Selena Gomez drew criticism after publishing controversial pictures she took at a mosque in Abu Dhabi on Monday. But the singer-actress has since deleted the images from her social media account.
The photos were taken while Gomez was wearing an abaya and visiting Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. In one image, the “Come & Get It” singer can be seen showing off a portion of her leg.
In another photo, Gomez and several of her famous friends — including singer Cody Simpson and reality star Kendall Jenner — were snapped giggling, smiling and making gestures with their hands outside the mosque.
In Muslim culture, baring ones ankles and laughing or smiling at a holy site can often be considered signs of disrespect.
The pictures quickly sparked criticism from some of Gomez’s social media followers and deemed disrespectful.
Gomez has since deleted multiple pictures, including the one which shows her ankles (above) and the other with fellow stars (below). Each had already amassed hundreds of thousands of “likes” and thousands of comments.
Representatives for Gomez did not immediately responded to TheWrap‘s request for comment.
