Selena Gomez's BFF Raquelle Stevens Breaks Silence On 'My Mind & Me' Backlash

Selena Gomez's close friend Raquelle Stevens has addressed the criticism of their friendship.

Three months after the release of the singer's AppleTV+ documentary "My Mind & Me" — which featured footage of Gomez's friendship with Stevens, including some tense moments — the latter has finally spoken out on the backlash.

"Anytime you do anything public in life, you're subject to opinions of other people. ... You just don't even go there if you're not willing to be able to take the heat, but, you know, the biggest thing for me was that the documentary was a beautiful, beautiful piece of work that Selena so vulnerably shared with the world," Stevens said on the "Chicks in the Office" podcast. "It was her life story, and part of what was included in that documentary was our friendship, which is special and it's honest, and it's real."

The documentary, which followed Gomez's life from 2016 to 2020, featured many scenes with Stevens. But she drew criticism for one tense moment when she questioned why Gomez didn't want to attend a mutual friend's birthday party when they returned home from a trip, and accused the singer of being unhappy.

In the episode, the "Kill Em with Kindness" hitmaker said she could not attend because she had to shoot a music video the next day.

Stevens replied, "Nice," adding that she thought Gomez would want to go.

When Gomez asked if Stevens thought she was "complaining" about her job, her friend responded, "Yeah, you sounded like you were."

The conversation ended with the "Wolves" songstress walking out of the room and away from her friend.

While many fans thought she was being an "honest" friend to the singer, some of Gomez's fans criticized Stevens over the episode, with a number calling her "toxic" and "draining."

However, Stevens said fans are "not seeing the full picture" in the documentary when it comes to her friendship with Gomez.

"And the truth is we've had a friendship for the last decade because it's real, it's honest and I'm so grateful for that. And I'm grateful that it was included in the documentary because I think that it is important to see, and I think it's amazing that Selena welcomes honesty in her friendships and I welcome that in my life too," she said on the podcast.

Stevens' "The Sunshine Mind" co-author Tanya Rad noted that the former was "unshakable" amid the backlash from Gomez's fans.

"She knows who she is. She knows what type of friend she is," Rad said during their podcast appearance.

Stevens agreed that the criticism didn't affect her as her inner peace is quite unwavering.

"When your inner life is strong and you are living a life with integrity, you sleep peacefully every single night. And it doesn't matter what you face, what you go through — there's a peace that comes with living a life of integrity, and so I really am secure in who I am. I know the kind of friend that I am. Anyone really could say anything, but I have a peace that is unshakable," she explained.

"My Mind & Me" streams on AppleTV+.