When celebrities have public feuds, meltdowns, falls, or anything else that makes them seem just a teensy bit more human, it’s hard not to stop and stare. There’s something reassuring in seeing a famous person stumble down the red carpet and, in effect, stumble off the pedestal we hold them up on. But when they start digging up secret dirt on each other, it can all take an ugly turn.
As evidenced by earlier posts when Justin Bieber asked fans to respect him when he doesn’t want to take a photo, Justin is still clearly struggling to deal with the demands of fame. (Since his music originally started charting when he was just a young teen, it’s not surprising.) He recently posted an Instagram with the caption, “I’m gonna make my Instagram private if you guys don’t stop the hate this is getting out of hand, if you guys are really fans you wouldn’t be so mean to people that I like.”
This brings up the age-old question of whether or not celebrities “owe” their fans anything beyond their music (or movies, or television shows, or fashion/cosmetics lines, etc.), since they’re technically only successful because of said fans. Selena Gomez supposedly popped into Justin’s Instagram comments to add her own thoughts on the matter, with people screen-grabbing the words before they got lost amongst thousands of other comments: “If you can’t handle the hate then stop posting pictures of your girlfriend lol -it should be special between you two only. Don’t be mad at your fans. They love you.”
Selena even went so far as to post this collage of photos with her fans on Instagram, a thinly veiled jab at Justin.
Not one to stay quiet, Justin apparently replied to Selena’s comment, saying, “I’m not for anyone receiving hate. Hope u all can be kind to my friends and eachother. And yes I love my beliebers.” He also added, “It’s funny to see people that used me for attention and still try to point the finger this way. Sad. All love.”
There are rumors that Selena replied again, throwing around cheating accusations, but due to the high volume of comments on Justin’s post, it’s entirely possible that the accusations were Photoshopped.
While many may grab the popcorn, sit back, and watch the feud roll on, sometimes it’s hard not to cringe a bit when celebrities air their dirty laundry on social media. Most fans want an intimate, behind-the-scenes look into their favorites’ lives, but is throwing shade like this just a little too personal? And it begs the questions: is it drama just for headline’s sake, as many feel about Taylor Swift and her revolving door of relationships?