Selena Gomez is breaking her silence on being diagnosed with the autoimmune disease lupus, revealing that during her tour break in 2013, she underwent chemotherapy treatment to alleviate the symptoms of lupus -- and didn't go to rehab, as was reported at the time.

In a new interview with Billboard, the "Come and Get It" singer said, "That’s what my break was really about. I could’ve had a stroke."

Gomez cancelled the Australian and Asian leg of her tour in December 2013 -- and the move ignited Internet rumors that the young starlet was struggling with addiction. But in fact she was dealing with the poorly understood condition of Lupus which affects the immune system, which fails to detect the difference between healthy tissue and germs and viruses which enter the system from the outside.

The 23-year-old told Billboard, "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," she said.

And emerge she did … Gomez is gearing up for the release of her second solo studio album "Revival," which comes out on Friday.