When Instagram decided to to remove all “spammy accounts” in December 2020, many celebrities saw their number of followers plummet. The biggest loser was actually the “Instagram” account, with 18 million less followers.
Find out more about the celebrities who bought Instagram followers or were simply the target of fake accounts looking to increase their own number of followers. While Taylor Swift lost 720,000 and Harry Styles over 800,000, then bounced back with many more, other celebrities weren’t so lucky. Find out who lost the most and why it matters.
Justin Bieber
The singer was one of the hardest hit celebrities, losing over 3.5 million followers on the social media app.
However, Bieber had 23.8 million fans on Instagram before the purge, and his numbers have continued to climb since, leading him to break 25 million in just a few months after he went back to 20 million.
Ariana Grande
Whether the followers were bought by the company that manages her social media or spammers simply followed her to get more followers for their account, Ariana Grande was also considered one of the celebrities who bought Instagram followers. The singer lost 1.5 million of her 21.7 million followers, but in just four months climbed to 31.8 million.
Tyga
After losing over 2,1 million followers in the Instapurge, the rapper wasn’t so lucky in getting back real ones. Tyga was closing in on 5.7 million followers before Instagram removed the spam and fake accounts. His current number of followers is just 5.4 million.
Kim Kardashian
Many have accused Kim of being one of the celebrities who bought Instagram followers, particularly since a higher number means more money for endorsements, and the reality TV star does plenty. Kim Kardashian lost 1.3 million fans in the big Instagram purge, while her sister Khloe lost 750,000 and Kendal Jenner discovered 900,000 less after the removal of spam ones.
Akon
One of the celebrities who was hardest hit by the Instapurge, Akon lose over 2.4 millions followers. In just 24 hours, the singer saw his number of followers from from 4.3 million to just 2.1 million. Despite the fact that he’s currently promoting an album and released 5 songs from it in January 2020, his number of Instagram followers has remained steady since.
Rihanna
“Badgalriri” has had plenty of issues with Instagram, since the service kept censoring her posts and even removing her account temporarily. Rihanna was also considered to be one of the celebrities who bought Instagram followers, since she lost 1.2 million fans after the removal of problematic accounts. That didn’t really matter to the singer, who had over 14 million Instagram fans before the purge, and currently has 18.6 million.
Selena Gomez
Even though she lost 1.1 million Instagram followers in December 2020, Selena Gomez is definitely one of the most popular celebrities on the social media app. Before the Instapurge, Gomez was closing in on 20 million fans, and she currently has over 30 million.
Beyoncé
Not even Queen Bey was immune to rumors that she’s one of the celebrities who bought Instagram followers. Beyoncé lost just over 800,000 of the 22 million followers she had at the time. That didn’t seem to be a problem for the star, who’s currently followed by 32.6 million followers. Even if some of them are spam accounts and another purge is one the way, Beyoncé should hit 33 million very soon.
Kevin Hart
The Instapurge was also a step back for comedian Kevin Hart. Even though he lost less than 600,000 followers, it was enough to push him from around 10 million back to 9. Hart’s profile was raised once his new comedy “Get Hard” was released, and he’s currently followed by 15.1 million Instagram users.
Cara Delevingne
Not even Instagram darling Cara Delevingne was safe from innuendos that she was one of the celebrities who bought Instagram followers. She was closing in on 9 million followers when the spam accounts were removed, and she lost over 370,000 followers. However, she’s made progress since, being currently followed by over 12.3 million fans.
