Hailey Bieber and Selena Gomez find common ground in promoting love and kindness over hostility.
The weeks-long online drama surrounding the two Hollywood figures finally came to a conclusion after both parties released their official statements on Instagram on March 24, 2023 (PST).
Selena was the first to break the ice, when she asked her followers to put an end to all the hate being thrown around, especially towards Hailey.
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She wrote (published as is): "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. No one should have to experience hate or bullying.
"I've always advocated for kindness and really want this all to stop."
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More than the netizens, it was Hailey who showed her appreciation for the 30-year-old pop singer the most for coming to her defense.
The 26-year-old model's lengthy IG story read: "I want to thank Selena for speaking out, as her and I have been discussing the last few weeks how to move past this ongoing narrative between her and I.
"The last few weeks have been very hard for everyone involved and millions of people are seeing so much hate around this which is extremely harmful.
"While social media is an incredible way to connect and build community, moments like this only create extreme division instead of bringing people together.
"Things can always be taken out of context or construed differently than they were intended.
"We all need to be more thoughtful about what we post and what we say, including myself.
"In the end, I believe love will always be bigger than hate and negativity, and there is always an opportunity to meet each other with more empathy and compassion."
What got fans more giddy was that they began following each other on the platform, shortly after posting their statements.
FEUD SPECULATIONS TIMELINE
Selena and Hailey have both been in high-profile relationships with pop star Justin Bieber—the latter's husband since 2018—which had since been enough reason for social media to pit the two against each other on many occasions.
BODYSHAMING ALLEGATIONS
It all started with a TikTok user's analysis that Hailey, along with best friends Kendall Jenner and Justin Skye, were taking a dig at Selena's weight.
Around the same time in January when paparazzi body-shamed Selena, the trio uploaded a video of themselves lip-synching to a popular TikTok audio which sounds "And I'm not saying she deserved it, but I'm saying God's timing is always right."
Fans became furious at the three models, prompting Selena to comment under the TikTok user's post, assuring, "It's ok! I don't let these things get me down! Be nice to everyone! x."
Before the issue completely died down, Selena and Hailey were caught in yet another fiasco—this time involving Kylie Jenner.
THROWING SHADE AT SELENA'S EYEBROWS
On February 22, 2023, the Lose You To Love Me singer expressed how much she wishes to be as pretty as supermodel Bella Hadid, another friend in Hailey's circle and Gigi Hadid's younger sister.
A succeeding video showed Selena apologizing for accidentally laminating her eyebrows too much.
Later on, Kylie and Hailey took a snapshot of their video call, showing only their eyebrows.
The makeup mogul then went to post another story with a question written over her eyebrows, "this was an accident ?????"
In the wake of the drama, Kylie was dethroned as the most followed woman on IG, after she and Hailey each lost a huge number of social media followers.
Selena, meanwhile, increased her Instagram following by over 15 million users, making her the new titleholder.
When fans called Kylie and Hailey out for being bullies, Selena stood up for them by telling her fans, "Thank you and love you all so much. I'm deeply grateful for each and everyone of you humans. You make me unbelievably happy.
"Please, please be kinder and consider others mental health. My heart has been heavy and I only want good for everyone. All my love."
It didn't take long for Kylie to shut down the rumors when she wrote under a TikTok video criticizing her, "This is reaching. No shade towards selena ever and I didn’t see her eyebrow posts! u guys are making something out of nothing. this is silly."
Selena chimed in, "Agreed @kyliejenner It’s all unnecessary. I’m a fan of Kylie!"
FAN WARS
In the middle of all these, netizens won't stop pointing out who among the two is more obssessed with the other, referencing posts that imply Selena and Hailey copy each other way too often to be a coincidence.
Hailey's fans insist that Selena just can't move on from Justin, while Selena's fans can't stop assuming that Justin does not actually love Hailey, based on his recent behavior.
In any case, the two have finally dispelled the last of speculations that they are still bitter towards each other.
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