Selena Gomez fans are showing their support for the singer by encouraging their significant others to contribute to her growing Instagram follower count.
The gesture of solidarity in the form of Instagram followers comes amid rumours that the “Calm Down” singer is allegedly feuding withHailey Bieber and Kylie Jenner, after social media users speculated that Jenner and Bieber recently mocked Gomez’s Instagram post about her eyebrows.
Although Jenner and Gomez both shut down the rumours of an alleged spat, it hasn’t stopped fans from taking sides, with many choosing to publicly express their support for Gomez.
For many, this has meant contributing to the Rare Beauty founder’s follower count on Instagram - where she recently surpassed Jenner to become the most-followed woman on the app - and encouraging their significant others to do the same.
“My boyfriend following Selena Gomez after I gave him the scoop [on] everything going on,” TikTok user @ma_santi wrote in a text caption on a video showing her boyfriend following Gomez on Instagram.
In the caption of the video, which has since been viewed more than six million times, the TikToker added: “We love you @SelenaGomez.”
The TikToker is not the only one recruiting her boyfriend, as another user named Chloe, who goes by the username @chlogeddes also uploaded a video of her partner following Gomez.
“Getting my boyfriend to follow THE Selena Gomez,” she wrote.
In another video, a user named Regan, who goes by the username @reganvanderpol30, said she had encouraged her boyfriend to follow Gomez as a way of standing up against “bullying”.
“Forcing my boyfriend to follow Selena on Instagram because we do not stan mean girl behaviour and bullying,” she wrote, adding: “We stand behind our queen.”
The videos have been met with support from other Gomez fans on the app, with many applauding the TikTokers for the gesture.
“I am living for the men getting involved haha,” one person commented, while another said: “This is my favourite trend right now.”
Others said that they’ve also begun recruiting the men in their lives, with someone else revealing that they convinced their father to follow the pop star. “I got my dad to follow her today,” they wrote, while another person said: “My husband did the same.”
As of 3 March, Gomez, who recently returned to the platform to share a family photo after announcing she would be taking a break from social media, has more than 392 million followers.
In the week since the feud rumours began, Gomez’s follower count increased by nearly 10 million, according to Social Blade, which publicly tracks social media analytics.
Jenner’s Instagram, however, has been on a steady decline since she and Bieber were accused of mocking Gomez, with the Kylie Cosmetics founder dropping from 380,398,976 followers to 379,879,618 followers as of Wednesday 1 March - a decline of 519,358 followers in just one week.
The saga began last month, when Gomez posted an Instagram Story jokingly showing off her over-laminated eyebrows. Hours later, Jenner posted a selfie with the text, “That was an accident?” placed over her eyebrows, before then posting a close-up picture of friend Bieber’s eyebrows, and in the corner of the story, another selfie.
In response to the posts, fans accused Bieber and Jenner of mocking Gomez. The Kardashians star denied the suggestion in a comment on TikTok, where she wrote: “This is reaching. No shade towards Selena ever and I didn’t see her eyebrow posts! You guys are making something out of nothing. This is silly.”
Gomez then wrote: “Agreed @kyliejenner. It’s all unnecessary. I’m a fan of Kylie!”
Despite the clarification, fans have continued to accuse Jenner and Bieber of bullying, with many siding with Gomez.
The social media rumours do not mark the first time that fans have pitted Gomez and Bieber against one another, as the women are often compared due to their relationships with Justin Bieber.
Gomez famously dated the “Peaches” singer on and off throughout the early 2010s, before Justin went on to marry his now-wife Bieber in 2018.
