Selena Gomez took to her Instagram Story on Aug. 16 to share a new photo of a night out with friends. In the pic, she’s seated on a girlfriend’s lap while wearing a high-waisted, black leather mini skirt. The skirt is paired with a tight, long-sleeved top, and Sel’s look is complete with curly locks of hair. The ladies are also joined by a male friend, with all three cozying close to pose for the photo.
Selena Gomez stuns in new picture with friends. pic.twitter.com/SFa3VsTkFG
— Pop Base (@PopBase) August 17, 2023
While Selena often takes long hiatuses from social media, she’s been very active on her Instagram page as of late. This photo was one in a series of images she shared to her Story this week. In another shot, Selena continued to tease new music on the way by posing in a recording studio. She also shared an image of herself with another friend at a roller rink.
Earlier this year, Selena was in the midst of some major online drama with Hailey Bieber, which had her stepping back from social media a bit before her recent resurgence. Although she was still posting here and there, her activity in recent weeks has been much more frequent. The drama started when fans thought that Hailey and Kylie Jenner were shading Selena in a TikTok video. Both Kylie and Selena insisted they didn’t have any beef at the time.
Selena Gomez is back in the studio. pic.twitter.com/Ri710spqL5
— Pop Base (@PopBase) August 16, 2023
However, days later, Selena commented on a throwback video of Hailey, in which the model appeared to be dissing Selena’s BFF Taylor Swift. Selena jumped to Taylor’s defense, and it led to tension between the ladies’ fans online. At this point, Selena revealed she needed to step away. “I’m too old for this,” she wrote. “But I love you guys so much! I will see you sooner than later. I just, I’m gonna take a break from everything.”
The fighting between fans online continued, though, which led Selena to return and urge her fans not to bully Hailey. “[She] let me know that she has been receiving death threats and such hateful negativity,” Selena wrote. “This isn’t what I stand for. No one should have to experience hate or bullying. I’ve always advocated for kindness and really want this all to stop.” Hailey responded by thanking Selena for speaking out, also urging her fans not to “create extreme division” online.