Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez may not be sitting in a tree just yet, or even have plans to.
But according to reports , they were seen together at a late-night movie screening last week. That news may put several noses out of joint, notably Taylor Swift.
It’s no secret that Swift isn’t the Bieb’s biggest fan.
Her tongue-grimace reaction to seeing BFF Gomez and the Canadian exchange a friendly hug and kiss backstage at May’s Billboard Music Awards and loaded replies to questions on the “Boyfriend” singer in the press room, left no-one in any doubt about her antipathy.
So, one can only imagine what kind of apoplexy Swift may be experiencing on discovering Bieber and Gomez still spend time together, even just as friends.
Slippery slopes and all that.
After photos of Gomez, 20, and teenage singer Austin Mahone, 17, enjoying a day out with friends at Disneyland, CA, hit the Internet last Wednesday, rumors swirled that Swift has been trying to set Gomez up with the teenager after similar plans with Brit singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran fell through.
Both Sheeran and Mahone are support acts on the “I Knew You Were Trouble” songstress’ Red tour.
A source told Hollywood Life : “It was [Taylor’s] idea to push Austin and Selena together because she really likes Austin and thinks he would be a good distraction for Selena right now.”
“She did the same with Ed and Selena – but so far Selena is keeping it strictly friends with both of them,” the insider continued. “But Taylor’s going to keep trying, she loves hooking up her friends and especially Selena, because she wants to see her with anyone but Justin… I’m sure Taylor’s a little worried that she’ll cave in again.”
However, E! News reports Mahone and Gomez are just good friends who have fun together.
And despite a lunch date and years of Wizards of Waverly Place history with David Henri, Gomez is apparently uninterested in her former castmate and is said to be looking for a more experienced partner.
While probably not looking to go back over old ground with Bieber after their split earlier this year , the Spring Breakers actress does has a reportedly strong friendship with her ex-beau and nearly three years of a stormy but “crazy connection.”
For Swift, it’s possible a friendship between the pair could be far worse than another failed stab at romance, at least while Gomez promotes her music ahead of her Stars Dance world tour and Bieber treks around the world.
Because of course, with friendship , the door is never completely shut.
If the reports are true, Gomez stepped out with Bieber at the ArcLight Theater in Sherman Oaks, Calif., just 24 hours after donning a pair of oversized Mickey-Mouse ears for her non-date with Mahone.
On Thursday, June 27, the ex-couple reportedly watched the comedy This Is The End , which riffs on the premise of celebrities (rather aptly) facing the apocalypse while at a James Franco house party.
One movie theater eyewitness, who is also a Bieber fan, tweeted:
Just sat behind @selenagomez and @justinbieber in the movie theatre!!! Ahhhh
— Michelle Elyashar (@Michellelyashar) June 28, 2013
Elyashar subsequently posted a non-definitive picture of the supposed couple and told inquirers on Twitter that Gomez sat next to Bieber in the theater, insisting:
“I saw their faces when they got up and left.”
Another eyewitness, Cece De Mattos, told Celebuzz she was absolutely certain Bieber was at the theater but couldn’t confirm Gomez’s presence.
“If Selena was there, she definitely snuck in,” she added .
Reportedly, the furtive friends entered the theater shortly after the film began and left just before it ended to avoid the attentions — and cameras — of other moviegoers. Bieber did stop for at least one photo-op though.
For everyone who doesn’t believe me. pic.twitter.com/58aQ74CkRL
— Michelle Elyashar (@Michellelyashar) June 28, 2013
Meanwhile, Ozuna, 22, originally hailing from Maryland but now living in Las Vegas and legally still married, has said little after pictures and video of her getting up close and personal with Bieber at an indoor skydiving center on June 16 became public last week.
A fresh report that Justin was allegedly “asking for girls numbers constantly” while “on the prowl” in Miami for Game 7 of the NBA Finals amid pictures of an unidentified female emerging from a tour bus after a night of revelry with the singer and his crew in Las Vegas , may suggest neither Ozuna and Gomez are the only females on the 19-year-old’s mind.
Or maybe not. Media interpretations of candid pictures can be, and often are, wide of the mark.
“As long as people are kind to each other during a breakup, there is no reason [why] they can’t be friends,” Justin told Us Weekly in a special edition bookazine. He added :”A lot of people give me relationship advice.”
Just not Taylor Swift.