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Marie Claire
Marie Claire
Lifestyle
Jadie Troy-Pryde

Selena Gomez has become the first woman to reach 400 million followers on Instagram

Selena Gomez

Less than three weeks ago, Selena Gomez became the most followed woman on Instagram with a whopping 392 million people clicking that follow button. 

Just a week earlier, she had 380 million followers - but quickly dethroned former title-holder, Kylie Jenner, when users started gravitating towards her profile after a rumoured feud with Hailey Bieber (it's become a whole wild thing, so catch up here). 

Now, Selena has become the first woman to boast 400 million followers on Instagram, and joins just two other celebrities who are hitting around the half a billion mark - Cristiano Ronaldo (who has 562 million followers) and Lionel Messi (442 million followers). 

It's not the first time that the Only Murders in the Building star has topped the list. Back in 2019, she was the most followed woman until Ariana Grande and Kylie Jenner borrowed the crown. 

But Selena has always been honest about the impact of social media on her mental health, candidly discussing how she has dealt with online bullying and harassment, and how she now sets boundaries on various apps to protect her welfare. 

Talking to Vanity Fair, she explained that the only app she has on her phone is TikTok. 

She said: "People can call me ugly or stupid and I'm like, whatever.

"But these people get detailed. They write paragraphs that are so specific and mean. I would constantly be crying. I constantly had anxiety…I couldn't do it anymore. It was a waste of my time."

Selena also spoke about how it affected her during a break-up, specifically the world's unsolicited opinions.

" I went through a hard time in a breakup and I didn't want to see any of the [feedback]—not necessarily about the relationship, but the opinions of me versus [someone] else," she said.

Instead of feeling pressured into using the app, she said that her assistant posts her photos and her team manages the comments. 

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