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Top line
Rumors of a feud between Justin Bieber’s wife and his ex-girlfriend reached a fever pitch on Sunday, when Bieber posted photos of his 29th birthday party and fans combed his social media posts with those of his wife Hailey, his ex selena Gomez, and a network of their friends and fans for hints of relationship drama that has attracted the three in recent weeks.
Selena Gomez at the 80th Annual Golden Globe Awards on January 10, 2023. (Photo by Jon … [+]
Key facts
The drama started on February 22 when Selena Gomez, who dated Bieber between 2010 and 2018, posted a joke on TikTok about how she accidentally over-plumped her eyebrows.
Hours later, Bieber’s wife Hailey – who Justin married in 2018, just six months after he broke up with Gomez for the last time – posted a shot of herself FaceTiming with her friend Kylie Jenner, with the shot in which he was closely his eyebrows, which fans felt as a dig against Gomez.
On February 23, as fan speculation grew, both Jenner and Gomez denied cheating rumors; in a TikTok comment, Jenner called allegations that she and Bieber attacked Gomez’s eyebrows as “access,” and Gomez responded that the rumors were “unnecessary” and that she is a fan of Jenner.
The same day, Gomez commented on other videos referencing the drama: she thanked fans who praised her handling of her breakup with Justin Bieber and marriage to Hailey, and Gomez wrote “I love you” as response to fans who criticized “sensible”. nepo girls and children” for attacking Gomez.
Gomez also defended her longtime friend Taylor Swift that day, in the comments of a TikTok video that featured Hailey Bieber mimicking a gag when Swift was mentioned, with Gomez calling Swift “one of the best in the game.”
Finally on February 23, Gomez announced a break from social media, saying in TikTok Live: “I’m 30, I’m too old for this.”
However, rumors of drama grew, and on February 28 Haley Bieber posted an Instagram story set to Rema’s song “Calm Down” – but the version without Gomez, which some fans thought was a dig at Gómez.
As fans continue to look for clues, Justin Bieber posted photos on Sunday of his star-studded 29th birthday party, an outdoor gathering with balloons and a concert, and one of the photos showed Hailey standing next to him, and in another she seemed to be. hug him.
Key Background
Gomez and Hailey Bieber – a model and influencer who is the daughter of actor Stephen Baldwin and the niece of Alec Baldwin – have denied rumors of bad blood in the past, with Hailey insisting in September that it was “all love” and not there was no drama in between. two. In response to negative comments about Hailey online, Justin made an Instagram post in March 2019 urging fans to accept Hailey as his wife while adding that he will always have a place in his heart for Gomez. The following month, Hailey posted and deleted an Instagram story telling “a few internet babies” to move on. Gomez released a breakup song, “Lose You To Love Me,” in October 2019, which many thought was related to her split from Justin Bieber. The night her song debuted, Hailey posted a shot of Summer Walker’s song “I’ll Kill You” on her Instagram story, which some fans claimed was a dig at Gomez and her new song. Hailey denied in a comment on Instagram that her post had anything to do with Gomez, and Gomez urged fans to stop their rude behavior. After years of constant drama among fans, Hailey took to TikTok in April 2022 to try to stop hateful comments, saying: “Enough time has passed and it’s valid to leave me alone. ” Hailey gave an interview in September 2022 on the Call her Daddy podcast, where she said that she and Gomez have spoken and are on good terms. The day after the podcast debuted, Gomez again urged her fans not to leave hateful comments. In October 2022, Gomez and Hailey caused an internet frenzy after they were photographed hugging at the Academy Museum Gala.
Tangent
Although the Biebers and Gomez have tried to quash rumors for years, the drama started to resurface earlier this year, when Hailey posted a TikTok, and later deleted it, in January in which she synced herself, Kendall Jenner and the singer Justine Skye lips with a popular sound. (“I’m not saying she deserved it, but God always has the right timing”), which some believed involved Gomez being body-shamed on social media. Gomez commented on a fan’s TikTok video on February 9 alleging that Hailey’s video was about her: “It’s okay! I don’t let these things get me down! Be nice to everyone! x.”
Big Number
750 million. That’s how many views the hashtag #teamselena got on TikTok. In these videos, fans relive the drama, come up with their own theories about whether the stars have bad blood and track how many Instagram followers Hailey has lost in the past few weeks. The #teamhailey hashtag has 57 million views. The comment sections of both Gomez and Hailey’s recent Instagram posts have been filled with comments about the drama, with some criticizing Hailey as a “mean girl.” Gomez has since encouraged fans to stop targeting others on social media, asking them to “be kinder and consider other people’s mental health,” adding that her “heart is heavy .”
Surprising fact
Gomez has gained 15 million followers on Instagram since the drama premiered on February 22. That day, she overtook Kylie Jenner to become the most followed person on Instagram with 380 million followers, but Gomez’s total has steadily increased to 395 million as of March 6. Meanwhile, Jenner and Hailey Bieber have lost at least hundreds of thousands of followers in the past two weeks.
Further Reading
The Complete History of Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber’s Public Drama, From Jelena Tweets to TikTok Comments (Elle)
Hailey Bieber, Selena Gomez, and the Hollywood trick Easter egg (Vox)
