Justin Bieber has sparked growing concern among his fans, as he's been seen stepping out looking downcast and gaunt. Recent reports suggest that Justin’s wife, Hailey, 28, is “deeply concerned” about him.
But now, after weeks of speculation about his health, his reps claimed Justin is "simply in one of the best places in his life" as they shut down the rumour he was using hard drugs as "absolutely not true". The singer is reportedly focusing on parenting his newborn son, Jack Blues Bieber, and working on new music.
Speaking to TMZ, Justin's rep said the past year has been "very transformative for him as he ended several close friendships and business relationships that no longer served him." They went on to say the narrative on his mental and physical health is "exhausting and pitiful and shows that despite the obvious truth, people are committed to keeping negative, salacious, harmful narratives alive."
Justin, who welcomed son Jack with wife Hailey last summer, caused concern over his well-being when he suddenly unfollowed his wife on social media in January. Right before that, he unfollowed his father-in-law, Stephen Baldwin, and shared a controversial photo of a bong. He quickly dismissed rumours of a marriage breakdown by sharing a number of photos of his wife.
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GC Images)He said: "Someone went on my account and unfollowed my wife. S**t is getting suss out here.”
However, there are concerns that Justin's past demons may be rearing their heads again, potentially triggered by his association with the arrest of Sean "Diddy" Combs.
The hip-hop titan, who was once a close friend and mentor to Justin, is currently behind bars awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking, abuse and racketeering - all of which Combs vehemently denies. Despite their close friendship, Justin's early career was tumultuous, with rumours that he was "thrown to the wolves" as he partied with Combs during his teen years.
The star is being held in the notorious Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, while Texas lawyer Tony Buzbee has announced 120 new alleged victims with abuse claims against him. Of them, 25 claim they were underage when the alleged abuse happened. Combs has denied all of the accusations.
After Combs' arrest, rumours swirled that Justin now regrets his recent collaboration on his album. "Bieber is so disturbed by the Diddy news and is unwilling to process it or discuss it, so he shuts it off," a source revealed last month. "So many people who helped to make him who he is were very close to Diddy, and it has completely thrown him," another source told the Daily Mail. It has also been reported that Justin took a "long break" from hanging out with Combs "when he believes most of this took place."
A video from 2009 recently emerged online, featuring a 15-year-old Bieber spending a day with Combs. In one snippet, Combs, standing next to a young Bieber, tells the camera: "He's having 48 hours with Diddy, where we're hanging out and what we're doing we can't really disclose. But it's definitely a 15-year-old's dream ... for the next 48 hours, he's with me, and we're gonna go full crazy."
When the duo appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2016, Combs, speaking of a then 16-year-old Justin, bragged: "He knows better than to be talking about the things that he does with big brother Puff on national television," before adding, "Everything ain't for everybody."
An industry insider who worked closely with Justin's team told Page Six: "Do I believe he was involved in some stupid s--t? Yeah. He was a teenager. He was the biggest pop star in the world. Everyone was worried about him, and we didn't know if he would survive it. People took advantage of everything he did."
Amid the scandal, Hailey looks to be a pillar of support for Justin. The star has made just a handful of public appearances since allegations against Combs first emerged, and Hailey is said to be feeling like Justin's 'gatekeeper' amid the drama, an insider has revealed.
The pop star's long-standing struggle with anxiety, depression and addiction has been well-documented. In his 2020 documentary, Justin Bieber: Seasons, he confessed: "There was a time where I was sipping Lean [codeine cough syrup and soda], I was popping pills, I was doing Molly [MDMA], you know, 'shrooms, everything. It was just an escape for me.
"My security and staff would come into my room at night to check my pulse. People don't know how serious it got. It was legit crazy scary," he reflected. "I was waking up in the morning and the first thing I was doing was popping pills and smoking a blunt and starting my day.
"It just got scary. I basically said to myself, I'm like, 'God, if you're real, you get me through this season of stopping these pills and stuff, and if you do, I'll do the rest of the work.'"
Justin's journey from child prodigy to global superstar has been fraught with challenges. His single mother, Pattie, raised him in Ontario, Canada. Reflecting on his modest beginnings, Justin once admitted, "I remember being poor and being teased by other kids."
His life took a dramatic turn in the early 2000s when he was discovered on YouTube by record producer Scooter Braun. The release of his hit song Baby in 2010 catapulted him to international stardom at the young age of 14.
The track topped charts globally, went 12-times platinum, and its music video – viewed over 3.3 billion times – remains one of the most watched YouTube videos of all time.
English (US) ·