If you’ve spent more than five minutes on TikTok in the last few years, you’ve definitely seen the side-by-side comparisons. It’s a rabbit hole. One minute you’re looking at a recipe for spicy vodka pasta, and the next, you’re knee-deep in a seven-part video series dissecting the exact placement of a "J" tattoo.
The narrative that Hailey Bieber is copying Selena Gomez has become one of the most resilient pieces of internet lore. It's basically the modern-day version of a soap opera, but with better lighting and higher stakes.
But honestly? When you strip away the frantic edits and the "mean girl" soundtracks, the truth is a lot more complicated than just one person wanting to be another.
The Receipts: Why Everyone Is Talking About It
Fans don't just pull these theories out of thin air. They have what they call "receipts."
The sheer volume of coincidences is what usually hooks people. For instance, back in 2022, Selena posted a skincare routine. Minutes later—or so the legend goes—Hailey posted something remarkably similar. Then there’s the "What's in my Kitchen" series. People were quick to point out that Selena already had Selena + Chef on HBO.
It wasn't just the shows. It was the words.
The Interview Parallels
There is a very famous clip circulating where Selena discusses her "heart" and how she wishes people knew her true intentions. A few months later, Hailey used almost the exact same phrasing in a podcast.
- Selena (2019): "I wish people knew my heart."
- Hailey (2022): "I wish people just knew my heart."
Is it a common phrase? Sure. Is it weird when it happens three days after a viral clip of your husband’s ex? To a fan, it’s a smoking gun. To a PR expert, it’s just the standard vocabulary of the "relatable" celebrity.
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The Eyebrow Incident of 2023
You can't talk about Hailey and Selena without mentioning the Great Eyebrow Debacle. This was the moment the "copying" narrative shifted into "bullying" territory.
Selena posted a TikTok saying she’d accidentally over-laminated her eyebrows. Hours later, Kylie Jenner posted a screenshot of a FaceTime call with Hailey Bieber, showing a close-up of—you guessed it—their eyebrows.
The internet exploded.
Kylie eventually commented, calling the drama "reaching," and Selena even backed her up, telling fans to be kind. But the damage was done. The "copycat" label morphed into something sharper. It became about a perceived obsession.
Is It Copying or Just The "Girl Component"?
Here is the thing nobody wants to admit: Trends exist.
If both women are wearing a specific oversized blazer or using a certain lip liner, is it because one is stalking the other? Or is it because they both have the same three stylists on speed dial and shop at the same four boutiques in Beverly Hills?
Hollywood is a small room.
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The Rhode vs. Rare Beauty Comparison
When Hailey launched Rhode Skin, the comparisons to Rare Beauty were instant.
"She saw Selena making money in beauty, so she did it too," the comments read. But basically every celebrity has a beauty brand now. From Rihanna to Scarlett Johansson, the pivot from entertainment to "clean girl" aesthetics is the standard business move for 2026.
If you look at the products, they aren't even that similar. Rare is about color and inclusivity; Rhode is about "glazed" minimalism. Yet, because of the history with Justin Bieber, every business move Hailey makes is viewed through the lens of a 2011 breakup.
The Reality of the "Fan Girl" Past
One of the most awkward pieces of evidence is Hailey’s own Twitter history. Before she was a Bieber, she was a "Jelena" shipper.
She literally tweeted in 2011 about how Selena and Justin were the "definition of a teenage dream."
It’s easy to see why fans find this creepy. If you marry the guy you used to tweet about when he was with someone else, people are going to watch you like a hawk. But she was a teenager. Most of us have cringey digital footprints from 2011; ours just aren't being projected onto the side of a building in Times Square.
Why This Narrative Won't Die
The "Hailey Bieber copying Selena Gomez" story stays alive because it’s a classic archetype. It’s the "Wife vs. The Ex."
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Social media algorithms love conflict. If you click on one video about Hailey’s outfits, the algorithm will feed you ten more comparing her to Selena. It creates an echo chamber where every blink or caption becomes a "coded" message.
In late 2025, a rumor started that Hailey "liked" a TikTok mocking Selena’s fiancé, Benny Blanco. Her reps called it "fabricated," but the "copying" and "obsessing" tags started trending all over again.
The Actionable Insight: How to Spot Fact From Fan Fiction
When you’re consuming this kind of content, you’ve got to be your own fact-checker.
- Check the Dates: Viral TikToks often use photos from 2015 and 2023 side-by-side to make it look like one happened right after the other.
- Acknowledge the Industry: Trends are global. If a certain "look" is in, every model is going to wear it.
- Listen to the Source: Both Selena and Hailey have asked for the "hateful negativity" to stop. Selena even reached out to her fans in 2023 specifically to defend Hailey after she received death threats.
The "copying" narrative is a profitable business for content creators, but for the actual humans involved, it's clearly a source of massive stress.
The next time you see a "proof" video, ask yourself if it’s a genuine imitation or just two women living in the same industry, breathing the same filtered air, and occasionally liking the same Daniel Caesar song. Most of the time, the simplest explanation is the right one.
If you want to stay grounded in the facts of celebrity news, focus on verified statements and official timelines rather than edited montages. Following specific celebrity brand updates through their official press releases or verified Instagram accounts is the best way to avoid the trap of algorithm-driven misinformation.