Selena Gomez breaks her hand and (maybe) the strike rules
Selena Gomez deleted an Instagram post that promoted Only Murders In The Building in violation of SAG-AFTRA strike rules
Many of us know that old adage, “Gotta keep an eye out for Selener.” But is Selener keeping an eye out for herself? Given the blunders she’s experienced lately, it doesn’t seem like Selena Gomez may be slacking in this regard, even amidst releasing a new pop single and starring in a hit television comedy. In fact, it’s the latter that has her in trouble today.
“Missing and wanting @onlymurdershulu,” the former Disney Channel star posted on her Instagram account, which is the most-followed of any woman in the world. The accompanying video, viewed by The A.V. Club before its deletion, was a black-and-white clip of Gomez on set of Only Murders In The Building, with muffled audio and no clear view of any of the other actors (which includes, this season, Meryl Streep, Paul Rudd, and Ashley Park, in addition to Steve Martin and Martin Short).
The video wasn’t exactly a commercial, nor did Gomez encourage her many followers to watch the show—it seemed more like she was just missing being on set than anything—but she did tag the official Only Murders social media page as well as the streaming site that hosts it, Hulu. As such, commenters quickly pointed out that the post seemed to violate SAG-AFTRA’s rules about not promoting any struck work on social media.
It’s not like Gomez doesn’t know the rules, nor does she seem like someone who would disrespect them. Per Buzzfeed, just a week prior she’d posted an explanation of struck work from actor Domnhall Gleeson. Perhaps because it wasn’t a direct promotion, Gomez didn’t consider herself in violation; perhaps she was considering herself exempt since she was not only an actor, but also a producer on the show. Regardless, she was eventually shamed out of it and deleted the post after it had been up for 15 hours and garnered more than a million likes, according to Variety. Whether the pressure came from within her comments or the threat of actually being punished by the guild for violating strike rules is unclear.
What Gomez is allowed to do is promote her music, but she’s having trouble doing that, apparently. “Broke my hand and had surgery. I don’t care about selling anything,” she bravely posted in the wake of her new track “Single Soon,” as captured by Pop Base. “I’m just happy to make music with my friends.” Perhaps she mixed up which projects she’s actually allowed to promo? It’s the television show you’re not supposed to sell, girl!