Spotify video A music video premiered on
Spotify's mobile app on May 18, 2017. It was shot in November 2016 after Gomez went back from her treatment and it was the first video to premiere as a Spotify exclusive. The low fidelity video features Gomez wearing the same fall-risk wristband from the single's alternative cover art.
Official video Development and conception The official video was directed by
Jesse Peretz, who had not directed a music video since the
Foo Fighters' 2007 single "
Long Road to Ruin". It was produced by Black Dog Films and Lighthouse Management+Media. On June 12, 2017, Gomez announced via her social media that the second and official music video for the song would be released on June 14, 2017, posting three film posters in different colors. On June 14, 2017, the music video for the song was uploaded to YouTube. Speaking about the video to
Billboard, Kari Perkins (who served as costume designer) said: For Selena's main character, we wanted to make her like a cool-but-sweet kid that didn't really fit in. For the mom, I wanted to do something more extreme – I wanted her to be more put-together, more of a worldly woman. For the gym teacher –
Farrah Fawcett was our inspiration for that character. She was just so iconic and so beautiful at the time; everyone wanted to be like her. And finally, for the male figure, that was really fun; especially finding something that would actually fit Selena because she's so tiny.
Synopsis The music video for "Bad Liar" is set in 1978 and features Gomez as "a shy high schooler, a gym coach with a Farrah Fawcett-inspired coif, a bespectacled male teacher, and a mom, all of whom are interconnected in unexpected ways." It begins with a teenage-like Gomez riding a bike to school. There, she moves separately from the rest of students, who gossip about her in the hall. In class, she sees two of her teachers, an attractive blonde gym teacher and a grown-up man with big glasses (both played by Gomez), flirting outside, and later on the stairs and in the gym class. When the school day is done, the male teacher's wife (also played by Gomez) arrives, impatient to pick him up. Once they get home for dinner, the wife looks at him accusingly. The two glare at each other as teenage-like Gomez enters the house, revealing to be their daughter. She goes straight to her room, where she dances to the rhythm of the song's final refrain, but as soon as she hears her mother coming, she pretends to be sleeping until her mother leaves. The video concludes with a shot of the girl looking at a photograph of the gym teacher smiling, revealing that she secretly has feelings for her. Gomez also teased her follow-up single "
Fetish" through a short clip which debuted at the end of the music video.
Reception Mike Wass of Idolator described the video as "a breath of fresh air at a time when the hot trend in music videos is dying tragically" and stated that he was "glad to see [Gomez] really go for it visually", adding that it was "her biggest production since the
Stars Dance era when '
Come & Get It' and '
Slow Down' took her to exotic locations." Alyssa Bailey of
Elle complimented Gomez's performance, writing that she "may not be back to acting quite yet, but this mini-movie/music video situation definitely makes you want more", while Emily Mae Czachor of the
Los Angeles Times praised the video's visuals, stating: "With a directorial vision by
Lemonheads bassist (and, more recently, TV director) Jesse Peretz, the video fuses a retro '70s aesthetic (Farrah Fawcett wigs and all) with an eerie, seductive atmosphere." Sam Reed of
The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Regardless, all of this means that the pop star had the opportunity to get dolled up in the most incredible costumes and makeup, from a feathered Farrah Fawcett-style wig and gym shorts to a perfectly coiffed bouffant, to a stache that would make even
Nick Offerman crack a smile. In a more mixed analysis, Erika Harwood of
Vanity Fair stated: "Unfortunately, this leaves us with more questions than answers about the very plot-heavy video. Is this man the principal or a teacher? Is he the student's step-dad or biological dad? Is he cheating on his wife with the gym teacher? [...] There are no obvious answers to these questions, except that this music video could have cut a character." The music video achieved over 12 million views in its first 24 hours. ==Credits and personnel==