Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photos: Getty Images
Reports of Selena Gomez’s Instagram shade have been greatly exaggerated — according to her, at least. The singer had to explain herself on Thursday after some of her posting led people to believe she was knocking Taylor Swift and other celebs who attended the Knicks game on Wednesday night.
Underneath a post of Swift and Mariska Hargitay celebrating the Knicks’ historic win, Gomez commented, “lol.” Now, to be fair, it’s a funny photo. Hargitay looks like she’s just gone to war, and Swift is hugging her with a big smile on her face. I, too, would say “lol.” What really got Gomez in trouble was an Instagram Story post in which she wrote, “Mad respect for the game!! Congrats to the peeps that represent! What a comeback. So funny how some are all the sudden [sic] fans though lol.” Oop!
Now, obviously, this could be about anyone. There were lots of celebrities other than Swift at Wednesday’s game, including Sydney Sweeney, Tate McRae, Kylie Jenner, the Haim sisters, and, of course, Hailey Bieber. Was Gomez firing off shots at her best friend, Swift? Or was this another chapter in her icy, long-running relationship with Bieber, who is married to Gomez’s ex-boyfriend? Maybe she really didn’t like that McRae (a Canadian) is suddenly repping New York.
Turns out it was none of the above. In an Instagram Story post on Thursday, Gomez clarified that she meant no harm with either the comment or the Story post.
“Woke up and was sent so many texts,” Gomez wrote. “I would never insult my friends nor was it an insult. The comment was a reaction to the first slide on the page.” In her defense, it is an “lol”-worthy photo.
“Second I bet my friends on the game,” Gomez continued. “The friends in the text chain I posted. I lost but was poking at my opponents, my friends. Believe it or not I do have other friends in my life. But quickly forget that most assume otherwise. also … It’s a basketball game.” Well, it was kind of the best basketball game ever and the people of New York will not respect flippancy toward the matter, but point taken.
Something that should be taken into consideration here is that Gomez is from Texas and rooting for the Spurs. She watched them blow a 29-point lead in such spectacular fashion that she was probably just a little ticked off. Understandable! That being said, maybe she should delete Instagram off her phone ahead of game five, just to be safe.
