In April 2013, the official Playboy Twitter account did tweet an "open invitation" to Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens to attend a party at the Playboy Mansion, but there was never a professional photo shoot.

She starred in this action-thriller with Ethan Hawke.

While the Playboy cover was fake, Selena was intentionally shedding her "squeaky-clean" Disney image through legitimate creative projects.

The incident led to a significant backlash against those responsible for leaking the photo, with many criticizing the media and online users for perpetuating the rumors and spreading the image.