Gomez and Swift at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards, February 2016. Jim Smeal/Shutterstock
She keeps her side of the street clean. Selena Gomez threw her support behind BFF Taylor Swift after footage resurfaced of Hailey Bieber (née Baldwin) seemingly dissing the pop star.
In a clip shared via TikTok, Bieber, 26, pretended to gag after Swift, 33, was mentioned by Drop the Mic cohost Method Man. As the New York native, 51, teased “a one-on-one rap battle full of the meanest lyrics about a celebrity since Taylor Swift’s last album,” the model stuck out her tongue and rolled her eyes.
The social media user who uploaded the video claimed Bieber was a “mean girl” and a “bully,” including snake emojis in the caption. Gomez, 30, proceeded to defend the “Dear John” singer in the comments section.
“So sorry, my best friend is and continues to be one of the best in the game,” the Only Murders in the Building actress wrote on Thursday, February 23.
Courtesy TIkTok
Gomez and Swift have been a dynamic duo ever since their respective relationships with Nick Jonas and Joe Jonas in 2008. The women have been each other’s fiercest supporters in the spotlight, with the former Disney Channel star even referring to Swift as her “only friend” in Hollywood.
“I never fit in with a cool group of girls that were celebrities,” the Rare Beauty founder told Rolling Stone in a November 2022 interview. “My only friend in the industry really is Taylor [Swift], so I remember feeling like I didn’t belong.”
The “Mirrorball” artist, meanwhile, explained to the Wall Street Journal in January 2020 that she feels protective of Gomez. “I knew from when I met her I would always have her back,” she said at the time. “In my life, I have the ability to forgive people who have hurt me. But I don’t know if I can forgive someone who hurts her.”
While Gomez and Swift are thick as thieves, the Spring Breakers star’s history with Bieber is more rocky. The Arizona native got engaged to Justin Bieber in July 2018, four months after he and Gomez split for good. (The musicians dated on and off from December 2010 to March 2018.)
The “Baby” artist, 28, and Hailey exchanged vows at a New York City courthouse in late 2018, hosting a second wedding ceremony in South Carolina one year later. During a September 2022 appearance on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, Hailey clarified the timeline of her whirlwind engagement and marriage.
“It’s hard for me to talk about this because I don’t want to talk on either one of their behalf because it was their relationship,” she confessed. “I honestly respect that very deeply. … As a woman, I would never want to get into a relationship with someone and be engaged to them and be getting married to them and think in the back of my mind, ‘I wonder if that was really closed for you.’ I know for a fact that the reason we were able to get back together was because it was very much completely closed.”
Hailey asserted that she wanted to set the record straight once and for all. “A lot of the hate and perpetuation comes from [people thinking], like, ‘Oh, you stole him,’” she added, emphasizing that she wanted fans to know the “truth” about the two relationships. “I think it was the best thing that could have happened for him to move on and be engaged and get married and move on with his life in that way.”
The skincare guru later revealed that she and Gomez have spoken since her wedding to Justin. “That’s why I’m like, it’s all respect, it’s all love,” she said. “That’s also why I feel like 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.”
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One month after the bombshell interview, Hailey and the “Wolves” artist snapped a photo together at the annual gala for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. When asked whether there was any drama between her and her ex’s wife in November 2022, Gomez insisted to Vulture, “It’s not even a thing.”