Selena Gomez says she signed her life away to Disney at a young age

Selena Gomez rose to fame as young girl when she starred on Barney & Friends and Wizards of Waverly Place. Photo / Getty Images

Selena Gomez admits she "signed" her "life away to Disney" at "a very young age".

The Heart Wants What It Wants hitmaker started her career at the television network when she was just 10 when she starred on Barney & Friends between 2002 and 2004.

She later rose to prominence for her role as Alex Russo in the Disney Channel television series Wizards of Waverly Place.

And the 29-year-old actress and singer has admitted she had no idea what she was doing and was naive when she joined Disney.

She began: "I signed my life away to Disney at a very young age and I didn't know what I was doing."

Speaking about her latest role as Mabel Mora in the Hulu comedy Only Murders in the Building, Gomez told reporters at the TCA Summer 2021 Tour press conference: "What I'd say is the level of sophistication of the material is the first reason why I wanted to do this.

"I didn't know what I was doing. I was just running around on set."

It marks her first TV role since Wizards of Waverly Place concluded in 2012, and she relished playing someone her age.

She said: "It's really nice to be back on TV and it's nice to be cast as my actual age, which never happens.

"I don't know if I'm a good actor. I just do my job."

The Lose You To Love Me singer previously revealed she was bullied during her time at the Disney Channel.

She said in 2017: "I think he understood that I knew what it meant to be bullied. I went to the biggest high school in the world, which is the Disney Channel. And my mum had a lot of history dealing with [bullying]. I heard her stories growing up. She's very open about it."

Her mother Mandy added in the joint interview: "When I was growing up, I was always bullied because I was the outsider, the weird girl with the purple hair and combat boots. Then I was a teen mum. You get really judged. I had counsellors telling me how I'd ruined my life, [Selena's] life and how I ruined the father's life, even though he participated."