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Selena Gomez and Ariana Grande fans go head to head in Oscars debate

Will stan wars change the discourse about this year’s Academy Awards?

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Kira Deshler

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Every year, the Academy Awards are the source of discussion, debate, and controversy. That remains true in 2025, with one significant addition: Stan wars.

This awards season is big for pop music fans, as both Ariana Grande and Selena Gomez have been awards contenders. (Lady GaGa fans have been less than enthused by her role in Joker: Folie à Deux.) Stans—meaning super fans—of these two artists have been going head-to-head for months now.

The longtime rivalry between Grande fans (Arianators) and Gomez fans (Selenators) was reignited when the Oscar nominations were announced last week. Grande received a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her performance in Wicked, while Gomez wasn’t nominated despite Emilia Pérez garnering a whopping 13 nominations. 

Selena Gomez fans go after Ariana Grande following Oscar nominations

Stans began spewing vitriol at each other almost immediately. The Selenators took aim at Grande for all her perceived faults. The most common epithet for Grande was “homewrecker,” which stans used at every opportunity.

One viral post, a response to a clip of Grande in Wicked, reads “you know the industry is over when someone with a nickelodeon level of acting is nominated for #Oscars.” Other Selenators used the phrase “Nickelodeon level” in their posts, making no mention of the fact that Gomez got her start on the Disney Channel.

Some responses were even meaner, with a few stans commenting on Grande’s body and one user writing “At least my fav didn’t bombed people,” in reference to the Manchester Arena bombing. Horrifyingly, this was not the first instance of Grande haters bringing up the bombing. The day before, a Swiftie arguing with an Arianator wrote “Ariana killed more ppl on Manchester than Mussolini did,” while a Nicki Minaj stan suggested that Grande orchestrated the bombing herself.

Other responses were less hateful, but just as passionate. Some Selenators rallied behind Margaret Qualley, who was not nominated for The Substance, as a means to rally more support for Gomez. Others argued that an award at Cannes, where Gomez won Best Actress along with her co-stars, is more prestigious than an Oscar anyway. Selenators also have Swifties on their side, as Gomez and Taylor Swift are known to be good friends

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Ariana Grande fans respond to hate from Selena Gomez fans

The Arianators did not take these attacks lightly. Many told the Selenators it was time to give up stanning Gomez, and that they were delusional for thinking Gomez would ever garner such critical acclaim.

Arianators noted that while Grande is a world-class performer, Gomez is basically a beauty influencer. Gomez is well-known for being the most-followed woman on Instagram (429 million followers), and Arianators suggested that this is the only thing Gomez has going for her.

Others celebrated Grande’s nomination as an example of her overcoming all of the hate. “ariana went through cokehead allegations, split personality and body disorder diagnoses and multiple homewrecker rumors just to get the oscar nom bitch! Seeeeeeethem” wrote one stan. On the other hand, Gomez was repeatedly called a loser. One hater wrote, “Selena gomez got no oscars, no grammys, no sold out tour, just her zionist blushes and a victim role.”

That user’s reference to Zionism was not unprecedented. In fact, stans on both sides brought up Israel and Palestine as a means to discredit their adversaries. One X user posted a long thread detailing why both Grande and her co-star Cynthia Erivo should be canceled because of things like Zionism and cultural appropriation. Two stans got into an argument about how little both women have spoken about the war on Gaza, while an Arianator posted evidence that Benny Blanco, Gomez’ fiance, is a Zionist.

It’s unclear if any of these stans are seriously concerned about the war on Gaza or the Palestinian cause. In most instances, these posts feel like a strategic “gotcha” rather than a thoughtful political critique—something we’ve seen before in these kinds of debates.

The distinction between an average fan and a stan becomes apparent here. In many cases, these stans behave like proponents of nationalism or devout supporters of controversial political figures.

When it comes to stan wars, the name of the game is demonstrating their fave’s success and defending them against potential competitors or detractors. On X, stans spend much of their time proving that their fave is the best, and the Oscars gave them another opportunity to do so.

Will this change the conversation about the Oscars? Probably, though it seems unlikely that cinephiles will want to wade into this ancient rivalry.


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