Updated

Updated · Just Jared · Jun 12

Selena Gomez Clarifies 'lol' on Taylor Swift's NBA Finals Photo After 2 Posts Spark Shade Claims

Updated

Updated · Just Jared · Jun 12

Selena Gomez Clarifies 'lol' on Taylor Swift's NBA Finals Photo After 2 Posts Spark Shade Claims

Q: Given their 17-year friendship, why did fans assume Selena Gomez's 'lol' was a malicious jab at Taylor Swift?

Fans assumed Selena Gomez’s “lol” was a jab at Taylor Swift because the comment was stripped of context and paired with another ambiguous post, creating the appearance of shade where Gomez says there was none. The MTV Instagram post showed two different moments from Game 4 of the NBA Finals: one image of Mariska Hargitay looking stunned and another of Hargitay and Swift celebrating. A circulating screenshot made Gomez’s “lol” seem like it was reacting to the celebratory image of Swift, which led some fans to read it as mockery. That interpretation gained traction after Gomez posted, then deleted, an Instagram Story saying, “So funny how some are all sudden fans though lol.” Because Swift and Hailey Bieber were both at the game, some online users speculated Gomez was calling them “fake fans.” The combination of the “lol” comment and the “sudden fans” remark fueled a narrative of celebrity tension. Gomez later said that reading was wrong. She explained that her “lol” referred to the first photo, where Hargitay looked shocked during the Knicks’ dramatic comeback, and that the “sudden fans” line was an inside joke aimed at friends she had bet on the game with. She added, “I would never insult my friends nor was it an insult.” The speculation persisted largely because celebrity interactions are heavily scrutinized online, even when the people involved—like Gomez and Swift, who have been close for 17 years—have a long public record of supporting each other.

3 articles · Updated · Just Jared · Jun 12

Late Thursday, Selena Gomez said her “lol” comment under an MTV post about Taylor Swift at Game 4 of the 2026 NBA Finals was not an insult and referred to the first photo, not Swift.
The first image showed Mariska Hargitay looking drained as Swift hugged her, while a screenshot circulating online made Gomez’s comment appear tied to a second shot of Swift and Hargitay celebrating.
Gomez also addressed a quickly deleted text-chain screenshot, saying she had bet friends on the game and was joking with them after losing, not mocking Swift or anyone else at the arena.
That second post included “so funny how some are all sudden fans though lol,” fueling theories she was shading Swift and Hailey Bieber before Gomez moved to shut down the speculation.