By now, everyone knows about the Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber drama. Last week, Selena Gomez became the most-followed person on Instagram, and it seems that things went downhill from there. What started as Selena complimenting Bella Hadid turned into a conspiracy theory about Hailey Bieber’s full-blown obsession with Selena Gomez. Even though it is all alleged, thousands of TikToks have compiled evidence about how Hailey has been copying Selena for years, even bullying Selena and her friends online. People have gone so far as to accuse Hailey of stalking Justin Bieber, her current husband and Selena’s infamous ex. Everyone has a mission to bring Hailey to justice and defend Selena.
But why are we so invested? Most of the public does not personally know Selena, Hailey, Justin or anyone else involved in the drama. So, really, why do we care so much?
Selena Gomez is an icon; there’s a reason she’s the most followed person on Instagram right now. On top of that, she makes up a lot of Gen Z’s childhood. Lots of people, including myself, remember her as Alex Russo. Others were big fans of her music growing up. She represents childhood nostalgia. Plus, in recent years, she has struggled with lupus, mental health and so much more. Her fans are especially protective of her because of just how strong she has had to be.
On the other hand, people don’t know much about Hailey Bieber. She’s a daughter of the famous Baldwin family and now she’s married to Justin Bieber, another childhood star who won people’s hearts years ago. Plus, she’s “gotten in the way” of Selena and Justin’s relationship. Jelena was everyone’s favourite couple for years, even if they were so on and off. This public obsession with their relationship has only fueled hatred for Hailey.
Truthfully, I don’t know who’s in the right. Was Selena’s post about wanting to be Bella Hadid a fun post, or was she looking for attention? Are Hailey’s stories and posts just about making a fun video with her friends or is she taking jabs at Selena? There’s plenty of alleged evidence online, but the fact is that we don’t know these people. We cannot be sure if Hailey’s bullying Selena or if anyone’s being bullied at all. What’s worse, is that in the spirit of defending their idols, fans are bullying both women. Selena is constantly being fat-shamed by people online and in the media. Hailey’s Instagram comments are also full of people making fun of her appearance.
No one likes bullies, especially when those bullies are rich and famous. But if we can’t be sure that someone is an instigator, is it fair to bully them back? This isn’t me picking sides or saying that we shouldn’t care. I do, however, think we should be mindful of the way we speak to other people online, not just Hailey or Selena. It’s always easy to forget that there are real people behind our phone screens, but it shouldn’t be. Everyone deserves to be respected but, if you absolutely must, you should kill them with kindness.