Selena Gomez: The People’s Princess

Image Courtesy: Entertainment Weekly

Since I was younger, Selena Gomez was constantly on my TV. Whether it was Barney, Wizards of Waverly Place, Princess Protection Program, or her new documentary on Apple TV, it’s safe to say Gomez raised me and many others my age. Gomez demonstrates qualities that only a role model would possess, such as being the bigger person when others try to tear you down, a quality she just demonstrated this past month.  

Recently Selena Gomez came into the spotlight again when fans noticed that she was about to surpass Kylie Jenner in Instagram followers. Both Gomez and Jenner were at an estimated 380 million. Fans started to speculate that social media posts on Tik Tok and Instagram made by Hailey Bieber and Kylie Jenner were directed at Gomez, upsetting Gomez’s fans who then started calling Bieber and Jenner out for “mean girl behavior.” Jenner commented on a video denying the behavior, “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.” To which Gomez responded, “agreed @kyliejenner. It’s all unnecessary. I’m a fan of Kylie!” Bieber also denied that any of her posts were about Selena and stated that she was just trying to make a funny video, but the coincidences just kept adding up. Soon, videos of Bieber started resurfacing of her acting like a mean girl and tearing other women down. Her marriage to Justin Bieber was not safe from the public either. 

                                                            Image Courtesy: Page Six

 People began comparing Hailey Bieber and Selena Gomez to Camilla Parker Bowles (the Queen Consort of the United Kingdom) and Princess Diana. Selena has been long associated with Justin Bieber, a relationship that was very much in the public eye. In early 2018, paparazzi spotted Justin and Selena together, but two months after that sighting, he was engaged to Hailey Baldwin, his now wife. Hailey’s supposed mean-girl behavior led to the public putting her marriage to Justin under a microscope and analyzing how he treats her compared to how he treated Selena when they were together. Speculations arose that Bieber married Hailey for a green card, or that Bieber and Hailey’s parents arranged the marriage. All this commotion sparked the revival of the popular and long-lived debate: Team Selena or Team Hailey? This struck a comparison between the two royals because of the drama between them and Prince Charles vs. the drama between Hailey, Selena, and Justin.

                                                            Image Courtesy: Pink Villa

During the resurfacing of old videos of Hailey, Gomez commented on a video of Hailey shading Taylor Swift, Gomez’s best friend, defending Swift. Then Gomez proceeded to take a break from social media because she felt she was too old for this drama. During Gomez’s break, her Instagram followers began to skyrocket, surpassing Jenner’s follower count by 16 million. Jenner stays at 380 million, while Bieber’s follower count went from the 50 million range to 49.4. People began to side with Selena after Hailey’s true colors were starting to be revealed.

Selena’s character shone through during this intense time, and the people proved to love her for that. Gomez is known for her authenticity and how real she is. She advocates for mental health through the Rare Impact fund that she founded, hoping to raise $100 million to get people access to mental health services. Gomez is also a UNICEF ambassador, advocating and raising awareness for vulnerable children. As she has grown up in the spotlight, Gomez has never tried to hide her flaws and has been very transparent about her struggles, like her Lupus diagnosis. She has had a positive influence over many, not just because of how exposed we were to her as children, but because of her involvement with various communities and her dedication to being real and authentic. Her positive character traits, including her maturity during situations like this month, have led to a comparison between her and the beloved Princess Diana because Diana engaged with the community despite her high status.

Image Courtesy: Glamour

In the end, Selena Gomez has proved herself over time to be the people’s princess despite her lack of royal status. Although many in the public attempt to bring her down and the Jelena shippers will never fully go away, she continues to demonstrate that celebrities like her are “Rare.”

Strike Out,

Writer: Lindsey Limbach

Editor: Addy Crosby

Graphic Designer:

Tallahassee