Recently, the internet has gotten front-row seats to the catfight of the decade. From exchanges on TikTok to full-on allegations, “catfight” might not be the best word to describe endless internet backstabbing–in many cases, it is nothing but bullying. This ethical dilemma is between Model Hailey Bieber (formerly known as Hailey Baldwin, who is now Justin Bieber’s wife) and actress and singer Selena Gomez. 

Although the exchanges between Gomez and Bieber weren’t always pleasant as portrayed by the media, most of the drama was pretty low profile. That is, until recently, when TikTok threw fuel at the decade-long drama, causing Gomez, one who never really responded to shade, to respond to the ongoing bullying. 

However, the timeline of events wasn’t always clean-cut. It all started in 2011, when Hailey Bieber and Selena Gomez were on fairly good terms; the always-dynamic Hailey was the fan and Selena was the idol. Tweets were dug up of Hailey posting her undying love for #Jelena, the name of Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez who were dating at the time. Her tweets included, “I’m for sure 100% team #Jelena,” and “I don’t care what anyone says, but Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez together is the definition of a teenage dream!”

Quickly enough, in 2014, things started to change. It is claimed that Hailey Bieber’s friends, Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner, and Kylie Jenner devised a plan on Selena’s Glamour New Year’s Trip, whilst Selena and Justin were dating, to give Hailey a chance to make moves on Justin. This was uncovered when Kylie Jenner saved a TikTok video that essentially exposed the breakdown of the trip and their mischievous plan.

This trip, coupled with Hailey Bieber, Kendall Jenner, and Kylie Jenner’s constant mocking of Selena Gomez, caused the internet to label them as “mean girls.” An example includes when Gomez was body-shamed by paparazzi pictures, to which Hailey Bieber posted a Tik-Tok alongside Kendall Jenner, saying, “I’m not saying she deserved it, but I’m saying God’s timing is always right.” Hailey tried to claim it was innocent fun before deleting the video but Selena herself commented, “It’s okay! I don’t let these things get me down! Be nice to everyone!” However, Hailey’s video could be seen as a coincidence, if it was an isolated incident. Earlier this year, Kylie Jenner and Hailey Bieber posted a story that fans speculate was made in mockery of Selena Gomez’s “over-laminated eyebrows.” 

However, Hailey’s hard yet controversial effort worked and Justin and Hailey dated for about a year from 2016-2017, before publicly ending things with each other. This is when Justin and Selena started to get back in touch and even dating; however, soon enough in December of 2017, Hailey and Justin started to talk again despite him being in a relationship with Selena. This ultimately caused Selena and Justin to end their 8-year on-and-off relationship in 2018. Two months after their split, Hailey Bieber and Justin Bieber announced their marriage, which obviously caused fans to realize that their relationship dramatically intertwined with Selena and Justin’s relationship. 

The rocky results of Hailey Bieber and Justin Bieber’s relationship only fueled how much support fans gave Selena, especially after accusation upon accusation of constant bullying. It got to a point where Selena herself felt the need to speak up.  A resurfaced video of Hailey Bieber gagging after mentioning Taylor Swift’s name caused Gomez to respond with “so sorry, my best friend is and continues to be one of the best in the game.” Selena’s response gave fans all the proof they needed that Hailey Bieber and Selena were not on good terms, the reason being Bieber and her friends’ constant shaming of Selena. 

The results of this drama have not been pretty for the dubbed “mean girls.” Kylie Jenner has lost over 1 million followers, and Hailey and Kendall have lost a significant amount as well. A sign that the internet favors Selena’s side significantly is seen within the number considering she has gained over 15 million followers since the incident. 

It is safe to say that the internet isn’t talking kindly to how Hailey Bieber bashes Selena, with comments including “Selena just needs to post Hailey’s old Jelena tweets and that picture of her holding up the magazine, time to pick up the weapons you fight with.”