This Star Just Claimed Selena Gomez's Spot As Instagram's Most-Followed Woman
I should have seen this day coming. I mean, a girl can only hang on to the number one spot on Instagram for so long without posting regularly. Selena Gomez, the long-running most-followed woman on Instagram, was just dethroned — and her successor makes a lot of sense. So, who is the most followed woman on Instagram? It'll be totally obvious once I say it...
Ariana Grande.
I know. Checks out, right?
Grande might be the most buzzed-about person on the planet right now. Ever since the release of her two chart-topping albums Sweetener and Thank U, Next, plus her high-profile engagement and split from Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson, the woman has been everywhere. She also regularly updates her social media platforms with personalized fan interactions and new music details, making it worthwhile to follow her. Gomez, on the other hand, regularly dips off of social media to take breaks from the spotlight and has gone out of her way to share less with the public — which is totally fair.
To be clear, beginning in 2016, Gomez used to be the most-followed person on the entire Instagram platform until soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo lapped her in 2018. At the time of publication, this is where the top three celebrities rank:
Cristiano Ronaldo: 155,961,313 followers
Ariana Grande: 146,388,079 followers
Selena Gomez: 146,302,194 followers
Honestly, Gomez and Grande remain neck-in-neck. What's 80,000 followers between celebrities, y'know?
As I mentioned, Grande's feed is pummeled with new-music PR and behind-the-scenes looks at her glamorous lifestyle. Gomez's feed, on the other hand, is pretty quiet, peppered here and there with PUMA campaigns for her collaboration line, SGxPUMA. In a rare move, Gomez posted a few personal pics with her friends in early February, but prior to that she only shared three photos since announcing she would be taking yet another break from the platform in September.
As her farewell message, Gomez posted a smiling photo with the caption:
Mood lol (I was looking at myself in the mirror -like an idiot!) Update: taking a social media break. Again. As much as I am grateful for the voice that social media gives each of us, I am equally grateful to be able to step back and live my life present to the moment I have been given. Kindness and encouragement only for a bit! Just remember- negative comments can hurt anybody’s feelings. Obvi.
Honestly, with the way Instagram literally works, it's surprising she's hung on to the most-followed title for so long without regular content updates.
Meanwhile, Buzzfeed notes that, surprisingly enough, both Grande and Gomez only have one photo each in the top 20 most-liked Instagram posts of all time. Gomez's most recent photo with her friends is holding down the number four spot with 13.9 million likes.
The seventh most-liked photo is this black and white photo of Mac Miller which Grande shared after his untimely death in September 2018.
As for the No. 1 most-liked photo, you guys might recall that honor went to a random egg — much to Kylie Jenner's dismay. Her first photo of her daughter, Stormi, is chilling at second place.
It's a weird world out there, you guys. Congratulations, Ari, I guess?
