In February, Hailey Bieber and Selena Gomez’s long-rumored feud erupted on social media once again.
The two stars have been pitted as rivals ever since 2018, when Hailey married Justin Bieber just six months after he’d split from Selena following a seven-year on-again off-again relationship.
Ever since, both Selena and Hailey have had their every move scrutinized by fans and they regularly face accusations of throwing shade at one another online.
But the situation reached a whole new level earlier this year, when Hailey faced relentless backlash after she and her friend Kylie Jenner were accused of ridiculing Selena.
The two were branded “mean girls,” and it wasn’t long before fans noticed that Selena was sending love to fans on TikTok who had uploaded videos that called out Hailey’s behavior towards her.
It was also noted that while Selena insisted that there was no drama between her and Kylie, she did not say the same about Hailey.
While Selena did end up deactivating her TikTok account amid the fallout, it was Hailey who faced the brunt of the negative response. Selena’s fans started to circulate receipts that showed Hailey as a Justin super fan who had been obsessed with his and Selena’s relationship before she started dating him.
They then reposted embarrassing videos of Hailey and Justin together after getting married, subjecting the model to harsh ridicule. Her birthday tribute to Justin on March 1 was also flooded with cruel comments as she lost nearly a million Instagram followers.
A week later, Justin was heckled by a crowd chanting “fuck Hailey” when he made a surprise appearance at a music festival.
While Hailey put on a brave face online and continued posting as usual without acknowledging the nasty discourse around her, it later became apparent that it was impacting her behind the scenes.
On March 24, Selena revealed that Hailey had privately reached out to her after receiving death threats from her fans. At this point, Selena took it upon herself to address the “bullying” in an Instagram Story.
She told followers: “Hailey Bieber reached out to me and let me know that she has been receiving death threats and such hateful negativity.”
“This isn’t what I stand for,” Selena added. “No one should have to experience hate or bullying. I’ve always advocated for kindness and really want this all to stop.”
This appeared to settle things for a time. However, on Monday it was Hailey’s turn to repay the favor as she called on her followers to stop leaving “mean or rude comments” on her behalf.
While she didn’t mention Selena by name, it was obvious that her impassioned Instagram story was a response to Selena’s latest post being filled with cruel comments.
Earlier in the day, the former Disney star had shared three photos of herself wearing a Christian Dior jumper while surrounded by mirrors.
In the caption, she simply credited the photographer and wrote: “Crazy about you paris,” but it still triggered fierce backlash.
Selena’s post was flooded with thinly-veiled jibes that alluded to her feud with Hailey, which included accusations of her causing “senseless drama” for “clout,” and branding her the “master of manipulation.”
Others nastily said that Justin left her “for a reason,” while Hailey was name-checked as fans praised her for liking Selena’s post — although at the time of writing, this is not the case.
“Queen Hailey liked. But Selena never likes a post of Hailey. Now i realized who is the mean🤭,” one comment read. Another echoed: “Hailey liked the picture❤️ she is so mature. Try to be like her and stop being jealous.”
While it’s unknown whether Selena reached out to Hailey privately about the situation or if Hailey noticed it by chance, she called her fans off in a post to her story.
“If you’re leaving mean or rude comments on my behalf on anyone’s posts just know that I don’t want that, nor do I ever or will I ever support or condone hateful, mean, or nasty comments,” she wrote.
“Doing that is not supporting me.. If you are participating in that you are part of a culture that I want no part of,” Hailey went on. “Please be nice or don’t say anything.”
This year’s drama between Hailey and Selena kicked off just four months after the two women posed for photos together at an event in October.
