Photo: justinbieber, selenagomez/Instagram; @thepoptingz/Twitter
It could mean nothing — or it could mean everything.
By John Sundholm — Written on Mar 06, 2023
The drama between Selena Gomez, Kylie Jenner and Hailey Bieber is practically all anyone has been talking about on the internet in recent days. And the plot may just be thickening yet again after leaked photos from Justin Bieber's 29th birthday party over the weekend have gone viral. Among the festivities was a certain party favor handed out to each guest many have interpreted as a dig at Bieber's ex—and his wife Hailey's seeming nemesis—Selena Gomez.
Justin Bieber gave a souvenir to his birthday party guests with a message some say mocks Selena Gomez.
It could all just be a simple party favor, and the message could mean any number of things. But it's pretty hard, given all the context, to interpret it any other way.
The party favor is engraved with a quote about Justin Bieber claiming he never wanted to be with Selena Gomez.
The favor appears to be a lighter made of pewter and engraved with a quote which reads, "I’m so grateful that I didn’t end up with what I thought I wanted." A photo of the favor was posted by Twitter account @PopTingz over the weekend, which instantly went viral as fans speculated what it could mean.
But most fans seem to agree that it is a reference to the drama surrounding Justin and Selena's past relationship, which ended for good in 2018. Justin and Hailey Bieber married just months later.
Fans think the party favor is Justin Bieber's response to the drama between his wife Hailey Bieber, Selena Gomez and Kylie Jenner.
The feud between the three women has consumed social media for what feels like a decade at this point, and Hailey has been subjected to vicious online bullying because of it.
It began when Hailey posted a TikTok many interpreted as them joining in on the fat-shaming online response to recent paparazzi photos of Selena in a bathing suit. From there, it escalated when Kylie and Hailey posted another TikTok that fans interpreted as throwing shade at Selena's eyebrows.
But as with everything, context matters—Hailey is widely believed by Selena's fans to have "stolen" Justin from Selena in 2018, and Selena has accused Justin of cheating on her. Justin's relationship with Hailey is said to have begun in part because he allegedly proposed to Selena twice and she turned him down.
The party favor is thought by fans to be Justin's official response to the drama between Hailey and Selena—and they're not happy about it. Even as the feud between the three women has escalated and Hailey has been subjected to vicious trolling and bullying online, Justin has kept silent.
But fans think this is his way of commenting on it, and they find his response offensive. "This is so petty," one Twitter user wrote. "I mean if that’s the way you and your wife feel keep that petty sht to yourself." And it did little to ingratiate fans to Hailey either. "There's no upgrade after Selena Gomez," one person tweeted. "Bieber should consider healing."
Others couldn't help but laugh about it. "Admitting that your wife was your second choice on your birthday is crazy lmao selena truly lives in his mind rent free," another fan wrote.
Selena Gomez addressed the drama herself on TikTok and seemed to defend Hailey Bieber in a message to fans.
Many fans feel Hailey deserves the online abuse she's getting, but for her part, Selena seems not to be on their side.
Selena took a social media hiatus amid the uproar, telling her TikTok followers that at the age of 30, "I'm too old for this." But she broke her "social media break" over the weekend to do a makeup tutorial, and she addressed her fans in the comments.
In one comment, Selena thanked her fans for making her "unbelievably happy," while the other comment has been widely interpreted to be a reference to the bullying Hailey has received. It read, "please, please be kinder and consider others' mental health. My heart has been heavy and I only want good for everyone. All my love." At least someone is taking the high road in all this childish drama.
John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer who covers pop culture, social justice and human interest topics.