The biggest celebrities and influencers came together earlier this week for the 2021 Met Gala, marking the return of the biggest night in fashion after being long delayed by the pandemic.
Obviously, with so many A-listers in one location, folks were going to run into some familiar faces. And unfortunately for some, like Shawn Mendes and Hailey Baldwin, that meant seeing some former (rumored) lovers for the first time in a while! While filming their Get Ready with Me video for Vogue, the 23-year-old Wonder singer and his girlfriend Camila Cabello ran into the Biebers at the Mark Hotel. Let’s just say the moment had fans on TikTok feeling super “awkward”…
See, Shawn and Hailey actually attended the 2018 Met Gala together — just five months before she married Justin Bieber!
Ch-ch-check out a picture of them together at the star-studded event (below):
![Hailey Baldwin and Shawn Mendes at the 2018 Met Gala](https://perezhilton.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Shawn-Mendes-Hailey-Baldwin-Met-Gala-2018.jpg)
Cute couple, but uh… the fact they’re both looking in different directions was a little more portentous than anyone realized.
Related: Ireland Baldwin Blasts Selena Gomez Fans Who Heckled Justin & Hailey Bieber At Met Gala
FYI, the two have continuously maintained that they were simply “friends” despite persistent rumors they were romantically involved right before the 24-year-old model got back together with her now-husband.
Does the discomfort of their meeting this week indicate there was more to it to anyone else??
In the viral video, Cabello first spotted the Biebers as they made their way over to the festivities. She went over and congratulated Justin on his VMAs performance from the night before, saying:
“How are you? Great performance last night. Killed.”
Shawn then joined in, hugging Hailey and the Peaches crooner before asking:
“Hey, bro. How are you?”
To which Justin replied:
“Really good.”
But instead of ending there, the mindless small talk carried on. Shawn continued:
“Yeah?”
Justin responded:
“Yes, sir.”
Shawn then added:
“Feeling good? You look good.”
Yeesh! The STAY hitmaker went on to compliment his fellow Canadian’s outfit, expressing:
“Going with the no-shirt vibes. I like it.”
OK, pause: Is this Justin’s version of mean girl shade?
Related: Kim & Kanye Both Have THOUGHTS About Her Already-Infamous Face-Covered Met Gala Look!
If so, Shawn didn’t pick up on it. He explained that he is “trying to push it a little bit,” as Justin teased that he has “to flex it if you have it.” Before the exchange could get anymore cringe-worthy, Hailey butted into the conversation and announced that they needed to leave:
“Alright baby, I think they’re ready. We’ll see you guys there.”
During the entire interaction, the former ballet dancer barely said a word or made eye contact with Shawn, leading many social media users on TikTok to comment on how “awkward” the situation had been. One person wrote how “the tension here is just too much.” Another commented:
“It was awkward but in a good way lol.”
For the audience that is!
However, others did not seem to mind their conversation. One fan wrote:
“It’s not awkward at all, idk why people like to find negativity were there isn’t.”
Someone else defended:
“If this is awkward thank god no one films my interactions.”
LOLz!!! Ch-ch-check out the exchange for yourself (below) around the 7 min mark:
What do YOU think, Perezcious readers? Was this interaction awkward AF, or are people just reaching? Let us know in the comments (below).
[Image via WENN/Avalon, Vogue/YouTube]