How was Selena Gomez involved in 13 Reasons Why? Singer's silent role behind the 2017 drama

Selena Gomez branched out from her singing and acting career into production many years ago. In 2008, the Wizards Of Waverly Place alum launched her production company called July Moon Productions. While the actress decided to stay off the screen, she was the executive producer of the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why.

According to Refinery 29, Selena Gomez is credited with bringing the series to the small screen. Her mother, Mandy Teefy, first introduced her to the 2007 novel Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. Gomez, along with Teefey and Kristel Laibli, slowly made the novel and its characters come alive. Selena also took to her Instagram to announce the release of the series on Netflix and captioned it:

"A peek at a passion project I've been working on with @Netflix."

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Selena Gomez's silent contribution to the making of 13 Reasons Why

According to Teen Vogue, Selena's decision to produce 13 Reasons Why was personal. The show centers around the life of Hannah Barker, who dies by suicide. She leaves behind a series of 13 cassettes that detail her experiences that led her to make the tragic decision.

The singer told The Hollywood Reporter why she didn't want to act in the series. She reported:

"A book is frightening for me because I know the cult following it has."

She added:

"Which is the reason why I didn't want to be in it."

In 2015, Gomez, Teefey, and Laibli brought the project to Anonymous Content. Brian Yorkey, an American playwright, wrote the pilot, which was then turned into a series for Netflix. Gomez told the New York Times that they were very "nervous" while pitching the series to Netflix and said:

“I think Netflix bought it because they could see how passionate we were about it."

The message behind 13 Reasons Why resonated deeply with Gomez and the series stars Tommy Dorfman and Alisha Boe, and they got matching semi-colon tattoos. The tattoos represent the emotional struggles and their willingness to overcome them.

Selena Gomez's passion for the series could also seen by the cast and crew of the show. According to Pop Sugar, Dylan Minnette, who starred as Clay Jensen on the show also appreciated and recalled the good memories with Selena on the set. He reported that Gomez would spend time with everyone on the set. He added:

"She took us out to dinner and saw a movie with us, and we hung out with her. I don't think I can emphasize how generous she is and how genuinely she cares."

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"It definitely hits home"— Selena Gomez sheds light on her experience of the show

Selena Gomez talked about 13 Reasons Why and how it reminded her of her own experiences. At the Netflix press panel, Gomez revealed that some of her friends in high school went through similar experiences as the main characters in the series. According to Teen Vogue, the story deeply resonated with her and she reported:

"It definitely hits home; that's why I wanted to be a part of this project in any way."

Gomez recognized that the story and series can be hard to watch but she also emphasized that the audience would love the characters. Given her advocacy for mental health, Gomez also wanted to help her fans recognize the need to talk about suicide and other sensitive mental health topics. She said:

"They’re going to instantly fall in love with these characters. And I would do anything to be a good influence on this generation."

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Selena Gomez did not act in 13 Reasons Why, yet she had a silent but steady influence on the cast and crew. Apart from being a consistent support during the filming, Gomez's Kill Em With Kindness acoustic version and Only You featured in the first season and she also sang an exclusive soundtrack, Back To You for season two.