Justin Bieber-related rumors continue to provide material for gossip sites and writers with quotas to fill and gaping holes where their ethics should be. And so, to the latest garbage, which drags model Kendall Jenner, producer Zedd, and Selena Gomez into the mix.
Last week, Hollywood Life — a website routinely called out for fabrication , and previously slammed by Austin Mahone and Gomez as “never true” — claimed Bieber and Jenner are “friends with benefits.”
The site included “quotes” from its seemingly never-ending supply of “sources,” but fails to produce any evidence for their claims.
Now, In Touch , another gossip website, claims Bieber and Jenner “may act like they’re just friends, but they’re actually hooking up — and crazy about each other.” The tabloid claims the pair began “heating up” their alleged romance when they modeled for a recent Vogue shoot.
A “source” alleges, “They always had a thing for each other, but never pursued it because of Kendall’s friendship with Selena.”
Sadly, for In Touch , their claim that an “eyewitness” saw Bieber and Jenner on a “secret date” at a Clippers game on March 20 is false. Bieber was actually spotted getting touchy-feely with a model named Ashley Moore.
Jenner wasn’t even at the game.
Gossip Cop followed up the “friends with benefits” claim, and reports a rep for Bieber told them the In Touch story is “not true.”
Moving on to another falsehood doing the rounds. Hollywood Life is once again attempting to exploit the existing bad feeling between Justin Bieber fans and Selena Gomez fans. The site claims German producer DJ Zedd — who is rumored to be dating the Latina starlet — is now set to collaborate on Bieber’s new album.
According to the website, Bieber and Zedd have “buried the hatchet” and will be working together “despite Selena Gomez.” Hollywood Life also cites an invented source, as saying, “Things are good [between Justin and Zedd]… now… the bad blood is over.” The website also alleges EDM titan Skrillex “put an end to their beef” when he made Bieber and Zedd “get on the phone and sort things out.”
Are these claims true? In a word, no. Gossip Cop once again chased up a rep for Bieber, who told the watchdog site the claims are nothing but “BS.”
Further, Bieber confirmed in a recent interview with USA Today that Kanye West and Rick Rubin are co-producing his forthcoming album. Following that, Bieber, Skrillex, and Jack Ü partner Diplo talked about their new track “Where Are Ü Now” with Miami’s Power 96 radio station and said they will be collaborating on Bieber’s new album. Zedd wasn’t mentioned.
Lastly, Life & Style , another gossip site, claims that after their high-profile breakup split last September, Bieber and Gomez paid a visit to a Tiffany & Co outlet in December to look at engagement rings .
Citing invented sources, Life & Style claims someone inside the store asked the two stars if they intended to get hitched at some point. To which, Gomez supposedly said, “I hope so!” While the starlet replied, Bieber allegedly stood behind her “mouthing the word ‘No!’” and signaled with his hand to this alleged witness to “cut it out.”
Three things should strike anyone over 10-years-old about this story.
Life & Style has a well-established history of fabrication. Evidence of which can be read at this highlighted link .
Second: If Gomez and Bieber had dropped by a jewelry store — all of which tape security footage in case of robberies — that footage would have surfaced by now. Not to mention, paparazzi-obtained photos would have popped up during the six months since this fantasy event took place.
Third: Going by the logic of Life & Style’s claim, intelligent readers are probably asking this question: If Bieber was so opposed to the notion of getting married or engaged, why would he allegedly go to a jewelry store in the first place?
Hollywood Life — which topped Gossip Cop’s “Worst Outlet in Celebrity Journalism” tables in November — is now claiming Gomez is worried that Bieber plans to write or has written “diss” tracks about her on his new album, because the heartthrob admitted she inspired a lot of his new material.
The Inquisitr followed up that claim with a source connected to both Gomez’s and Bieber’s camps. We were told Hollywood Life has no direct access to either team and that the site’s claim is “not true.”
In closing: The reason why a constant stream of false gossip claims about Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber are dumped on the internet is about one thing: driving eyeballs to sites. Gossip outlets know readers click on headlines featuring high-profile celebrities. And if the story is sensationalist and negative, so much the better.
The solution? Always consider the quality and reputation of a source, and employ common sense. The majority of the content produced by Hollywood Life , Celebrity Dirty Laundry , In Touch , Life & Style , MediaTakeOut , The National Enquirer , and many others is a result of the relative non-regulation and lack of ethics in online journalism.
But you don’t have to believe or accept it.
[Images via Getty Images]