The internet is no stranger to the celebrity drama. With outlets like TMZ and E!, people can get their daily dose of the wild and shocking lives of their favorite stars. Former Disney Channel star and singer Selena Gomez has been the face of such news for a few weeks now regarding drama between her, Hailey Bieber and Kylie Jenner.
But honestly, who cares? Why do we care so much about the lives of strangers? Why do we get so invested in drama between grown adults? It’s hard to turn away, as it can be seen as some form of entertainment, but people on the internet have been taking this drama way too far.
It all started when Gomez posted a TikTok commenting on the fact that she laminates her brows too much. Just hours later, Jenner posted a photo to her Instagram story with text above her eyebrows reading, “this was an accident ?????”
Fans were quick to tie the two posts together, claiming that Jenner was shading Gomez. To settle the drama, Jenner wrote under a TikTok post that seemed to villainize her, “this is reaching. no shade towards selena ever and i didn’t see her eyebrow posts! u guys are making something out of nothing. this is silly.”
Gomez allegedly responded saying, “Agreed @kyliejenner. It’s all unnecessary. I’m a fan of Kylie!” But Jenner was not the only celebrity getting hate at this point. Fans were attacking Hailey Bieber for her years’ worth of shade and copying of Gomez, which they believe is a result of Justin Bieber never truly falling out of love with Selena.
#TeamSelena was trending across platforms, and videos of Hailey Bieber copying Gomez, stalking her husband and ruling her as a “mean girl” were flooding TikTok For You pages. It got to the point where Gomez posted “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” on her Instagram story.
In my opinion, this whole situation is just absolutely ridiculous. I can understand where people would pick a side, like “team Selena” or “team Hailey,” but how low can someone get to send a celebrity death threats over drama that they probably don’t know much about?
So much goes on behind the scenes, like Bieber reaching out to Gomez, for example. The drama that we know about is most likely the shortest version of it, and some of it has been exaggerated by fans looking to create something to talk about.
To threaten someone’s life over drama heard on TikTok is so absurd, and honestly pathetic. No one should send or receive death threats in general, but sending them to celebrities just because you think someone is a “mean girl” is beyond stupid.
Does this drama really matter that much to people that they feel the need to threaten someone, therefore incriminating themselves? Freshman visual communications and design major Faith Duncan explained she’s not surprised about the death threats, and said that, “It’s very disappointing to see that… people have not seen how detrimental that can be to someone’s mental health. It doesn’t matter that they’re a celebrity, they’re still a human being.”
The drama that we know about is most likely the shortest version of it, and some of it has been exaggerated by fans looking to create something to talk about.
That is exactly how we should be viewing this situation. Celebrities are normal people just like us. Just because their drama is portrayed for everyone to see does not mean we have the right to get involved and threaten someone’s life.
Maybe we should even stop caring about celebrity drama as a whole. Gossiping and spreading false truths can lead to situations quite similar to this one and, in certain cases, even worse. I honestly feel bad for celebrities in instances like this, because their privacy is completely invaded and they are unable to resolve the issue by themselves without millions of people speculating and asking questions.
So, the next time you see a news outlet claiming to have the latest scoop on celebrity drama, just remember that privacy has become a privilege for these people, not a right. It does more harm than good to buy into these horrendously clickbait-filled stories.
ajones11@ramapo.edu
Featured photos courtesy of @rarebeauty, Twitter, and VOGUE Taiwan, Wikipedia
