Did Lana Del Rey tell Selena Gomez to pack her bags and go home over the crying deportation video? Viral comment debunked

A rumor circulated online recently that singer Lana Del Rey ridiculed multihyphenate Selena Gomez reportedly asking her to pack her bags and go home, in the wake of the latter’s now-viral crying deportation video. The claim was first made by X user Shaniqua Posting Delusions aka @DeIudedShaniqwa on January 28.

The post which comprised a picture of Lana Del Rey and a screenshot of Selena Gomez sobbing, was captioned:

“BREAKING: Popstar and MAGA supporter Lana Del Rey commented on Selena Gomez’s viral video: ‘You should pack your bags and go back to Mexico. Take your abuela with you.’”

The rumor garnered severe traction on the social networking site and earned the post a whopping 3.3 million views within a few hours.

However, the now-viral claim has turned out to be fake. Lana Del Rey did not make any such comment about Selena Gomez and no verifiable sources have confirmed the same.

Besides, the X account @DeIudedShaniqwa that made the claim is known for parodical posts created for virality and sensationalism. It even has the word “satire” written in its bio. A few hours after making the post, the user also reshared it and wrote:

“This post was doing generational numbers but the Community Notes nerds had to ruin it.”

So far, neither Lana Del Rey nor Selena Gomez has addressed the rumor.

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Selena Gomez removed her crying deportation video in the face of backlash

On January 27, 2025, Selena Gomez took to her Instagram Story and uploaded a video of herself crying about the ongoing ICE deportations being carried out by the brand-new Donald Trump administration.

Captioning the clip, “I’m sorry” with an emoji of the Mexican flag, the Only Murders In the Building actress was seen breaking down and heard saying:

“I just wanna say I’m so sorry. All my people are getting attacked. The children, I don’t understand. I’m so sorry. I wish I could do something, but I can’t. I don’t know what to do. I’ll try everything, I promise.”

However, subsequently, she deleted the video after she faced ridicule online. Reportedly, the 32-year-old actress, singer, producer, and businesswoman posted another now-removed Story, which according to a fan’s screenshot read against a black background:

"Apparently it’s not ok to show empathy for people."

This is not the first time Gomez has spoken about the illegal immigration issue in the USA. Earlier, during a 2019 op-ed with TIME Magazine, she shared how her family has been immigrants.

"In the 1970s, my aunt crossed the border from Mexico to the United States hidden in the back of a truck. My grandparents followed, and my father was born in Texas soon after. In 1992, I was born a U.S. citizen thanks to their bravery and sacrifice," she shared at the time.

Selena further mentioned:

“I’m concerned about the way people are being treated in my country. As a Mexican-American woman I feel a responsibility to use my platform to be a voice for people who are too afraid to speak. Fear shouldn’t stop us from getting involved and educating ourselves on an issue that affects millions of people in our country. Fear didn’t stop my aunt from getting into the back of that truck. And for that, I will always be grateful.”

The Disney alum shared how over the past four decades her family members have worked “hard” to gain U.S. citizenship, adding, that “undocumented immigration” was an issue she thought about every day and felt “blessed” to have been born in the United States “thanks to my family and the grace of circumstance.” Back then, Selena Gomez observed that seeing “immigration rage” on social media, news headlines, or debates made her feel “afraid” for those in “similar situations.”

That same year, she also produced a Netflix docuseries on illegal immigration titled, Living Undocumented where her own family’s story was also narrated. In 2020, she also shared during an event that she was a “proud, third-generation American-Mexican, and my family’s journeys and their sacrifice helped me get to where I am today.”

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Donald Trump’s new policy on illegal immigration took effect soon after he took office as the 47th President of the United States, with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) carrying out deportations across the country.