In 2010, a huge chunk of the population envied Selena Gomez. She was the lucky girl who got to date teen heartthrob and pop sensation, Justin Bieber. When they broke up, the world called her stupid to have let him go. The situation was labelled as “a poor career choice,” made by Gomez. Bieber “clearly” helped her on her climb to fame. The duo “Jelena” boosted Gomez’s career and her success is all due to Bieber and their relationship. Gomez was seen as a gold-digging leech by society, and often accused of preying on “poor” Bieber.
Years later, in 2023, Gomez goes online and “gets ready” with her viewers. Whilst she applied her makeup line, the conversation was flooded with comments surrounding her weight gain. She then continued to get berated and insulted by the majority of the internet for “letting herself go,” and being “chubby,” including major entertainment and news articles. Even celebrities have taken to comment or “throw shade” at Gomez’s appearance with Hailey Bieber and Kylie Jenner currently under fire for allegedly mocking the singer. This huge debate has taken the internet by storm, with everyone being “forced” to choose between Team Selena or Team Hailey.
The question is, why has this ravaged the internet so intensely while other news gets buried under headlines? The internet was very quick to jump on the “hate train” aimed at these two women, pitting them against each other over a once famous pop star. Sadly, it does not just end with Selena vs Hailey. Many women in Hollywood have been subjected to the tyranny of the internet’s hatred. Singer, Miley Cyrus, faced critique for “acting inappropriately” on the red carpet. Kourtney Kardashian has been slut-shamed for simply expressing her love in public. Taylor Swift being mocked for “constantly writing about her exes” and Billie Eilish being criticised for not dressing in ‘traditionally feminine’ clothing. Again, it begs the question But why?
Why are we so prone to just jumping on this hate train?
Simply put, the internet and society as a whole love to hate. We enjoy the drama that conflict creates so much that we get swept up and add our own varying opinions to said conflict. The hate trains chasing women in the industry have been a long running locomotive. For centuries, women were treated as though they were meant to be seen and not heard. Recently, it seems they are constantly have blamed and shamed for simply existing and the aim of this has been to uphold the patriarchal notion that “men are
always right.” When a man allegedly cheats, all blame and hate fall upon the mistress. A recent example being after “Flowers,” by Miley Cyrus was released. It was rumoured that Cyrus’ ex-husband, Liam Hemsworth, had an affair with actress Jennifer Lawrence. The rumour spread like wildfire and the internet rushed to throw insults at Lawrence whilst Hemsworth remained mostly unscathed (despite the catchy number one hit song written about him).
Unfortunately, it is evident that we as a society still cling to the habit of blaming women. Women constantly hating other women for their appearances, lifestyles, and success. Girl Power appears to be a lost concept in 2023 as we continue to belittle women. If the anger towards women is felt even in our everyday lives, we can only imagine having to be a woman in power or a woman who is constantly in the public eye. All one can do is refrain from being one more hateful comment under an Instagram post or isolate from the society that shames women for living.