What's really going on with Justin Bieber as singer continues to spark waves of concern

Justin Bieber hasn’t produced a studio album in five years since he released Justice, to the world, but the Baby hitmaker has 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.

These divorce rumours haven’t been helped by the fact that a “glitch” (in Hailey Bieber’s words) means that Justin and Hailey keep unfollowing each other on Instagram.

Moreover, fans of Bieber’s ex-girlfriend Selena Gomez have now got involved, claiming that Bieber posting cryptic Gollum from Lord of The Rings memes on Instagram is actually a reference to Selena Gomez’s engagement to record producer Benny Blanco.

The clip, which was shared to his Instagram story, showed a clip of Gollum as he finally regains control of the One Ring, just before he is cast into the flames of Mordor. The caption of the meme, made by an unknown creator, was: “Girls on social media when they get engaged,” leading many to believe it’s in reference to Gomez’s engagement to Blanco, who was once a friend of Bieber, in December 2024.

Fans also think Bieber is wearing this baggage on his face, with appearances around New York prompting an increased level of worry from onlookers, as the singer looks undeniably gaunt and dishevelled.

And then there’s his online persona, which fluctuates between cogent and concerningly zany. Bieber recently posted a video of him and a friend rapping on a private jet about getting “high.” Bieber, who is topless and holding an open bag of popcorn, raps: “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 denying that Justin is taking any illegal drugs and calling 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 says.

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 has been busy working on new music and parenting his and Hailey’s newborn son.

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 are surrounding him and wife Hailey Bieber, 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.”

In the most recent controversy, Bieber was seen squaring up with paparazzi - this time across the States in Palm Springs, California, where he is currently 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 withed 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.”

The latest controversy hasn’t done much to quell any rumours about Bieber’s mental wellbeing; “Wtf is happening with Justin Bieber”, being just one tweet which was shared hundreds of times.

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.”

In the here and now, Bieber has yet to release any music since 2023, with his last studio album, Justice having launched 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. And as for the gauntness, well: Bieber did become a first time father seven months ago. Perhaps he is just tired like any other new parent and doesn’t have time to overthink his outfits.

Meanwhile, he and Bieber are consistently making public appearances that conflict with the divorce rumours and Bieber’s music return is heavily slated for 2025.

Which begs the question: could Justin Bieber just be... being Justin Bieber?