Selena Gomez leaves social media after defending Taylor Swift from Hailey Bieber

Selena Gomez announced she's taking a break from social media shortly after defending Taylor Swift over a post where Hailey Bieber appeared to criticise her.

The singer shared the news of her imminent departure from the internet in a TikTok Live video yesterday (23 February), just after achieving the status of the most-followed woman on Instagram.

Hear the news below:

Fans of Gomez will be used to her dipping in and out of social media, with the singer previously claiming TikTok was the only social media app she had on her phone.

It seems not even TikTok has made the cut this time though, as Gomez told fans: "I'm going to be taking a second from social media, because this is a little silly. I'm 30 and am too old for this."

She continued: "But I love you so much and I'll see you guys sooner than later. I'm just gonna take a break from everything."

It's unclear exactly what it was that sparked Gomez's decision, but her announcement came shortly after she responded to a resurfaced video of Hailey and Method Man, who used to co-host the show Drop The Mic.

Method Man joked about Swift's songs in the clip, teasing a 'rap battle full of the meanest lyrics about a celebrity since Taylor Swift's last album'.

As Method Man mentioned the 'Shake It Off' singer, Hailey stuck out her tongue and pretended to put her finger in her throat as if to make herself sick.

@duckcopycat0/Instagram

After the clip was shared online, Gomez responded to defend Swift as she wrote: "So sorry, my best friend is and continues to be one of the best in the game."

Gomez has long celebrated her friendship with Swift, but fans pitted her and Hailey against one another after Hailey started dating Gomez's ex, Justin Bieber.

Earlier this month, Gomez was aware of a fan-made TikTok video which implied a video shared by Hailey was a subtle jab at Gomez.

The Only Murders In The Building star wasn't actually mentioned in the video, which saw Hailey lip-syncing to a viral TikTok sound alongside two friends, but Gomez addressed the clip as she responded: "It's ok! I don't let these things get me down! Be nice to everyone!"

Gomez assured in her video that she is 'very happy', 'blessed' with good friends and that she 'loves' who she is, but said simply she needed a break.