'This isn't what I stand for.' Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber unite against bullying.

The so-called 'feud' between Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber is well and truly over.

It's been all over social media and it's been very petty, but before we jump into the end, here's how it all started. 

What went down between Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber this year?

Earlier this year, Gomez uploaded an Instagram Story where she said she accidentally over-laminated her eyebrows. 

A few hours later, Kylie Jenner posted a photo of herself with the words "this was an accident???" over her brows, and then shared a screenshot of a video call between her and Hailey Bieber, zooming in on their eyebrows.

Despite all of this being innocuous, the internet read into it, which prompted Jenner to clear the air.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Comments By Celebs (@commentsbycelebs)

"This is reaching," she commented on a TikTok video analysing the videos.

"No shade towards Selena ever and I didn't see her eyebrow posts! You guys are making something out of nothing. This is silly."

"Agreed @kyliejenner," Gomez responded. "It's all unnecessary. I'm a fan of Kylie!"

Shortly after, the Only Murders in the Building actress commented on a resurfaced clip of Hailey Bieber seemingly mocking Taylor Swift. 

According to @PopCrave, Gomez wrote: "So sorry my best friend is and continues to be one of the best in the game."

Selena Gomez shows support for Taylor Swift under a resurfaced video of Hailey Bieber gagging after Taylor is mentioned. pic.twitter.com/uMl7VsgVq3

— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) February 23, 2023

Following a week of back and forth of petty passive aggressiveness that the internet ate up, Gomez announced she's taking time off social media.

"I'm very happy, I'm so blessed, I have the best friends, the best fans in the whole world, and I just couldn't be happier. And I'm good. I love the way I am. I don't care, I'm big, I'm not — I don't care. I love who I am," she said in a TikTok video before disabling her account.

"And yeah, I'm gonna be taking a second from social media, because this is a little silly. And I'm 30, I'm too old for this, so. But I love you guys so much! And I will see you guys sooner than later, I just... I'm just gonna just take a break from everything."

Selena Gomez announces she’s taking a break from social media:

“I’m gonna be taking a second from social media cause this is a little silly and I’m 30, I’m too old for this.” pic.twitter.com/LxWbSpxThj

— Pop Base (@PopBase) February 23, 2023

Back in September 2021, Hailey Bieber sat down with Alex Cooper on the Call Her Daddy podcast, where she spoke about her husband’s ex-girlfriend, Selena Gomez.

Media outlets reported that Selena Gomez responded to the comments made by Hailey in a live TikTok stream.

While promoting her Kind Words matte lipstick range from her Rare Beauty makeup brand, the singer took a moment to encourage people to be kind.

"I think some of the things that I don’t even need to be aware of are just vile and disgusting. And it’s not fair because no one ever should be spoken to in the manner that I’ve seen," she said to the camera.

"It’s incredibly ironic that I would release something that is all about kind words because that’s exactly what I want. That’s it. If you support Rare, I cannot thank you enough, but know that you are also representing what it means, and that is, words matter. Truly matter."

Selena Gomez takes to TikTok Live to send a message to fans regarding hate. pic.twitter.com/i4NfvhICyt

— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) September 30, 2022

But are these situations over the past six months really examples of a feud between the two? Or just a case of tabloids attempting to drag out the narrative of two women 'fighting' over a man. Ooft, how very original.

The internet got so involved 'picking sides' in this ridiculous online battle that within a week, by early March Hailey Bieber lost almost exactly one million followers on her Instagram account, whereas Selena gained 10 million, according to Elle.

But things didn't stop there, just last week Selena Gomez over took Kylie Jenner and made history as the first female to hit 400 million followers on Instagram, which promptly had her back on her socials thanking her fans in a tribute to them, captioning "Wishing I could hug all 400 million of you."

Whilst the sentiment is beautiful, I wonder whether Selena Gomez regrets achieving such a milestone through such negative means. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Selena Gomez (@selenagomez)

The complicated history of 'Jelena' and Hailey.

Selena Gomez was in an on-and-off relationship with Justin Bieber for eight years prior to his marriage. 

Back in 2010, they were a Disney dream couple, appealing greatly to their swathe of tween fans. However, some of these fans have had some trouble letting go of 'Jelena'... even now.

Justin dated Hailey briefly in 2016 before rekindling with Selena, but Justin and Selena were last seen together in March 2018. 

By June the same year, he was back with Hailey, and by September, the two had married each other.

Fans of Justin and Selena have piled on Hailey. Images: Getty. While Justin’s fans have ongoing sympathy for Selena, they often carry a strong hatred for Hailey, crediting her with the breakup of the iconic couple.  

So, is there any truth to the idea that Selena is ‘responding’ to the claims made by Hailey?

The 'cheating' suggestion.

In her Call Her Daddy podcast chat, Hailey iterated that Justin never cheated on anyone by being in a relationship with her, hoping that any speculation that she ‘broke up’ Selena and Justin can now be put to bed.

"I can say, point blank, I was never with him when he was in a relationship with anybody," Hailey said. 

"When him and I [sic] started hooking up, he was not ever in a relationship. Ever. At any point. It’s not my character to mess with someone’s relationship. I would never do that. I was raised better than that."

The rumours of Justin's infidelity gathered momentum when Taylor Swift - AKA Selena’s bestie - liked a post that suggested Justin had cheated on Selena. Fans took that as confirmation. 

Image: Tumblr Screenshot. 

Cue the wrath.

The 'feud' between Selena and Hailey ever since.

As we know, the tabloids and Twitterati never miss any opportunity to exaggerate/entirely invent a feud between two women in the spotlight, and that’s exactly what they did back in 2019, when what appeared to be a coincidence on Instagram was made out to be much more.

The same day Selena released the breakup track 'Lose You to Love Me', Hailey posted a screenshot of herself listening to Summer Walker’s 'I’ll Kill You', which fans immediately took as a threat to Selena.

"Please stop with this nonsense," Hailey wrote in a comment which she would later delete.

"There is no 'response'. This is complete BS," she continued - words that seem to show history only repeats itself when it comes to these two women and the aspersions cast onto their actions.

Selena actually came to Hailey’s defence in a video she posted to fans.

"I am grateful for the response the song is getting… However, I do not stand for women tearing women down. And I will never, ever be by that. So, please be kind to everyone," she said.

"It doesn’t matter what the situation is. If you’re my fan, don’t be rude to anybody, please. Don’t go off and say things that you feel in the moment. And just please, from me, know that that’s not my heart," she continued.

@haileybieber

this is for you guys in my comments every single time I post

♬ original sound - Hailey Bieber

Everything we know about Selena and Hailey’s relationship.

While there may not be much love lost between these two women, enough has been said to dispel any 'feud' rumours.

Hailey said on Call Her Daddy that the pair had spoken after her wedding to Justin.

"I know that we are so far moved on from any sort of drama, and I am so happy for that," she shared. "That’s why I get nervous talking about it, because I don’t want to stir up any drama."

"She doesn't owe me anything. Neither of us owe anybody anything except respect. I respect her a lot," she said of Selena.

With those words coming straight from Hailey herself, as well as Selena’s many pleas to her fans to "be kind" and to not tear other women down, there’s not a lot of space left for us to speculate. 

But it seems if the fans are given an inch, they’ll run a mile. 

Whether it’s Hailey mentioning that marriage is 'hard' (of course it is, ask any married person), or Selena asking for kindness (she asks for it all the time, it’s literally a coincidence that Hailey spoke about her this week), it seems there will always be a group of people desperate to squeeze any kind of meaning out of their words - whether it’s the media or the fans.

The problem is: it's dangerous. 

Hailey has spoken extensively on the toll it has taken on her mental health.

As recently as April of 2022, she took to TikTok to beg people to leave her alone.

Captioning the post "this is for you guys in my comments every single time I post," Hailey simply spoke to the camera.

"Enough time has gone by that it’s valid to leave me alone, I beg of you, truly, that’s my only request - leave me alone," she said.

And it finally seems like Hailey has finally had enough. 

Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber unite to stop cyberbullying.

Despite Selena's attempt to push her message of kindness, her fans have minds of their own. To support their favourite star, the online hate Hailey has been receiving has reached tipping point.

Hailey personally reached out to Selena to let her know she's been receiving terrifying death threats. 

"This isn't what I stand for. No one should have to experience hate or bullying," Selena wrote in her Instagram story. 

"I've always advocated for kindness and really want this all to stop ♥️."

Image: Instagram @selenagomez

A few hours later, Hailey responded in the like on her own Instagram stories. 

"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," she wrote.

"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."

Hailey also touched on the original eyebrow drama that acted as the catalyst for this whole thing. 

"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 see each other with more empathy and compassion."

Image: Instagram @haileybieber

After the Instagram stories went live, Selena and Hailey followed each other on Instagram. Which means all is well in the world again, right?

This article was written on October 1, 2022, and has been updated with new information since.

Feature Image: Instagram @selenagomez/@haileybieber

Do you find yourself frequently glued to your phone or the internet? Take our survey now and you’ll go in the running to win a $100 gift voucher!

TAKE SURVEY ➤