Selena Gomez 'uncomfortable' discussing lupus

Singer/actress Selena Gomez Performs On NBC's Today at Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. Photo / Getty Images

Pop singer Selena Gomez is still a little shy about discussing her lupus diagnosis in public after making the big reveal in a recent magazine interview.

Gomez shared the secret with Billboard magazine readers last week, revealing the real reason for cancelling her Australian tour in 2014.

At the time of the tour cancellation, Gomez faced criticism for claiming she needed to spend some time on herself in order to be the "best person I can be" and entered the Dawn at The Meadows treatment centre in Arizona to seek help.

She subsequently told Billboard she needed to take the hiatus to undergo treatment for her autoimmune disease.

"I was diagnosed with lupus, and I've been through chemotherapy," she revealed.

"That's what my break was really about. I could've had a stroke. I wanted so badly to say, 'You guys have no idea. I'm in chemotherapy. You're a**holes.' I locked myself away until I was confident and comfortable again."

Gomez was asked about her condition on Monday, when she performed in New York City for US breakfast show Today, but she was hesitant to go into detail about how she was feeling.

"To be honest it still kinda makes me a little uncomfortable to talk about it," the 23 year old confessed.

"But genuinely, I feel like (by speaking out about it) I'm able to reach my fans and understand people when I am one-on-one with them and they're dealing with the same thing because I've been there, so I'm just trying to take something that maybe is negative and turn it into a positive."

- WENN