Justin Bieber hasn’t produced a studio album in five years since he released Justice, to the world, but the Baby hitmaker has always remained in the public eye — and not always for the right reasons.
Why? People online are saying they are concerned. Bieber has had quite the yo-yo year, with the birth of his first child, followed by scrutiny and speculation over the P Diddy drama, followed by incessant divorce rumours.
None of which are helped by his increasingly erratic online posting. Most recently, the singer has been posting incomprehensible photo dumps, including selfies, FaceTime calls with unidentified women and random item shots from his upcoming clothing brand.
Under the post of the woman on FaceTime to Bieber, one Instagram user commented: “Hailey gotta be God’s strongest warrior.” Another added: “I can’t keep defending you.”
Meanwhile, under a carousel posts showing a series of zoomed in seflies, one follower commented: “What in the Amanda Bynes is going on.”
The singer has been widely criticised on social media, with many questioning the intention behind posting such comments. But off-kilter social media antics have become a hallmark of Bieber’s online presence lately.
The Justin and Hailey Bieber divorce rumours were reignited last month due to Justin’s choice comments towards his wife over her Vogue cover. A landmark moment for any model, you may have expected the pop star to praise the mother of his children for her career milestone.
Instead, he recalled in an Instagram caption about how he had told Hailey she would “never” have a Vogue cover during a fight. “Yo this reminds me when Hailey and I got into a huge fight. I told Hails that she would never be on the cover of Vogue,” he wrote. “Yikes I know, so mean. For some reason because I felt so disrespected. I thought I gotta get even.”
The singer was widely criticised on social media, with many questioning the intention behind posting such comments. But off-kilter social media antics have become a hallmark of Bieber’s online presence lately.
Fans also think Bieber is wearing this baggage on his face, with appearances around New York earlier this year prompting an increased level of worry from onlookers, as the singer looks undeniably gaunt and dishevelled.
Meanwhile his online persona has fluctuated between cogent and concerningly zany. In February, he posted a video of himself and a friend rapping on a private jet about getting “high.” Bieber, who was topless and holding an open bag of popcorn, rapped: “High like a fly guy, I fly high like a magpie, I go high like I’m that guy.”
The video was posted less than two days after representatives for Justin Bieber and his wife Hailey issued a joint statement that denied Justin had been taking any illegal drugs. The statement called the public’s obsession over the singer’s mental and physical health “exhausting and pitiful”.
“[It] shows that despite the obvious truth, people are committed to keeping negative, salacious, harmful narratives alive,” the statement read.
The reps added that the last year was “very transformative for [Justin] as he ended several close friendships and business relationships that no longer served him.” The statement also claimed Bieber had been busy working on new music and parenting his and Hailey’s newborn son.
New York appearances send mixed messages about Bieber’s mental state
In February, Bieber was snapped by paparazzi while entering a bath house spa during a trip to NYC while wearing a pale yellow hoodie with no shirt underneath, a rolled up mint green beanie and baggy trousers that exposed his boxers.
His strangely-outfitted appearance came amid the swirling divorce rumours that were surrounding him and wife Hailey Bieber at the time, even though the couple also stepped out later that day to have dinner together in New York.
These rumours were kick-started by the revelation that Bieber had unfollowed Hailey Bieber on Instagram in January, which is apparently as good as filing divorce papers in Hollywood circles.
However, Bieber later took to Instagram Stories to clarify that someone had hacked into his account and unfollowed his wife, saying that things were “getting suss out here.”
Bieber was also seen squaring up to paparazzi — this time across the States in Palm Springs, California, where he was situated ahead of Coachella.
In a video obtained by TMZ, Bieber was heading to get coffee with friends when he first spotted the photographers. One waved Bieber a good morning, before the hitmaker went into a tirade.
“No! Not good morning! You already know. Why are you here?” Before Bieber went on a rant about “money, money, money, money”.
He continued: “Get outta here, bro. Money, that’s all you want. You don’t care about human beings. That’s all you care about, guys. Is money. You don’t care about people. Only money. … You don’t care about human beings.”
What the downfall of P Diddy means for Justin Bieber
The general level of concern around Bieber has been heightened since the P Diddy scandal broke last summer. After the rap mogul was charged with sex trafficking and racketeering, countless hours of old footage were uncovered showing concerning behaviour by Diddy in hindsight.
One of the biggest targets of this online evidence excavation was Justin Bieber, who was placed under Diddy’s “custody” while still a young teenager and introduced to his world.
Speaking to the camera in the 2009 video, which is still live on Bieber’s YouTube channel, Diddy says: “He’s having 48 hours with Diddy, where we hanging out and what we’re doing we can’t really disclose. But it’s definitely a 15-year-old’s dream. I have been given custody of him.
“He’s signed to Usher when he did his first album. I don’t really have legal guardianship of him, but for the next 48 hours he’s with me. And we’re gonna go buck fool crazy.”
Bieber’s team have since released a statement about Justin’s relationship to Diddy, denying that he was a victim of abuse. "Although Justin is not among Sean Combs’ victims, there are individuals who were genuinely harmed by him," the spokesperson said in a statement obtained by People. "Shifting focus away from this reality detracts from the justice these victims rightfully deserve.”
What we really know about what Justin Bieber is doing now
In the here and now, Bieber has yet to release any music since 2023, with his last studio album, Justice, having landed in 2021. He occasionally pops up on tracks, including the acoustic version of SZA’s Snooze and hit The Kid Laroi single Stay, but Bieber’s presence in the music industry is increasingly becoming Rihanna-esque (i.e, non-existent).
But should people really be that worried? Much of the speculation around Bieber is fuelled by his gaunt physicality and his outfit choices, but to some extent, Bieber has always dressed like this. In adulthood, at least.
His looks have caused fans to speculate about his personal life for years, which anyone will be able to recall if they remember the strange period of time where he got really into wearing hotel slippers out onto the street.
Meanwhile, he and Hailey Bieber are consistently making public appearances that conflict with the divorce rumours and Bieber’s music return is heavily slated for 2025. And his online persona has been messy for quite some time, he’s just posting more frequently.
Which begs the question: could Justin Bieber just be... being Justin Bieber?
