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Depending on which Hollywood fixture you ask, the adage ‘any press is good press’ is a modus operandi to follow.
Just look at Kendall Jenner, for instance. After being ridiculed by netizens for her cucumber-chopping abilities (or lack thereof), the supermodel and her commercial-minded mother, Kris Jenner, turned the meme into a lucrative brand deal with Uber Eats.
Now, it seems that Selena Gomez is in the business of turning her scandals into profits, with the latest launch of her makeup brand Rare Beauty believed to be in response to the ‘browgate’ saga.
It was a story that captivated TikTok aficionados and the global press cycle alike, prompting Hailey Bieber—who has dubbed the antagonist, “bully” and “mean girl” in this rigamarole—to lose millions of followers.
To briefly recap, Bieber and her best friend Kylie Jenner were accused of making fun of Gomez by sharing close-up photos of their eyebrows after the “Lose You To Love Me Singer” posted a video of herself with over-laminated eyebrows.
The following dispute, labelled ‘browgate’, became tabloid fodder and a regular fixture in the news cycle for weeks, with the two women pitted up against one another because of their respective behaviour.
The so-called “feud” was settled with Gomez and Bieber both following one another on social media and issuing statements asking for their fanbase to exhibit kindness rather than hatred. Bieber even spoke out about the toll the supposed “beef” took on her mental well-being, citing that she and Gomez were never embroiled in a feud and that the story was “completely made up and twisted”.
But it turns out that Gomez was playing chess while everyone was playing checkers with the 31-year-old releasing a brow gel. Bobby Fischer is out there somewhere taking notes from beyond the grave.
“You know how much I love a laminated brow and I’m excited to finally share that my new @rarebeauty Brow Harmony Flexible Lifting Gel is here,” wrote Gomez on Instagram. “It’s my staple for that natural, fluffy, lifted brow – it holds all day without being stiff, sticky, or crunchy,” she added.
There’s capitalising on media interest, and then there’s this: turning petty internet-fuelled raucous into something beneficial.
Plus, with 1% of the proceeds from the sale of the lifting brow donated to the Rare Beauty Impact Fund, a charity focused on mental health education and support, Gomez is certainly putting the money where her mouth is in her mission to “treat people with kindness”.
As for Bieber, she’s busy planting the seeds of her soon-to-be-released Rhode Beauty blush with her “strawberry makeup” aesthetic.
Fans have conflated a meme shared by Bieber reading “Unfortunately for everyone, I’m going to keep getting prettier every day” with her “responding” to the drama. However, we’re taking this new product release as a sign to let bygones be bygones.
Rare Beauty Brow Harmony Flexible Lifting Gel, approximately $26. Shop Now.
