In a world where women are constantly pitted against each other, the strongest among us can choose to break the mold, and the internet, like Hailey Bieber and Selena Gomez did at the Academy Museum Gala.

Photographer Tyrell Hampton wisely knew his now iconic photo would speak for itself on his Instagram page, simply captioning his pic of Hailey and Selena together with two words, “Plot twist.”

So have Hailey and Selena been besties all this time? Here’s what we know.

Are Hailey Bieber and Selena Gomez friends?
To say Hailey and Selena have been pitted against each other since the moment Hailey started dating Justin Bieber would be an understatement.

Per CNN, Hailey denied accusations on the Call Her Daddy podcast that she had started dating Justin when he was still with Selena. She said, “When he and I ever started, like, hooking up or, like, anything of that sort, he was not ever in a relationship, ever at any point… It’s not my character to mess with someone’s relationship. I would just never do that.”

As the same report noted, Selena appeared to respond to the hate Hailey had experienced during her own TikTok live a few days after Hailey’s appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast.

Selena said, “It’s not fair, because no one should ever be spoken to in the manner that I’ve seen.” She reminded her fans that supported her Rare beauty collection that, “Words matter. Truly matter.”

It’s like Haley knows she’s going to break the internet that night.

So, does the now iconic Hailey and Selena photo show the start of a beautiful friendship? Have they been besties all along? Not necessarily. But they aren’t standing for unwarranted hate against each other and we love to see it.

Wait, why did people hate Hailey in the first place? An explainer.
If you’re new to the Hailey and Selena drama, we’ll fill you in real quick. Basically, Selena and Justin had an on and off again relationship that would rival Ross and Rachel’s from 2011 to 2018. The couple called it quits for good in March 2018, per Hollywood Life.

Justin rekindled things with Hailey after he and Selena split, and ended up proposing to Hailey in July 2018. The couple tied the knot in September 2018. (Cue the homewrecker allegations that Hailey denied during her interview).

A source told ET Online that “Selena and Hailey were both super chill together at the Academy Museum Gala. They’ve both moved on and are happy in their own lives… They wanted to show the world that there’s no beef or bad feelings between them anymore.”

Hailey also said that she had no feelings of ill will towards Selena during her appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast.

Women supporting other women in 2022? That’s a vibe we want to continue seeing from the end of this year onward into 2023!