Doctor Weighs In After Selena Gomez’s “Unrecognizable” Emmys Appearance Had Fans Begging Her To Lay Off The Botox

Jason Sargent Thursday, September 17, 2026

Binitha JacobWed, September 16, 2026 at 2:18 PM UTC

Fans were convinced Selena Gomez had come with a new face to the 2026 Emmy Awards.

The 34-year-old singer-actress showed up on the Emmys red carpet looking like a trophy herself, wearing a shiny golden Louis Vuitton gown.

Following rampant speculation about cosmetic surgery or other enhancements, a plastic surgeon explained the reasons why Gomez may have looked different at the September 14 award show.

Fans were convinced Selena Gomez had come with a new face to the 2026 Emmy Awards

Gilbert Flores/Getty Images

“What the hell is wrong with her face?” the internet asked after Selena Gomez appeared on the 2026 Emmys red carpet.

Many speculated whether her slim look was the result of weight-loss medication like Oz*mpic. But another recurring theme in the comments section was the speculation surrounding plastic surgery.

“If I fake smile this hard, no one will notice my bad Botox and fillers or how my eyes don’t line up properly,” one said, taking a wild guess at Gomez’s thoughts on the red carpet.

Another comment said, “She’s too young still imo to do so much Botox on her face. It looks frozen.”

“It’s Emmy night & Selena Gomez‘s face is pulled so far back she can barely smile or blink!” read one comment

rarebeauty/Instagram

laire4you

sasquatchalot

Dr. Omar Tillo, plastic surgeon and Medical Director at ⁠CREO Clinic, said it’s impossible to determine whether Gomez has had Botox from looking at her photographs alone.

He said he would be “cautious” about attributing her change to one particular treatment, but he explained the potential causes that could create the kind of effect that fans noticed.

“What people seem to be responding to most strongly in these photographs is the asymmetry around the eyes,” he said in an email to Bored Panda.

“One eye appears slightly more closed than the other, and because the eyes are such an important reference point when we recognize a face, even quite a small difference can make somebody look surprisingly different,” he continued.

Dr. Omar Tillo explained the potential causes that could create the effect that fans have noticed

rarebeauty/Instagram

“A number of people online have suggested that this could be fresh Botox. That is one possible explanation for this type of appearance generally, but it certainly isn’t the only one.”

Explaining how Botox works, Dr. Tillo said the injectables can temporarily reduce the activity of specific muscles.

He noted that the positioning, dosage, and distribution of Botox are extremely important while targeting areas like the forehead or between the eyebrows because several muscles work together to control the position of the eyebrows and upper eyelids.

“If those muscles are affected unevenly, you can temporarily see a difference in brow height or how open one eye appears compared with the other,” Dr. Tillo said.

“Botox can also result in temporary eyelid or eyebrow drooping, known as ptosis,” the plastic surgeon explained

Monica Schipper/Getty Images

itsgaills

Kiyanitierra

“In uncommon cases, Botox can also result in temporary eyelid or eyebrow drooping, known as ptosis. That can create exactly the sort of asymmetry people tend to notice very quickly in photographs,” he continued.

While getting Botox, the plastic surgeon said the timing is also important because it doesn’t reach its “full effect” immediately.

“Changes develop over several days and generally become more established over the following week or two,” he said. “So if somebody had been treated relatively recently, there can be a period where the result is still settling.”

selenagomez/Instagram

Following Gomez’s Emmy appearance, some online users claimed she appeared to have fuller cheeks and claimed it could be the effect of fillers.

“Some commenters have suggested cheek filler, and again, that’s impossible to determine from these images,” Dr. Tillo said. “Generally speaking, however, adding volume to the upper cheek can change the relationship between the cheek and lower eyelid.”

He said that if there is significant volume immediately beneath the eye, especially when they smile, it can “make the eye aperture appear slightly smaller.”

“But I wouldn’t look at these photographs and conclude that filler is responsible,” he added. “Facial expression, camera angle and existing natural asymmetry can produce a very similar effect.”

Gomez has previously denied opting for cosmetic enhancements, except for one particular procedure

Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images

BuildABot2

norradita

Cosmetic enhancements aside, Dr. Tillo believes factors like makeup, lighting, and styling can make a person’s facial features look different.

“These factors can emphasise existing asymmetry or change how the proportions of the face appear on camera,” he said.

In the past, the Come & Get It singer denied undergoing any kind of cosmetic enhancements, except for one particular procedure. “Hahahaha I’ve had Botox bb girl,” she said while responding to a fan on social media in 2023.

The following year, she commented on a TikTok video posted by Marissa Barrionuevo, a plastic surgeon assistant from Florida.

“I literally have no idea what she has gotten done,” Barrionuevo said in the clip that caught even the Lose You To Love Me singer’s attention.

“I have Botox. That’s it. Leave me alone,” the singer-actress once clapped back at plastic surgery claims

Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

“I think she’s been through so much in her life, especially medically related…” Barrionuevo added.

Gomez revealed in 2015 that she was diagnosed with lupus, an autoimmune disease that affects the immune system. She underwent a kidney transplant in 2017 to offset the complications from lupus.

“When it comes to Selena, I literally have no idea what to attribute her physical changes to,” Barrionuevo said in the original clip. “People say lupus, people say other things. I don’t know, and at the end of the day, let’s just leave her be.”

After the video went viral, Gomez shut down the speculation by commenting on Barrionuevo’s video.

“Honestly I hate this,” she clapped back. “I was on stripes because of flare up. I have Botox. That’s it. Leave me alone.”

While Gomez has admitted to using Botox in the past, Dr. Tillo asserted that it doesn’t give an explanation to what viewers were seeing on the Emmys red carpet.

The doctor, however, noted that the internet’s response shows how people are “sensitive” to even the tiniest changes around a person’s eyes.

He also asserted that the effect of Botox is temporary, and muscle activity gradually returns.

“If Botox were responsible for temporary asymmetry of this kind, it wouldn’t necessarily mean that anything permanent had happened,” he said.

“But without examining somebody clinically and knowing what treatment they have actually received, anything more specific would simply be speculation,” he added.

“She has also been hit by the skinny pandemic,” one commented online