Justin Bieber Praises Sofia Richie On Instagram: Did Selena Gomez Throw Shade?

Last year, Justin Bieber left Instagram after some of his fans slammed his then-girlfriend Sofia Richie. When the Biebs made his initial threat to exit the social media platform, his ex-girlfriend Selena Gomez leaped into the feud, dissing him and offering her own views on the situation. Now, months later, Justin has returned to Instagram with praise for Sofia. But Bieber’s compliments for Richie come amid rumors that Selena just threw shade at the Biebs again, turning into a déjà vu drama.

Even though it’s been awhile since Justin and Richie were seen together as a couple, Seventeen magazine noted that now it seems as Bieber can’t stop himself from gushing about Sofia’s beauty, leading to rumors that he wants to rekindle their romance.

Richie and the prince of pop music initially seemed to go from friends to sweethearts on the fast track, heading to Mexico for her birthday. Justin then attacked the trolls who tried to bully Sofia, finally quitting Instagram in response to the hate. But Bieber and Richie subsequently reportedly ended their romance in September.

Now, however, there’s speculation that Justin and Sofia are heating up the romance again. It all began when Richie shared a picture from a magazine photo shoot. Sofia pouted her lips, with her hair tousled in supermodel style.

That model pose met with Bieber’s approval, as he shared in a comment praising her beauty. The compliment for Richie came just a month after Justin’s return to Instagram.

“Ur so pretty.”

Fans responded by posting a screenshot of Sofia’s picture and Bieber’s praise, and reactions varied from excitement and enthusiasm for the possible rekindled romance to slams for Richie. There were also comparisons between Sofia and Justin’s other ex-girlfriends.

“Hailey is prettier,” wrote one, referring to Bieber’s ex Hailey Baldwin.

“from which angle she looks like Selena???” questioned another.

While fans speculate about what Justin’s praise for Sofia means, there also are rumors that Bieber’s ex-girlfriend Selena Gomez just threw shade at Justin. The alleged shade occurred when Selena did justice to Nicki Minaj in a new video, and fans went wild because of the verse that she rapped, according to Hollywood Life.

Gomez chose Nicki’s “No Frauds,” and fans interpreted her choice as throwing subtle shade at Bieber.

“I don’t need no frauds. I don’t need no drama when you call. I don’t need no lies.”

The timing seemed like more than coincidence to some of Selena’s and Justin’s fans since Gomez supposedly threw that subtle shade at Bieber at the same time as he praised Richie’s sexy photo. Moreover, since all of the drama involving Justin, Selena, and Sofia is taking place on social media, it’s déjà vu all over again because of the Instagram battle that occurred involving the same trio last year.

That feud took place last August when Bieber threatened that he would make his Instagram private if fans didn’t stop slamming his then-girlfriend Richie. Gomez promptly responded to the threat, noted Hollywood Take.

“I’m gonna make my Instagram private if you guys don’t stop the hate this is getting out of hand. If you guys are really fans you wouldn’t be so mean to people that I like,” wrote Justin.

Gomez then responded to Bieber’s warning.

“If you can’t handle the hate then stop posting pictures of your girlfriend lol – it should be special between you two only,” posted Selena.

Justin didn’t sit back and allow Gomez to have the last word, however. He then accused her of using him to get attention for herself.

“It’s funny to see people that used me for attention and still try to point the finger this way. Sad.”

Selena retorted by accusing Bieber of cheating “multiple times,” describing herself as “forgiving and supportive,” while Justin got the last potshot by alleging that Gomez had cheated with Zayn Malik.

Was Selena’s recent choice of the lyrics “I don’t need no lies” in her new video referring to that Instagram war of words with Bieber? What do you think? Post your comments below.

[Featured Image by Jason Redmond/AP Images]