Justin Bieber, a quiet, bashful boy you may have heard of, dropped a seriously steamy Instagram of him and Selena Gomez on Friday.
People went nuts, still are. The Internet wobbled. It’s officially a thing .
The snapshot shows a shirtless Bieber focused intently on his laptop, while La Gomez, who’s also half naked hugs her man from behind with a look on her face that says: ‘Now, would be really good.’
The caption was cute too.
It read: ” ‘You’ve been makin music for too long babe come cuddle’ — her.”
So, there you have it. A public declaration and billboard-size proof that Gomez and Bieber are back on. And then some. In these post-millennium days, the 19-year-old’s Instagram is pretty much the equivalent of a front page advert in the New York Post .
It seems those helpful sources that relayed reports of the pair kissing, cuddling and holding hands in Oslo, knew of what they spoke.
So, now that the ‘are they/aren’t they?’ debate is over, will the endless chatter about the Spring Breakers actress and the Canadian calamity magnet cease?
You can stop laughing now.
Truth is, we’re as obsessed with the details of our favorite celebrities’ love lives as they are with themselves. As the reigning hot couple of the day, Gomez and Bieber are doing exactly what they should be doing: Feeding the machine.
Which brings us, rather neatly, to Will Smith.
Along with his wife, the Hollywood A-Lister has been championing Bieber and talking a good talk about media bullying and the “war” on young artists for some weeks now.
The star was on hand when Bieber’s ongoing run of bad press kicked off on the London leg of his Believe tour. Incidents included being booed at the 02 Arena after a late show, an expletive filled clash with a mouthy paparazzo, a nightclub dispute, fainting and hospitalization.
Smith, who has continued to defend Bieber’s right to party, recently spoke to the UK’s Capital FM radio station about the “Boyfriend” singer’s lack of privacy.
“There are things that are just simple and normal for a 19-year-old to do,” Smith told the station . “Just [as] when I was 19 there was no Twitter, the things that I was doing, I was able to have privacy because everybody’s phone didn’t have a camera on it.”
The I am Legend actor continued: “It’s just a completely different world. It’s just a difficult thing. There’s this new world where the machine needs to be fed and it doesn’t have to be true — the machine just needs to eat.”
He’s right. The recent false Radar Online story that claimed that Bieber was six hours late for an Elizabeth Arden photo shoot in Copenhagen last weekend and threw a “temper tantrum” over a hat, has been rebutted — vigorously — by the singer’s reps and Elizabeth Arden.
But — yes, there is a but — how does Smith square the teen star’s constant use of his social media platforms to either slam the media, post suggestive cartoon pictures of himself, numerous ab and exposed pants shots, and the most recent steamy snapshot — with a demand for privacy?
It can’t really be done. Scenarios where paparazzi hunt down public figures and celebrities, take screenshots of iPhones (as recently experienced by Bieber), or where private investigators bug cells and intercept e-mails, are clear invasions of privacy, and in many instances, criminal.
But, if you engage — as Bieber does, and many other famous folk do — with the Internet or with any public platform that media outlets can access and harvest, be prepared to be engaged back.
Having said that, Bieber and Gomez’s reconciliation could be the best thing to happen to the Believe tour and its star. If going public is the couple’s preferred way of saying ‘yes, we’re committed this time,’ there may be method yet in a shirtless ‘selfie.’