Hailey Bieber set off a little drama this weekend. A TikToker, who goes by the handle @courtneypresto, claimed that the model liked one of her TikToks in which she expressed disgust over Selena Gomez and fiancé Benny Blanco’s recent Interview magazine shoot. The “like” created speculation that Hailey was looking at Selena Gomez hate content.
Hailey’s rep released a statement to shut that down. The spokesperson told Us Weekly, “This never happened. This entire story has been fabricated by a content creator looking to capitalize off of an old, tired narrative.”
After the TikToker’s initial post about Hailey went viral, she shared another one where she provided screenshots of Hailey’s alleged like. She explained that, when she first received a notification that Hailey liked the video, she’d also been skeptical. She went back to check if it was actually Hailey’s official account and took time-stamped screenshots seemingly confirming it was.
This isn’t the first time that Hailey has been linked to Gomez content online. Historically, the women have been connected because Gomez was in a years-long on-off relationship with Hailey’s husband, Justin Bieber, that ended in March 2018. The Biebers, who were on-off then too, began dating again in June 2018. They got engaged that July and married in September 2018. They’ve been together ever since and welcomed their first child, son Jack, in August 2024.
Gomez has also long moved on and is very happy with her fiancé, Blanco.
Some online, however, are still fascinated by their relationship. Over the years, they’ve noticed Hailey and Gomez interacting with content about one another. In November 2018, Hailey was caught briefly following, and then unfollowing, a Selena Gomez Instagram fan account called @houseofsel. Hailey DM’d the owner “so sorry,” making it clear it was an accidental move. She has also periodically liked Instagrams of Gomez over the years to show support, including ELLE’s September 2021 cover of Gomez.
Things took a negative turn in February 2023, when fans started revisiting Hailey and Gomez’s history and questioned whether Hailey and Kylie Jenner had posted a shady Instagram about Gomez’s eyebrows. The weeks-long TikTok commentary led both Gomez and Hailey to release statements, asking users to stop the hateful remarks.
Gomez wrote on her Instagram Story, “Hailey Bieber reached out to me and let me know that she has been receiving death threats and such hateful negativity. 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 all to stop. ♥️”
And Hailey wrote on hers:
I want to thank Selena for speaking out, as her and I have been discussing the last few weeks how to move past this ongoing narrative between her and I.
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. While social media is an incredible way to connect and build community, moments like this only create extreme division instead of bringing people together.
Things can always be taken out of context or construed differently than they were intended. We all need to be more thoughtful about what we post and what we say, including myself.
In the end, I believe love will always be bigger than hate and negativity, and there is always an opportunity to meet each other with more empathy and compassion.
In June 2023, Hailey spoke on The Circuit With Emily Chang about how upsetting the online commentary was. “I don’t think that this is about me, Hailey Bieber, and Selena Gomez—this is not about this pitting between two women and division between two women,” she said. “It’s about the vile, disgusting hatred that can come from completely made-up and twisted and perpetuated narratives. That can be really dangerous.”
She thought her and Gomez’s statements signaled a positive step forward. “I don’t like this whole idea of Team This Person and Team This Person. I’m just not about that,” Hailey said. “I want to be able to bring people together. I think that was a really important moment for people to see that you can do that. And you can bring people together, and it doesn’t have to be about this divisive nature.”
