Justin Bieber has fans on edge once again, as his focus shifts away from music to a side hustle, amid growing concerns over his well-being and the ever-expanding hiatus since his 2021 album Justice.
The 31-year-old pop star has been absent from the music scene as speculation about his mental health and marriage to Hailey Bieber grows, fueled by his recent disheveled appearance and candid posts about ‘anger issues.’
The alarm bells rang louder over the weekend when Justin went live on Instagram appearing shirtless, visibly gaunt, and hollow-eyed.
Hailey’s reaction only stoked the fire when fans noticed she seemingly unfollowed Justin after the concerning livestream, though she quickly denied it, attributing it to a ‘glitch.’
Amid the swirling drama, Justin posted a more upbeat update on Thursday, showing off a new branding collaboration featuring hoodies, sunglasses, phone cases and shoes.
Fans quickly reacted, with one posting, ‘Bro dropping everything instead of an album,’ while another added, ‘Doing everything but releasing the new album.’
One impatient follower chimed in, ‘Ok, now release a new album please.’
Still, some fans remained hopeful, with one writing, ‘Not you all thinking he was crashing out and he drops a new clothing brand and hopefully a new album soon!’
Bieber, who burst onto the music scene at just 13 with his viral hit Baby, has been on a noticeable hiatus since releasing his 2021 album, which features the hit Peaches.
The Instagram post comes after married couple raised even more eyebrows on Saturday when Hailey, 28, dined out with BFF Kendall Jenner—only to slip out of the restaurant mere minutes before Justin reportedly arrived and ate alone.
Amid the swirling drama, some diehard fans see a silver lining, claiming Justin recently added to his vast tattoo collection with ‘H-22,’ a heartfelt tribute to Hailey’s initials and birth year.
One Instagram user shared photos from Justin’s livestream, highlighting the ‘H-22’ tattoo sitting just below his wrist.
While his arm is already covered in intricate ink, the ‘H-22’ stands alone, clearly visible above a display of ocean waves.
‘In a recent Instagram live, Justin Bieber showed off a new tattoo “H22” in honor of Hailey,’ the user captioned the post.
Another fan posted an image of the couple alongside the tattoo, writing: ‘During their recent Instagram live, @justinbieber showed off their new tattoo, “H22,” in honor of Hailey.
‘The “H” stands for the initial of your name, and the “22” refers to your birthday, November 22.’
On Monday Hailey broke her silence about unfollowing Justin on Instagram, amid swirling rumors about the state of their marriage.
The model took to TikTok to reveal what really happened when fans noticed she unfollowed her partner when he was posting bizarre videos and photos online over the weekend.
She wrote: ‘It’s a glitch. Didn’t unfollow him. Hope this helps!’
As of Monday, Hailey is now following Justin again.
On Sunday, Justin gave a rare glimpse of the couple’s son Jack Blues in a series of adorable family pictures shared to his main Instagram page.
The father son duo seemingly enjoyed the warmer weather while resting on what appeared to be an outdoor patio.
Just the night before, Justin stepped out for a solo dinner at the same restaurant that Hailey had dinner at with pal Kendall Jenner.
However, the gal pals left right before him, leaving Justin to enjoy his meal on his own before heading to watch a movie by himself.
Justin also recently made another mental health confession after candidly opening up about his emotional struggles on social media this month.
On Instagram, he uploaded a video of a jam session with other musician pals and wrote, ‘I think I hate myself sometimes when I feel myself start to become inauthentic.
‘Then I remember we’re all being made to think we’re not enough but I still hate when I change myself to please people.’
It came shortly after the star admitted to having ‘anger issues’ in another online post.
He further fueled worry among fans when he posted about feeling ‘like a fraud’ and ‘unworthy’ in a message shared to his Instagram stories.
Justin fueled worry among fans once again when he shared photos of himself smoking from what appeared to be a bong.
Late last month, Justin’s rep addressed worries over his disheveled appearance in a statement to TMZ.
‘The recurring narrative that Justin is using hard drugs is absolutely not true,’ the rep said, adding that the performer is currently ‘in one of the best places in his life.’
The star is also ‘actively parenting his newborn son’ Jack with wife Hailey and putting focus into making new music.
According to the rep, Justin has had a ‘very transformative’ year and ‘ended several close friendships and business relationships that no longer served him.’
