Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez are “in touch but currently not together.” Could that sound any more formal? And can it really be true?
According to a Gossip Cop source it is.
It’s not denied that the on-and-off sweethearts reunited earlier this month in McAllen, Texas, in a reportedly PDA-filled weekend capped by a dance studio video that seemed to ‘act out’ the Jelena love story. But an insider also told GC that while Justin and Selena are on good terms, they are currently in an “off” phase romance-wise but added that could change.
So, what’s the coup?
Well, it’s possible that Bieber and Gomez — for want of a better phrase — “hooked up” in Texas for just the one weekend. You’ll remember pictures of Justin looking upset at Miami International Airport right after his deposition, during which he refused to answer questions about Selena put by the lawyer of a paparazzo suing him for civil assault.
Next thing, Bieber turns up in Texas with the Spring Breakers actress, before smooching for days, a song declaration of “My baby” by Justin to a backstage Selena at an SXSW show, and those videos.
It’s possible the Texas reunion wasn’t planned but was initiated by an emotional phone call from Justin post-deposition telling Selena he needed to see her right away. In which case, the Rio Grande Valley romance was a case of right place, right time and may happen again.
Earlier this month, People magazine quoted the manager of Don Pepe’s McAllen Mexican restaurant, as saying:
“They were kissing. They were sitting next to each other hugging and kissing in front of the staff. They weren’t hiding it and seemed to be boyfriend and girlfriend.”
One impression from that eye-witness account is that Bieber and Gomez hadn’t seen each other in a while, and shores up the idea that their Texas reunion was a spontaneous meeting between two ex-lovers who haven’t got each other out of their systems.
The other scenarios are more complex and more politick. As GC note in their brief notice-to-media, ever since news of the Canadian and Latina’s Southern rendevouz gossip media has had a field day.
We’ve seen a ridiculous pregnancy with Sonogram hoax , reports on a planned intervention by Gomez’s family to get her way from Bieber, eloping, engagement and marriage rumors — amid darker attacks on Selena as ‘relapsing’ from rehab , even though her rep stated she did not enter Dawn at Arizona for substance abuse — false STD rumors and reports of their relationship being “toxic.”
Now, inevitably, rumors of sex tape videos arrive. They’ve been denied along with the other rumors just listed.
But, because the narrative on Bieber and Gomez is so out of control, it’s very probable both star’s teams have said, “Enough” and are now applying the brakes by saying the pair are not together while still giving themselves leeway by adding “currently.”
If so, it’s a sensible move.
The coverage is nuclear. And if we’re already at the “sex tape,” the next stop is likely to be a fake sex video with blurry, writhing bodies on a website like MediaTakeOut insisting that it’s Bieber and Gomez. And even though we’ll know it’s fake, many will want to believe it because people are people. The fake graphic text item ran by Radar Online is proof of that if nothing else.
Into the mix of this, of course, the recent subpoena served to Gomez on March 27, ordering her to testify at a deposition in a lawsuit filed by paparazzo Jose Duran, who alleges Bieber drop-kicked him in a parking lot in Calabasas, California, in May 2012 in front of Selena — likely also plays a part in the decision to get some distance into the narrative.
Bearing in mind another subpoena will shortly be served on Gomez ordering her to attend a deposition in another suit filed by paparazzo Jeffrey Binion, who alleges Bieber ordered his bodyguards to assault him last June; these are properly perilous times for Jelena and they need to box clever.
So, what about that dance video?
It’s one thing to hook up with an ex-beau, it’s quite another to put out an intense video with a thought about soundtrack — John Legend’s “ Ordinary People ” — and go to all the trouble of booking a rehearsal space and using a choreographer. All of which Justin and Selena did.
Filmed at McAllen’s Action Dance Studio during Bieber and Gomez’s Texas sojourn, in the clip the pair appear to mime their breakups with Selena pushing Justin away, before playing out a reunion with erotic dance moves.
But here’s the thing: High profile couples don’t star in intimate dance videos and post them publicly to celebrate shallow sex.
They do it to make a creative statement of togetherness. However, after that came the insane reporting and the subpoena. So now it appears Justin, Selena, and their teams are trying to control and stem the flood. Given the actress-singer’s trespassing dramas at her Calabasas home, Bieber’s legal woes , and the ongoing, gossip media assault on the relationship of two young people; who can blame them?
Here at IQ we certainly don’t. But we also wonder if that after all the Instagrams , Segways , declarations, a duet , that video and the obvious closeness between the pair, if Bieber and Gomez aren’t still “together” — and if they really aren’t, won’t try again once Bieber finally gets clear of his legal maelstrom.
[ Image via Bieber Instagram, captioned, “Love the way you look at me”, January 4 .]