By: AMAYA HENRY / CHIEF ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, by now you’ve heard of the Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber drama. If not, here’s a shortened breakdown of the fiasco.
To see the full details of the alleged back-and-forth shots between Hailey and Selena that has been seemingly going on for years, check out Buzzfeed writer, Natasha Jokic’s, story, “Here’s Why Fans Think Hailey Bieber Has Been Shading Selena Gomez On Social Media For Years.”
Over the course of eight years Selena Gomez and heart throb Justin Bieber had an on-again off-again relationship. Although this relationship had its ups and its downs, fans fell in love with the duo, even giving them the ship name “Jelena.”
The two finally split in May 2018 and by September of that same year Justin had proposed to and married Hailey Baldwin, now Hailey Bieber. There was a lot of speculation at the time about how quickly Hailey and Justin’s relationship was advancing.
The couple opened up about their first year of marriage as Justin stated, “The first year of marriage was really tough because there was a lot going back to the trauma. There was just a lack of trust.”
Adding on to that Hailey added, “I made a decision. I know for a fact that I’ve loved this person for a very long time and now would not be the time to give up on him. I just wouldn’t do that to him.”
With the Biebers going through the intricacies of marriage and Selena and Hailey posing together in Oct. 2022 at the Academy Museum’s annual gala, sending the internet into a frenzy, things seemed to be going well. Or so we thought.
Then came the laminated eyebrows. Yes, this all started with laminated eyebrows.
Selena posted a TikTok, that has since been deleted, showing how she over lamented her eyebrows. Kylie Jenner then jumped into the mix posting on her Instagram story a selfie of her eyebrows with text saying, “this was an accident ?????”
Kylie followed that story post with another story post. This one was a screenshot of her and Hailey’s eyebrows via a Facetime call, which Hailey then reposted on her Instagram story.
When a fan called Kylie out in a TikTok video
she commented, “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 then chimed in agreeing with Kylie as she commented, “Agreed @kyliejenner It’s all unnecessary. I’m a fan of Kylie.”
Things seemed to have been sorted out until a TikTok of Hailey pretending to gag when Taylor Swift’s album was mentioned. Taylor and Selena have been friends since they were both dating members of the Jonas Brothers band all the way back in 2008.
Selena backed up her best friend for over a decade by commenting, “So sorry, my best friend is and continues to be one of the best in the game.”
Shortly after this Selena took to Instagram live and announced that she was taking a social media break.
This prompted fans to go on a deep dive into Selena and Hailey’s relationship by looking back at old interviews and videos to see if there was anything there to uncover. And boy, was there.
Through various pictures and videos over the years, fans believe that Hailey has been copying Selena for years. From tattoos to their cooking show, there’s a lot to uncover.
Exhibit A: The J Tattoo
Hailey got a J tattoo on her ring finger that looks identical to the J ring that Justin gave Selena as a promise ring back in 2012.
Exhibit B: The G Tattoo
Selena got a lowercase cursive g tattoo behind her left ear in 2015 for her baby sister Gracie who was born in 2013. Interestingly enough, just 12 days after Selena was first seen with her tattoo Hailey also revealed a lowercase g tattoo in the same font and in the same place as Selena.
However, she detailed that her tattoo is in honor of her pastor’s daughter Georgia who was diagnosed with a rare brain cancer called lissencephaly.
Exhibit C: The Cooking Show
When fans displayed Selena’s cooking show titled Selena + Chef that she launched in 2020 on HBO Max next to Hailey’s cooking show What’s In My Kitchen that she launched in 2022 on YouTube, there are some noticeable similarities.
From the clothes they wear to the way their videos are edited and even their mannerisms are similar.
In an episode of her cooking show Selena stated, “This is my real home. Everything we’re doing is at home. This is my amazing kitchen which is the set.” On Hailey’s cooking show she stated, “Yes, we actually are in my real kitchen in my real house. This is not a set.” Notice the similarity?
Exhibit D: Makeup Lines
On Feb. 4 2020 Selena announced on Instagram that her makeup line, “Rare Beauty,” would be launching in Sephora during the summer of 2020. Six months later on Aug. 4, 2020, Selena provided additional details stating that in addition to Sephora, “Rare Beauty” would also be launching on RareBeauty.com on Sept. 3, 2020.
In February 2021, TMZ reported that Hailey trademarked a title for a beauty and skincare brand named “Rhode.” It wasn’t until Nov. 2021 that she revealed that she was in fact starting a makeup line.
On June 8, 2022, Hailey announced on Instagram that she would be launching her own line, “Rhode,” just a week later on June 15.
As many celebrities start their own makeup and skin care lines, like Kylie Jenner, Rihanna, and Lady Gaga to name a few. Both of them starting makeup lines isn’t what’s intriguing fans. It’s the proximity to when the launches occurred.
In an interview with Elle magazine Hailey detailed that she started working on Rhode “since the very beginning of the pandemic” which would be February 2020 which was coincidentally when Selena announced the launching of “Rare Beauty.”
Exhibits E-L: Other Strange Coincidences
After Selena and her long time makeup artist, Hung Vanngo, posted with each other. Hailey then got her makeup done and posted with the same makeup artist.
Hailey hired the same nail tech that Selena used. For her wedding. To Justin.
Selena stated that the first CD and concert that she ever attended was the iconic Britney Spears. Hailey revealed that the first concert she ever attended was also Britney Spears.
Selena brought her grandfather on her cooking show to cook one of her favorite dishes. Hailey brings her grandmother on her cooking show to cook one of her favorite dishes.
Selena was noted saying that she wanted people to “know her heart.” In an interview Hailey stated that same thing, almost word for word.
Selena posted a video on Instagram about how she was struggling with her mental health. A month later, Hailey posted a TikTok about struggling with her mental health.
Vogue invited Selena to be a part of a series they have where celebrities look at their fashion looks throughout the years on YouTube on June 8, 2021. On Aug. 25, 2021 Hailey uploaded her own video to YouTube going through her own fashion fails.
In addition to highlighting their fashion fails, the two have been spotted wearing the same clothes.
It should be noted that since this feud ensued, Hailey Bieber and Kylie Jenner have lost over 800,000 followers and Selena Gomez has gained 10 million followers, making her the most followed woman on Instagram, taking over Kylie Jenner.
Hailey and her friends have been dubbed as “mean girls” who have been known to bully others.
While these comparisons and coincidences have been noticed, as Selena stated, “Please, please be kinder and consider others mental health. My heart has been heavy, and I only want good for everyone. All my love.”