Selena Gomez has denied shading her good friend Taylor Swift in a comment about the star’s attendance at the recent New York Knicks basketball game.
The Shake It Off singer sat courtside during Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night and celebrated the Knicks’ victory against the San Antonio Spurs with her celebrity pals including Mariska Hargitay and Alana and Este Haim.
Underneath MTV’s Instagram post showing Taylor and an emotional Mariska celebrating at the end of the game, Selena simply wrote, “lol”, meaning “laugh out loud”, sparking speculation that the Spurs fan was throwing shade at her longtime pal.
Selena, who is currently in London filming Only Murders in the Building, cleared up the rumours in an Instagram Story on Friday morning.
“Woke up and was sent so many texts,” she began. “I would never insult my friends, nor was it an insult. The comment was a reaction to the first slide on the page.”
Selena also shared the context behind a screenshot of a text chain she posted about the game on Wednesday.
In the text chain, she wrote, “Mad respect for the game!! Congrats to the peeps that represent. What a comeback,” before adding, “So funny how some are all the sudden fans though lol.”
On Friday, the Come and Get It singer explained that she was “poking fun” at her other friends – not Taylor – after she lost her bet on the Spurs.
“Second, I bet my friends on the game. The friends in the text chain I posted. I lost but was poking fun at my opponents, my friends,” she continued. “Believe it or not, I do have other friends in my life. But quickly forget that most assume otherwise.”
Concluding her message, Selena added, “Also.. it’s a basketball game.”
The game drew a huge crowd of famous faces including Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner, Sydney Sweeney and Scooter Braun, Adam Sandler, Spike Lee, Jimmy Fallon, Ben Stiller, and Larry David, among others.
The Knicks will win their first championship since 1973 if they beat the Spurs during Game 5 in San Antonio, Texas on Saturday.
