Kylie Jenner Loses Nearly 1 Million Instagram Followers After Denying She Mocked Selena Gomez

Kylie Jenner is learning the hard way that acting like a child in a schoolyard on the internet when you're a grown woman doesn't always pay.

If you've been anywhere near social media recently, you've likely heard Jenner, pop star and actor Selena Gomez, and Justin Bieber's wife Hailey Bieber are currently beefing.

Or at least so it seems, because Bieber and Jenner deny any wrongdoing.

But fans are reading the writing on the wall and seem to feel they know what they're seeing, and they've punished Jenner's denial in the best way they know how—by knocking her out of the top position as the most followed woman on Instagram in the world.

Not only that, but fans replaced Jenner with her nemesis, Selena Gomez.

Gomez acknowledged the changeover with a cryptic but mostly perfect post to the platform.

Your rebuttal, Ms. Jenner?

The beef between the three women is eminently childish, as Gomez herself acknowledged in a recent TikTok live.

In case you're not caught up, here's a primer.

It all began a while back when Gomez was body-shamed online over paparazzi pics of her in a bikini.

Bieber, Jenner and a third friend posted a TikTok as that furor was erupting in which they mouthed along to a viral song on the app that says, "I'm not saying she deserved it, but God's timing is always right."

Fans interpreted this to be a dig at Gomez, especially since she and Bieber used to have beef because Bieber, with Jenner's help, allegedly began hooking up with Justin Bieber while he and Gomez were still together.

Then, an old video of Bieber shading Taylor Swift resurfaced. Gomez and Swift being best friends, Gomez piped up to defend her bestie, and Bieber got savaged by both women's fanbases.

Then Gomez posted a TikTok in which she joked about having over-laminated her eyebrows by accident. Jenner posted a TikTok, which included a photo of Bieber, talking about eyebrows and asking "this was an accident?" which fans took to be an obvious dig at Gomez.

When Jenner denied it, she lost nearly a million Instagram followers so far, while Gomez gained millions, overtaking her as most followed woman on the platform.

For her part, Gomez has since distanced herself from the drama, announcing a social media break and telling her TikTok followers:

"I'm 30 and too old for this. But I love you so much and I'll see you guys sooner than later."

She may be taking a break, but lots of people online are firmly Team Selena in this whole debacle.

Moral of the story--as Jenner and Bieber are learning the hard way, sometimes it pays to just act your age and mind your business.