Jerry Stamp defending Selena Gomez's cancelled tour stops

A Newfoundland singer-songwriter is calling out critics of pop star Selena Gomez, saying she was right to cancel two Atlantic Canada concerts for health reasons.

• Selena Gomez cancels concerts in Atlantic Canada

Jerry Stamp retired from music because of his own auto-immune disease, and says while he's not a particular fan of Gomez's music her battle with lupus has impressed him.

He says lupus is as horrible as his own illness, psoriatic arthritis, and yet Gomez has successfully grown her music career.

Gomez had been scheduled to play Paradise, Newfoundland, on Saturday and Moncton, New Brunswick, on Sunday.

But on Tuesday, the Texas-born star cancelled those dates along with the remainder of her "Revival" world tour.

The former Disney Channel star told People magazine she suffers from lupus-related anxiety, panic attacks and depression.

Stamp says he's seen complaints on Facebook from people saying she should just "suck it up" and do the Paradise show, and thought the criticism was unfair and ignorant.