Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez have long been tabloid fodder. Way before their messy Paris Fashion Week trip, her brief rehab stay in January and his extended walk on the wild side got him plenty of tabloid attention.
However, the narrative on the on-and-off couple’s relationship is now so out of control that even credible outlets cite known gossip fantasists and instigators such as Perez Hilton and Hollywood Life .
To some extent, both Bieber and Gomez don’t help matters as — like kids — they play out their make-up-breakup shenanigans on their social media accounts, which are followed by media and millions of fans.
On Sunday (October 5), the Canadian singer took to Instagram to post-then-delete a black and white pic with the Latina.
The picture was seemingly taken during the pair’s recent Caribbean vacation in St. Martin, and shows the starlet kissing the Biebs’ shoulder.
( Instagram screengrab via Twitter .)
Bieber’s post (and a comment he allegedly left when deleting the kissing photo ), has been interpreted by some gossip sites as his “desperate” attempt to “win back” Gomez. The pop princess unfollowed Bieber on Instagram after firing off cryptic tweets on Wednesday, just hours after returning alone to Los Angeles from Paris Fashion Week.
One of the two tweets (she deleted the other) Selena wrote, reads,
Sometimes we think we aren’t good enough. But then I realize when I think I’m alone I have God.
— Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) October 2, 2014
In addition to video surfacing of an apparent Jelena argument at an airport in St. Maarten on September 29, (one day before they were spotted in Paris), the rumor mill has thrown up a stack of “sources say” stories explaining why it’s now assumed the pair have split up — as opposed to signs of a couple probably bickering who will most likely make up.
First: Bieber’s dinner in Paris with supermodel pal Kendall Jenner , whom he later hung out with at the same fashion bash which Gomez also attended.
Selena famously unfollowed Kendall and sister Kylie after they partied at Coachella back in April. At the time, it was reported the actress-singer thought the Jenners were “toxic,” while The Sun vaguely claimed Bieber flirted with them and vice versa.
Hollywood Life has led the charge with speculative noise about Kendall and Bieber’s Paris dinner.
After reporting that Justin dined with the model “behind Selena’s back” despite paparazzi in hot pursuit, a later ludicrous story claimed Bieber “dragged” Gomez to Carine Roitfeld’s Fashion Book party, then “made” her hang out with “his former girlfriends” — Kendall and Australian supermodel Miranda Kerr.
This, despite the fact Bieber clearly didn’t know Kerr would be at the event and reportedly avoided her himself. Further, there are no confirmed reports that either Miranda or Kendall have ever been his “girlfriend.”
( Photo: Selena Gomez looking suitably “dragged” in a photo-op with Miranda Kerr at the CR Fashion Book party. )
Since Paris, Hollywood Life has flooded the news cycle with alleged “source” claims. One: that Jelena’s airport “fight” was about getting engaged. “The fight started because Selena was expecting him to propose on their trip and he didn’t. She was disappointed and when she brought it up he flipped out,” the site trills.
Other supposed sources claimed that even if the “Confident” singer does wed the “Come & Get It” songstress, “he will only marry her if he accidentally impregnates her.” The site is currently portraying Selena as virtually at death’s door from Lupus because of her alleged split with the shirtless one.
And so on.
Amid Hollywood Life’s capacity for endless “Exclusives!” and stream of so-called sources , it’s notable that on September 5, Selena commented on a fan’s screenshot of one of their stories with a damming indictment of the outlet.
The fan captioned their Instagram post, “Hollywood Life is sh*t tbh. No matter if they say anything good or bad, it’s always lies… just my opinion (and a ton of other people’s), but they aren’t a reliable source.”
To which, Gomez replied, “Hollywood life is never true. Ever.”
( Photo: Instagram screengrab .)
The ghouling on Bieber and Gomez doesn’t end with Hollywood Life . TMZ’s recent attempt to link Paris Hilton with the heartthrob, based solely on his visit to a club she deejayed at in the City of Lights, is one example. Star magazine’s latest “sex, drugs and wild partying tell-all book” on Jelena is another.
Another site with a tendency to photo assumption and invention is X17Online . Last week, the celebrity photo agency claimed the Biebs left Paris’ newly opened L’Arc nightclub with a “colorfully dressed mystery brunette lady.”
The site insists Bieber got into his chauffeured vehicle while the mystery woman allegedly smoked a cigarette before getting in the same car with the singer and heading back to his hotel.
Despite the fact Bieber was snapped leaving by fans and a scrum of paparazzi outside the club — who would jump all over a money shot of an unknown woman getting into his ride — not one picture of a female doing so has surfaced on any media outlet or X17online , for that matter.
Obviously, that’s illogical. But that hasn’t stopped the likes of Perez Hilton and the majority of gossip sites from repeating the story as if it were credible.
In closing: Can Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez’s relationship survive the worst offenders in a relentless rumor industry that feeds on two young people barely into their twenties for clicks, and possibly kicks?
It can’t help, can it?
[ Photos via AKM-GSI/Just Jared . ]