Selena Gomez is more than used to fame, but that doesn’t mean she’s always comfortable with her face being used all over the internet. Case in point: her becoming an instant meme at the VMAs 2023.

ICYMI: Selena Gomez made the trek to New Jersey to attend the famed awards show on September 12. After gracing the red carpet in a stunningly intricate, red embellished gown from Oscar de la Renta (that immediately made me crave Twizzlers), Gomez made her way into Prudential Center to enjoy the show. Before she left her seat to pick up the award for Best Afrobeats with seatmate and collaborator Rema, Gomez had plenty of priceless reactions throughout the entire ceremony that, for better or worse, were caught on camera.

During this year’s VMAs, fans at home got to see a lot more celebrity reactions than they are used to, thanks to the inclusion of a “POV” camera, which was streamed for free on MTV’s YouTube and captured candid moments from the show as well as backstage glimpses. It was this “POV” camera that caught a lot of Gomez’s moments that soon went viral on social media, prompting the star to speak up.

The first viral moment of the night came while Olivia Rodrigo was performing “Vampire,” a performance that featured staged technical difficulties. Gomez was caught on camera holding her hand to her ear — which, given the fact that things were literally exploding on stage, we’d say it’s a pretty normal reaction. The video, without context, went viral on X (formerly Twitter), accumulating over three million views and speculation around whether Gomez was reacting to Rodrigo’s vocals or the set design.