Selena Gomez Rehab Update: Selena Gomez Appreciates Demi Lovato in emotional speech after receiving The Young Humanitarian Award for her extensive work with UNICEF at the Feb. 27 unite4:humanity gala.
Yahoo Celebrity News said, "The two starlets, both 21, attended the first-ever unite4:humanity event in Culver City, California, Thursday night to pick up awards honoring their contributions to the community. The event also marked Gomez's first red carpet event since admitting she checked herself into a rehabilitation center in January for issues that were not related to substance abuse. Not surprisingly, she looked as stunning as ever in a beaded Antonio Berardi jumpsuit with her mom by her side."
Hollywood Life reported that these two have been friends since their Barney & Friends days, and while they hit a rough patch when Demi was struggling with her personal demons and lashing out, now they're closer than ever. And it looks like Selena is thankful to Demi for supporting her during her own rehab stint.
Lovato was presented with the Young Luminary Award.
Selena, who is an ambassador for UNICEF, joked. "I think this is probably my favorite award I have ever gotten, not that I've gotten a lot. I'm truly honored to be in a room with such incredible people that inspire me. I want to thank my family. They are the ones who taught me the importance of giving back before we even had anything to give back ... I have to say, I want to thank Demi."
Gomez said after thanking her family, "I want to thank Demi. Just the fact that we're here at 21 years old, and we've always talked about using our voice to help this generation. Sometimes I feel like we're the only ones holding the fort and I'm so thankful for you [inspiring] me every day."
The former Disney star, Lovato, who worked with Free the Children and Me to We spoke from the heart. "It's such an honor to receive this award. I'm going to wing this a little bit. Really nervous to be here, really excited, and very intimidated. There [are] a lot of really cool, incredible people here. I recently got to spend my 21st birthday in Africa. It was just an incredible trip. I've been through a lot and I've struggled a lot with personal issues, so I had to celebrate my 21st birthday differently than a lot of other people. It was so much more incredible than poisoning myself for a good night out. I think it's really important that with the younger generation, we raise the awareness of the effects of things like bullying ... taking the stigma and the taboo off of talking about things like self harm, mental illness, substance abuse, eating disorders. It's incredible that I used to spend so much of my time consumed, worrying about what my body looked like when ... some of us are trying to get food to children in other parts of the world ... I just hope I can encourage today's youth to give back."
Other awardees included President Bill Clinton, Keys, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, John Sykes, and Philomena Lee.
