Hailey Bieber condemns ‘made up’ feud with Selena Gomez as ‘vile, disgusting hatred’

Model says: ‘This is not about this pitting between two women, it’s about the vile, disgusting hatred that can come from completely made-up and twisted, and perpetuated narratives’

Chelsea Ritschel
New York
Friday 30 June 2023 23:00 BST
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Related: Three moments that make Selena Gomez fans claim Hailey Bieber copies her word-for-word

Hailey Bieber has condemned the “made up” rumours of a feud between herself and Selena Gomez, with the model calling out the “vile, disgusting hatred” behind the narrative.

The Rhode Skin founder, 26, addressed the rumoured feud during an appearance on Bloomberg’s The Circuit on Thursday, where she was asked about the situation by host Emily Chang.

In response, Bieber said she doesn’t think that the feud claims are “about” her and Gomez, but rather “perpetuated narratives,” which she said can be “dangerous”.

“I don’t think that this is about me, Hailey Bieber, and Selena Gomez,” she said. “This is not about this pitting between two women - it’s about the vile, disgusting hatred that can come from completely made-up and twisted, and perpetuated narratives that can be really dangerous.”

Bieber then expressed her belief that the opportunity is a chance to push to bring people together, as she reiterated that she is “not okay” with the “division”.

“And I think that it’s an opportunity to really stand for bringing people together and not being okay with the kind of division that it caused, because I’m not okay with [it],” she continued. “I don’t like this whole idea of team this person and team this person.

“I want to be able to bring people together and I think that it was a really important moment for people to see that you can do that and it doesn’t have to be about this whole divisive nature.”

The model also shared her disappointment with the narrative that she and Gomez are feuding “because of a man,” with Bieber telling Chang that she “hates” it.

Rumours of a feud have long plagued the women as a result of their respective relationships with Justin Bieber. The pop star and Gomez dated on and off again from 2010 to 2018 before the “Baby” singer married Hailey Bieber in 2018.

“I hate it,” Bieber said of the “frustrating old narrative,” before adding: “I’ve hated it since the beginning and it goes back to being misunderstood. Time and time again I say there is no issue and it’s so disappointing that people still behave this way over a man.”

The model then called out TikTok as being one of the places where the rumours have thrived, with Bieber telling Chang that the platform can be “nasty” and “negative”.

This is not the first time that Bieber and Gomez have had to shut down rumours of a feud, as the Only Murders in the Building star took to Instagram in March to plead with fans to stop sending death threats to Bieber.

“Hailey Bieber reached out to me and let me know that she has been receiving death threats and such hateful negativity,” Gomez wrote at the time, adding: “This isn’t what I stand for. No one should have to experience hate or bullying. I’ve always advocated for kindness and really want this to all stop.”

Bieber later thanked Gomez for releasing the statement on her own Instagram, where she acknowledged that the rumours had been “very hard for everyone involved”.

“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,” she wrote. “While social media is an incredible way to connect and build community, moments like this only create extreme division instead of bringing people together.”

While speaking with Chang, Bieber said that, throughout the difficult situation, she has been able to find comfort in her own content, which she has “control over.” and her skincare brand.

“I don’t want silly made-up drama to affect what I’m focusing and working on,” she said. “There’s narratives that exist for me that really hurt my feelings and make me really upset.”

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