I promise."
Here is a clip shared on X (formerly Twitter).
RELATED: Selena Gomez Claps Back After Failed Senate Candidate Calls For Her To Be 'Deported'
Gomez later took to her Instagram Stories after deleting the video and wrote, “Apparently it’s not OK to show empathy for people."
Conservatives have continued scoffing over her video, arguing, "What about the violent criminals?" Trolls also mocked her "Academy Award" performance in the clip and instructed her to check her "privilege."
One TikToker accused Gomez, whose father is of Mexican descent, of being "out of touch" over the situation and quipped.
"The video of Selena Gomez crying over deportations is so f**king funny."
"Do you know how much I wish I could just be wealthy enough to be so effing genuinely out of touch?"
"Like, be so real. How does that affect you? Like, I'm not even joking. Is she being paid?"
TikToker @childishkimbinoo, who goes by Kim, wasn't having it and made a response video teaching about empathy that went viral with over three million views.
She stitched the rant at the beginning of her video and addressed the bellyacher, saying:
"I know this is a foreign concept for you as a conservative grifting rage baiter, but for most normal people, we don't need to get paid to care about something. Crazy, right?"
"Some of us actually have empathy without needing a paycheck for it."
Kim continued:
"So, for starters, I'd like to point out that you suggested someone has to be rich to be this out of touch. So, what's your excuse for being this out of touch when you don't have Selena's wealth?"
"Then you went on to ask, how does this affect Selena Gomez? She's Hispanic. Why does it surprise you that deportations might emotionally impact her?"
"Speaking of things that affect people, let's talk about LA, that city that you live in. Do you realize how much undocumented immigrants contribute to your quality of life?"
"They make up a huge portion of the workforce in agriculture, construction, and hospitality industries that literally keep your city running. Every single time you eat fresh produce, go to a restaurant, or drive on roads maintained by construction workers, you're benefiting from their labor."
You can watch the video below.
The California Budget & Policy Center stated that undocumented immigrants living in the Golden State contributed "nearly $8.5 billion in taxes" in 2022, according to estimates from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP).
Undocumented Californians have continued to play crucial roles in supporting public services while remaining excluded from benefitting from those services.
Kim added:
"So by your logic, if undocumented immigrants don't personally harm your life, why are you so mad they exist?"
"I know you're gonna struggle very hard with this concept—if you even made it this far—because I use more words than 'like' and 'literally,' but caring about issues that don't personally impact you are just things that decent human beings do."
People were appalled by the conservative trolling of Gomez.
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The internet applauded Kim's mic-drop schooling.
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Rapper Flavor Flav also came to Gomez's defense after the conservative backlash and declared he was on "Team Selena Gomez. Again."
"That woman is always so brave to share her truth,,, and so many are quick to bully her," he wrote on X.
Kim spoke to Buzzfeed about her response video and addressed the right's misinformed complaints about immigrants, saying:
"The constant demonization of undocumented citizens and the people who buy into the claims greatly concern me."
"Immigrants, legal or not, are significantly less likely to commit a crime than a natural-born U.S. citizen."
She shared:
"I grew up in a city (Tucson) that is heavily influenced by immigrants, and am Mexican myself."
"I personally have friends who are hardworking, honest people. They're here to make a better life for themselves and have been on the list to become legal citizens for almost a decade."
"The people who say 'come here the right way' infuriate me."
Kim said Gomez's video immediately resonated with her.
"Being so close to the border, it has been difficult to comprehend the devastation this will cause," she said, adding,
"It's the fact that ICE has no restrictions as to where they can seize undocumented people, humiliate them, and strip them of their humanity on public display."
"In the TikTok I responded to, the person made a comment about wishing to be so rich she could be that 'out of touch' while ironically having voted for a billionaire herself, saying this from the comfort of her Tesla, supporting the richest man in the world."
"The hypocrisy never fails to astound me."
Kim reminded people that one doesn't need to experience relatable trauma in order to have empathy for others.
"Does it personally affect my day-to-day that there are perfectly healthy dogs in the shelter being euthanized? No. Did I adopt two myself because I had the capacity to do so? Yes," said Kim.
"Everyone should have that mentality. Everyone should move with compassion."
Yes, we should.
Unfortunately, some people are completely incapable of doing so, which is all the more reason to keep calling them out with a reality check that kindness matters.
Especially now.
@winnieharlow/Instagram
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