Why are we obsessed with pitting Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber against each other?

This month we saw an ongoing feud, we all know and love at this point resurface. Once again, the internet has gone mad over Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber. With this battle that's gone on for years at this point, there comes a time when we must ask ourselves, why are we, as this generation, obsessed with pitting successful women against each other? That time is now.

Where did it all begin?  If you’ve been living under a rock or are just completely uninterested in online drama between privileged people (you’re probably right to be), then you mightn’t know why the internet is seemingly all divided between team Selena and team Hailey. Cast your mind back to 2010, back to the days of skinny jeans and bad dip-dye hairstyles, Selena Gomez began dating a younger man, Canadian superstar Justin Bieber. The pair showcased their relationship like no celeb couple would dare to today, probably because of this drama. They dated for a few years on and off with very memorable paparazzi pictures and performances to remember them by and eventually called it quits in 2018. 

Less than a year later, he was married to Hailey. The Biebers have now been married four years and while they appear to be the perfect couple on Instagram, they have somehow never managed to escape the drama from bedevilled Jelena fans (Justin and Selena’s ship name)

The latest of said drama comes as a result of Selena being body shamed back in January after she was photographed in a bikini in Mexico. Shortly after Mrs. Bieber posted a TikTok with bestie Kendall Jenner lip syncing to an audio that said “I’m not saying she deserves it, but I’m saying God’s timing is always right.” The video was deleted shortly after, it didn’t take people long to figure it out. That seemed to be that and everyone moved on, until the Lose you to love me singer posted a video informing her followers that she accidentally over laminated her eyebrows. Now I know you’re probably thinking how on earth could there be drama over brows, but when it comes to this pair, there's nothing too ridiculous. The same day Selena shared her brow story, Kylie Jenner shared an Instagram story with a selfie and a caption that read “This was an accident????” Something to note is, the internet is convinced that each woman has a clique or an army of bullies in Hailey’s case.  If things weren’t suspicious enough, the Kylie Cosmetics CEO then shared a screenshot of a Facetime call with Hailey, where they had both zoomed into their eyebrows. Naturally, Selena’s fans took this as a dig and ran with it. Things became so heated that Gomez then announced she was taking time away from social media stating “I’m too old for this.” Later, Jenner addressed the rumours, declaring in response to the popular video that the public's thoughts were baseless. “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.” Not long after, Hailey was encircled with online abuse, on all platforms and lost over a million followers on Instagram, as did Kylie Jenner. Things went as far as #cancelhaileybieber trending on social media. Jenner has since announced a new mascara product that is to be released on her cosmetics shop, which aligns with the zoomed in screenshot of their eyes.

You may be confused as to why these women appear to be bashing each other online, surely Bieber fever isn’t so strong it could create all of this?  You’d be right, on the surface, while it may seem the pair are competing over Justin, or that the fans are just defending their idols, what it really comes down to is societal misogyny. 

This generation lives for drama, there’s no denying that. We see all of these celebs in Hollywood with their supposedly perfect filtered lives and we can’t stand it, so when things go to crap, we take pleasure in it. We see that things aren’t as they seem and whether it’s a fallout, a breakup or just plain celeb nonsense, we still view it as privileged problems, so we feed on it for our entertainment. 

Whether in the open or in intimate situations, women have always been pitted against one another. Female rivalry is a very effective tool for those who want to maintain the patriarchy.  Gomez and Bieber appeared to have mended their relationship back in October when they were photographed together at an event. The image spread like wildfire with people saying “the world has healed.” Apparently, that bandage didn’t last too long. In the same month, Bieber appeared in an episode of the popular podcast Call Her Daddy, where she had an honest conversation with Alex Cooper about how strenuous the past few years have been on her considering all of the hate she’s received for simply marrying a single man. She went on to say that, “I understand, again, how it looks from the outside. When he and I ever started hooking up or anything of that sort, 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.” Hailey also addressed the fact that she has been in contact with Selena since marrying Justin and that on their end there was no bad blood, "It's all respect,” she added. “It’s all love. That’s why if everybody on our side knows what happened and we’re good and we could walk away from it with clarity and respect, then that’s fine.”

Nobody’s even sure what they want out of this rivalry, sure some would thrive seeing Jelena back together, but the majority are just along for the ride. Perhaps because of the speed at which Justin had dated, proposed and married Hailey (formerly Baldwin), fans are convinced he never really got over Gomez and that his now wife is a rebound. 

The narrative that these women can’t simply move on and respect one another isn’t something that should come as a shock, especially when we think of celebs, but there are always women gracious enough to support and uplift their peers.  Just last month, we saw Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow reunite in appreciation of Courtney Cox. Their words proved that there’s a lot to be said for women’s empowerment, as opposed to competing. Aniston and Kudrow said “We’re very honoured to be here today to speak on your behalf as your co-workers, your friends, and your family – your sisters. Courteney, we just want to say that we are deeply, deeply proud to know you. You are the definition of a truly beautiful, talented, and, what’s most important, a truly good and decent human being… Thank you for enriching our lives personally.” 

It would be incredibly easy for me to sit here, as a man and say that this whole drama is laughable. That girls will be girls and will always find something to feud about, but that narrative is tiresome and really hasn’t got us very far. So, instead can we please take this internet obsession of victim vs villain for what it really is, toxic femininity. Tearing women down, whether that be a man or another female is not okay in this day and age. In the grand scheme of things, there is and never was a victim or a villain. Gomez dated someone, and considering the fact they broke up multiple times surely calls into question whether they were a ‘perfect’ couple. They went their separate ways, so why can’t the internet follow suit?  The 30 year old singer has been in relationships since that break up and is now rumoured to be dating Zayn Malik. As for Hailey, the absurd amount of online abuse she has received in the past four years is enough to make anyone want to become a recluse but instead she has maintained an unbothered attitude which is admirable. We can only hope these two successful women get some peace in the near future.