Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez's New Year's kiss draws death threats

Justin Bieber, 16 and Selena Gomez, 18, were spotted getting cozy while vacationing on a yacht in the Caribbean this weekend. 

Despite the fact that Selena Gomez insisted that their IHOP breakfast date in mid-December nothing more than pancakes, the performers were spotted kissing and getting grabby in St. Lucia to ring in the New Year and TMZ published some of the incriminating photographs on Monday morning.

When reality star Kim Kardashian posed with Bieber for an Elle magazine photo shoot last summer, she received death threats from some of the young crooner's more intense fans and once again, Bieber's female fans have taken to the internet to voice their disapproval for Bieber's rumored romance.

After the photos surfaced, Gomez received messages on Twitter such as, "Roses are red, violets are blue, @selenagomez if you'll break @justinbieber's heart I'm gonna kill you."

Another fan accused Gomez of being a pedophile, despite the slight 2-year age difference between the two stars. Gomez herself said in an interview with Perez Hilton that it would in fact be "illegal" for her to hook up with the underage singer.

Gomez is the young star of the Disney Channel series "Wizards of Waverly Place" and recently made her big film debut in the movie "Ramona and Beezus." Gomez and Bieber have not commented on the death threats or the pictures.

"I think that people are always gonna be interested in my personal life," Bieber told MTV, "but I gotta keep some things to myself. I'm just having fun being a teenager."

In the past year, Bieber made his acting debut on "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation", released a rap video and a memoir. He is set to release a movie about his life called "Never Say Never", which is due to hit theaters on February 11.