You can thank Selena Gomez for bringing Katherine Langford to Instagram. The 13 Reasons Why star, who portrays the late Hannah Baker on Netflix's new drama, admitted that it was the "Heart Wants What It Wants" singer who convinced her to open up her Instagram account to the masses.
In a new interview with The Last Magazine, Hollywood newcomer Langford admitted that she wasn't too keen on sharing her life via social media. Unlike celebrities like Kylie Jenner, whose additions to their social platforms routinely make headlines and are an integral part of their brand, the actress wanted to keep her job about "the work" — not her OOTD.
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"It was a bit of a big decision for me actually, because I wanted to be an actor purely for the acting work," Langford explained to The Late Magazine. "I have never been attracted to increasing my popularity or hireability by being on Instagram."
SelGo, a producer on 13 Reasons Why, changed all of that for Langford. Gomez reminded the Netflix star just how much good connecting with fans can do — especially considering the deeply relatable subject matter of her high school drama. Langford told The Late Magazine:
"Selena pointed out that the show is targeting young adults like me and that [social media] is a good medium to talk directly with those who relate to my character, Hannah."
On her first public Instagram post, Langford writes:
"Ladies and jellyfish - WE ARE PUBLIC! After much consideration as to whether or not to keep private - I've chosen to open up this account so I can connect with all of you! Thank you to all the kind beauties who have been following from the beginning, and to @selenagomez for the push."
Though Gomez recently admitted in an interview with Vogue that she doesn't even have the password to her own Instagram account — the negative comments were, understandably, bumming her out — she has been an advocate of using the platform to connect with fans, which may be the reason Gomez once earned the title of most followed celeb on Instagram.
Instagram isn't for everyone: Gomez admits herself that she has to take the occasional social media sabbatical. But good for Langford for seeing that she can use it to reach out to fans still digesting Hannah's heartbreaking tale.