Selena Gomez Tops 100 Million On Instagram, Still Trails Taylor Swift For Total Audience

Selena Gomez bested best friend Taylor Swift earlier this week as the “Hands To Myself” singer hit a milestone on Instagram, becoming the first individual to surpass the 100 million followers mark on the social media platform.

Multiple media outlets reported the milestone over the weekend. What makes the accomplishment more remarkable is that Selena Gomez — who is currently taking a break from touring and social media — has not posted anything to her account for more than five weeks while seeking treatment for depression, Seventeen reported.

While Selena Gomez becomes the first individual to reach 100 million followers, the singer still pales in comparison to the reach Taylor Swift has across Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Combined, Taylor Swift has more than 247 million followers on the three platforms while Selena Gomez has amassed slightly more than 207 million followers on the three platforms.

Selena Gomez has cashed in on her large following with advertising sponsors, Adweek concluded earlier this year. Like Taylor Swift, the “Same Old Love” singer has secured deals with Coca-Cola, Pantene, and Kmart that pay Selena Gomez to post content to social media platforms like Instagram.

Since Selena Gomez has taken a break from Instagram, her ability to command large sums for her posts may have been hampered as her influence has decreased. Prior to the hiatus from Instagram, D’Marie Group CEO Frank Spadafora estimated her posts to be worth as much as $550,000, a figure that was easily besting bestie Taylor Swift.

“The rate-per-post is her ‘ad equivalent’ value per post across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram,” Spadafora explained. “This may be different than how much she is actually getting paid when participating in social media campaigns. That is up to negotiations between her agents and the brands.”

While the sums of cash paid for sponsored content on Instagram may seem outlandish, individuals far less famous than Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez are commanding thousands of dollars for their sponsored content. A Market Place report noted that individuals with as few as 350,000 followers had cashed in on their content for thousands of dollars.

While Selena Gomez can boast about being the first individual to reach 100 million followers on Instagram, neither she nor Taylor Swift can lay claim to having the most followers on a single social media platform. That distinction belongs to Cristiano Ronaldo, according to a website that tracks Facebook followers, as the soccer star has nearly 117 million followers. Both Shakira and Vin Diesel also have amassed more than 100 million Facebook followers.

Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift also lag behind another famous musician on Twitter. Katy Perry lays claim to having the most followers on that platform with more than 93 million individuals reading the 140-character messages the “California Gurls” singer shares.

Selena Gomez is finding some new ways to treat her lupus https://t.co/Q8YOc8uYEo

— HollywoodLife (@HollywoodLife) September 17, 2016

When Selena Gomez returns from her stint in rehab for depression related to her medical condition, Taylor Swift has already planned a way to welcome home the “Kill ‘Em With Kindness” singer. An unnamed source told Hollywood Life that Taylor Swift will treat Selena Gomez to a girls’ night out once the musician feels up to the fun-filled activities.

“As soon as Selena’s feeling better, Taylor has promised a girls’ weekend. She can hang out with their girls quad and they can pamper themselves at a health spa.”

Reportedly, Selena Gomez is currently seeking treatment from a Christian-based rehab facility where she is currently undergoing intense therapy sessions, Radar Online reported. Selena Gomez is expected to stay at the facility for at least 60 days, the unnamed source explained.

What do you think about Selena Gomez surpassing best friend Taylor Swift and becoming the first individual to amass 100 million followers on Instagram? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

[Featured Image by Jason Merritt/Getty Images]