Come on, you guys, we're not really doing this. Are we? Apparently, we are. People are actually using Beyoncé's new Instagram record to pit her against Selena Gomez. I know it sounds silly, but it's actually happening among the two pop star's fandoms. And it needs to stop. Unless you've been living under a rock for the past couple of days, you're aware that the Lemonade singer nearly broke the internet on Wednesday, Feb, 1, when she announced that Beyoncé is expecting twins with her husband, Jay Z. That should be nothing short of a joyous occasion, right? Well, apparently not so much for some fans of Gomez.
Bey's baby bombshell crushed Gomez's previous record for most Instagram likes, a "title" (I seriously can't believe I just called Instagram likes a title) that she's held since July 2016. Following the news, Gomez's fanatics reportedly began showing up in droves on the 24-year-old singer's post from last summer and liking it in an effort to bolster her back into the top spot.
And then enter the Beyhive — Beyoncé's wildly aggressive and sometimes vicious fan base — who then reportedly swarmed onto Gomez's account, leaving bumble bee emojis beneath the photo in a show of support for the 35-year-old superstar. According to Elle, things got pretty ugly in the comment section as the hive went as far as to accuse Gomez of actually buying likes. No, I'm serious.
Supporters of both stars have continued to wage a major social media war, basically dividing fans over a post — over a single Instagram post. With just about so many civil rights at stake following January's inauguration, and women's rights being one of the issues at the forefront of the fight, arguing over a title that neither women places any importance in feels wrong. Pitting two women against each other in general is a toxic trend in society, but, more importantly, there's a space for both of these women — and all women, to exist and have thriving careers — without having to compete over something as silly as Instagram likes
Bey's twin announcement is pretty much the happiest thing that's happened in 2017, so far. Let's not ruin it by inciting a popularity war on social media. In all seriousness, this is not an issue over which we need to tear ourselves apart. The actual takeaway of Beyoncé coming in first and Selena Gomez coming in second as far as Instagram likes on a post is concerned isn't that Beyoncé beat Gomez. It's that, as Beyoncé said, girls run the world.
