Selena Gomez has faced criticism online for promoting her beauty brand while traveling to her best friend Taylor Swift’s wedding.
The pop superstar and his NFL teammate Travis Kelce will officially tie the knot at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Friday, July 3, before a massive crowd of more than 1,000 guests are expected to watch.
However, the pre-wedding celebrations were hit by a wave of social media drama on Thursday night when Gomez used a trip to 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 gather at the stadium’s Infosys Theater.
In a short video clip filmed in the back of a car, Gomez could be seen applying lipstick from her Rare Beauty cosmetics line while wearing a glamorous strapless black dress.
She followed the images with a close-up photo that clearly showed the lip product.
While the star happily flaunted her perfect glam, complete with black tresses slicked back in a sleek style and matching diamond earrings and rings, the promotional nature of the post immediately caught the eye.
Fans were quick to point out that the pop icon’s wedding has been heavily shrouded in secrecy, prompting warnings that using the long-awaited family event to expose the brand could jeopardize secrecy.
Critics flooded the comments to slam the actress, with one disgruntled fan writing: “Using other women’s success for relevance…stay away from her.”
Another viewer added a sarcastic comment, writing, “Yes, use your best friends’ wedding to sell makeup.”
Other fans chose to see the funny side of the rapid commercial move, 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 trademark thing ever.
Despite a little online commotion, the exclusive rehearsal dinner went off without a hitch and was a star-studded event.
Along with Gomez, Swift’s frequent musical collaborator Jack Antonoff, 42, and actor Adam Sandler, 59, were spotted by onlookers heading to the Midtown venue to toast the couple before their massive ceremony on Friday.
