Selena Gomez’s Boyfriend, Benny Blanco, Faces Backlash for Taking His Shoes Off on Date Night

Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco can’t catch a break.

Gomez has been defending her romance with the 35-year-old music producer and food critic since confirming their relationship in early December. After secretly dating her former collaborator and fellow foodie for six months, Gomez told wary fans that he’s “the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

While some haters have shared some rude opinions that don’t bear repeating, others were concerned about the coupling for more valid reasons. For one, many believe a statement Blanco made in 2020 was a disrespectful jab at Gomez. While promoting the Justin Bieber song “Lonely” on the Zach Sang Show, Blanco said, “Justin is not one of those, like, cookie-cutter pop artists; you know they’re, like, ‘This is my new single and here’s my makeup line.’”

When a fan pointed out this apparent “shade” to Gomez, a pop star who owns a makeup company, the 31-year-old replied, “Yeah and he’s still better than anyone I’ve ever been with. Facts.”

All this is to say, Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco’s relationship is definitely under a microscope—and naysayers have already found something else to critique.

On January 3 they went on their first public outing as a couple, appearing very happy and cozy at a Lakers game in Los Angeles. However, many social media users were distracted from the sweet courtside moment by a photo of Blanco sitting with his bare feet removed from his white Birkenstock clogs.

“Having your dogs out on the sideline is wild behavior,” one user wrote in the comments a GQ Sports Instagram post, while another suggested that “toes out for a dude court side should be a lifetime ban.” One commenter even described the move as “diabolical.”

Still, plenty of Instagram users came to their defense. “Everyone’s hating but they both look genuinely happy and I’m happy for them,” a GQ Sports follower wrote. “Stop looking at his dawgs everyone.”

If it helps, it appears that Blanco’s feet were out of his clogs for just a short moment in time. In every other Getty photo that extends beyond the knees, his shoes remain firmly in place.