At a San Diego concert over the weekend, Justin Bieber wrapped his arms around his wife Hailey Bieber, and longtime friend Kendall Jenner.
The trio swayed to a performance by singer Dijon as they held each other in a sweet embrace, immediately setting the internet to speculating about the intimate moment.
Once captured on video and shared to gossip account DeuxMoi’s Instagram page, it quickly became a divisive topic.
In the video, the 31-year-old musician stands behind the two women, his arms draped around them as they move with the music.
Another clip shows him brushing his hands through Hailey’s hair before resting his head on top of hers — a small, tender gesture that might have passed unnoticed if not for the internet’s watchful eye.
Online, the reaction was split. Some defended the trio’s closeness as a natural extension of long-term friendship, while others thought it was inappropriate, given that Jenner and Bieber were once rumoured to have dated.
Reddit user PsychologicalStore62 wrote: ‘God forbid friends show innocent affection towards each other. I’m sure they also know their own boundaries, considering how close they are as friends and for how long they’ve been friends.’
Another Redditor, ChihayaSnowFrog, agreed: ‘Not weird at all, I’m pretty close to my group of friends too and we all hug each other, often times like this too when we’re out at concerts or music festivals. It’s very platonic and affectionate because we’ve known each other so long.’
Others weren’t convinced. Instagram user Lanaspeachlipgloss commented: ‘Oh idk about this one.. I couldn’t imagine my boyfriend hugging my best friend from behind. Plus there were so many rumors of Justin and Kendall hooking up back in the day.’
Similarly, Carlinayamel found the gesture off, writing: ‘This is so weird since he used to hook up with Kendall.’
Mcmeghan28 chimed in: ‘Where’s the red flag guy when you need him.’
Hailey and Kendall, for their part, appeared unfazed in the footage — smiling, singing along, and enjoying the music.
The models have been close friends since 2012, when they met at the premiere of The Hunger Games.
Recounting the memory during the premiere episode of Hailey’s YouTube series, Who’s In My Bathroom, several years ago, Jenner joked: ‘You [Hailey] were friends with Kylie and then you realised that I was more fun.’
The negative comments from fans online likely stem from old rumours that Jenner and Bieber used to date, with rampant speculation around 2014 still haunting their friendship.
But Jenner addressed the rumours in a Nightline interview in 2014, saying: ‘He’s a longtime friend of our family. Everybody loves to assume things, but no.’
However, Bieber later told Billboard, ‘it was never serious with Jenner,’ confirming something had gone on between them.
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