Selena Gomez came, she saw, and she decided TikTok just wasn’t worth it. On Thursday, February 23, the 30-year-old made the decision to quit the social platform—at least for a good while.
“I’m going to be taking a second from social media, because this is a little silly,” she said in TikTok Live, per . “I’m 30 and am too old for this. But I love you so much and I’ll see you guys sooner than later. I’m just gonna take a break from everything.”
Her decision comes amid hysterical online speculation that she and Hailey Bieber, wife of her ex boyfriend Justin Bieber, are engaged in some longstanding feud—though both women have denied that any animosity exists.
.jpg)
Earlier this week flames were fanned once again after TikTok commenters conjectured that Hailey and BFF Kylie Jenner were dissing Gomez on the platform. Despite both Jenner and Gomez weighing in to quash the rumors of a feud, fans continued to stir up drama, especially after Gomez reacted to a video of Hailey hosting Drop the Mic from 2017 alongside Method Man. In the resurfaced clip, Hailey makes a gagging motion when Taylor Swift’s name is mentioned. Swift is also referred to as a “mean girl” and a “bully” in the text overlay. Gomez, who is close with Swift, wrote in the comments, “So sorry, my best friend is and continues to be one of the best in the game.”
Gomez has previously stepped back from social media, specifically Instagram, due its negative impact on her mental health. In a recent interview with , she explained, “People can call me ugly or stupid and I’m like, whatever. But these people get detailed. They write paragraphs that are so specific and mean. I would constantly be crying. I constantly had anxiety…. I couldn’t do it anymore. It was a waste of my time.”
She added, “The only thing I have on my phone is TikTok because I find it to be a little less hostile. There are wonderful things about social media—connecting with fans, seeing how happy and excited they are and their stories. But usually that’s filtered through [for me now]. I created a system. Everything I do I send to my assistant who posts them. As far as comments, my team will put together a few things that are encouraging.”
Though her TikTok account is now deactivated, Selena Gomez still has a presence on Instagram. In fact she’s got more followers than ever. Also on Thursday, Gomez eclipsed Kylie Jenner as the most followed woman on the platform.
