Selena Gomez was slammed online for promoting her beauty brand while attending her best friend Taylor Swift’s wedding.
The pop superstar and her NFL partner Travis Kelce are set to officially tie the knot at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Friday, July 3, in front of a massive crowd of more than 1,000 expected guests.
However, the pre-wedding celebrations were hit by a wave of social media drama on Thursday night when Gomez used her trip to visit the couple’s very private rehearsal dinner to show off a new makeup item.
The controversy began when the actress took to social media on her way to the intimate gathering, which saw around 100 close friends and family members gather at the Infosys Theater at the arena.
In a short video clip filmed in the back of a car, Gomez could be seen applying lipstick from her cosmetics line Rare Beauty while wearing a glamorous strapless black dress.
She followed the footage with a close-up photo clearly showing the lip product.
As the star happily flaunted her perfect glamour, with raven tresses slicked back into a neat style and matching diamond earrings and rings, the promotional nature of the post immediately raised eyebrows.
Fans were quick to point out that the pop icon’s wedding was heavily shrouded in secrecy, prompting warnings that using the highly anticipated family event to raise brand awareness could jeopardize the secrecy.
Critics flooded the comments to call out the actress, with one disgruntled fan writing: “Using other women’s success for relevance….stay away from her.”
Another viewer added a sarcastic remark, writing: “Yes, use your best friends wedding to sell makeup.” ยป
Other fans chose to see the funny side of this quick business decision, with one commenter joking that Selena applying Rare Beauty lipstick in the car on the way to her best friend’s wedding rehearsal was simply the most on-brand thing.
Despite the minor commotion online, the exclusive rehearsal dinner went off without a hitch, with stars in attendance.
Alongside Gomez, Swift’s frequent musical collaborator Jack Antonoff, 42, and actor Adam Sandler, 59, were both spotted by onlookers heading to the Midtown venue to toast the couple before their big Friday ceremony.
