Selena Gomez fans have been accused of bullying, again

Oh dear. Selena Gomez fans have been accused of bullying. Yes, yet again.

In March of this year, Selena Gomez called for fans to stop bullying Hailey Bieber, posting to her over 400 million followers “This isn’t what I stand for. No one should have to receive hate or bullying.” This came after years of gossip and rumours that fuelled an environment that pitted Hailey and Selena against one another, just because they dated the same man. Since then, Selena and Hailey have followed one another on Instagram, in a show of peace.

Selena’s fans are die-hard. And we get it. She’s a shining light in Hollywood: showing the realities of chronic illness, a talented actor and singer, a beauty mogul. But fandom has crossed over to obsession, and has become an ugly and unmanageable beast – her fans aren’t even listening to her pleas to stop bullying. Instead, they’ve found another target to direct hate towards.

Francia Raisa is the latest person to feel the wrath of Selenators. They had been close friends for over a decade, with Francia even donating her kidney to Selena, which she needed due to complications from Lupus back in 2017. However, things got a bit messy when the pair were rumoured to have had a falling-out, after Selena called Taylor Swift her “only friend in the industry” in a recent Rolling Stone interview.

Afterwards, Francia commented on an E! News Instagram post that featured the quote, writing, “Interesting,” before quickly deleting the comment. Selena then commented on a TikTok video breaking down the drama, writing, “Sorry I didn’t mention every person I know.”

So far, so messy. It gets more complex, though, as in March Selena called Francia her “best friend” during an episode of the Apple TV+ documentary show Dear…, seemingly clearing the air. Francia was then confronted by TMZ, who questioned her about what’s been going on with Selena. She avoided answering. Fair enough, right? Not according to Selena’s fans, who then went into attack mode.

Yesterday, Francia was confronted by the same TMZ reporter and they spoke about the backlash. “I think the one that probably hurt the most was, ‘I hope someone goes up your pussy and rips out your other kidney, you fucking whore,’” she said. Continuing to say that “The only thing I’m going to say is in no way, shape, or form does anyone condone bullying, especially Selena.” She pointed out that Selena founded the Rare Impact Fund initiative, which is detailed on the website as “raising $100 million over the next ten years to expand access to mental health services and education for young people around the world.” As a mental health advocate, it’s clear that Selena does not condone bullying.

Francia added that “[Selena]’s literally out there saying, ‘Please stop,’ so I don’t understand why it’s not stopping — not just for me, but others that are also being antagonised online,” finishing by telling TMZ “I totally, totally, totally get it, but it’s not nice. I would say, not just with me, but with anyone, please stop.”

What will it take for Selena’s fans to listen to their so-called ‘fave’ and stop with the bullying? How many times will Selena have to speak out, and beg, her fans to treat people nicely? Defending someone you admire is one thing, bullying people who don’t deserve it over baseless rumours, is not.

These celebrity feuds have an old school mean girl energy, which is often reserved only for women. Rather than focusing on Francia and Selena’s beautiful and longstanding friendship, that has been full of sacrifice and warmth, fans have turned against Francia on a whim.