What’s going on with Justin Bieber? Inside the pop star’s crisis

It’s hard to grasp — and even harder to explain — but one thing is clear: Justin Bieber, 31, is going through a period that’s far from the brightest chapter of his life. The challenge lies in understanding why. It’s true that neither fame nor fortune protects anyone from illness, sadness, or the everyday blows of life. But it’s also true that, on paper, Bieber should be in a golden moment: he’s young, wealthy, in a stable marriage and has just welcomed his first child. He’s taking a break from work, exploring new ideas, and reshaping his team. And yet, all of that may be precisely the cause of what’s haunting him.

His recent public appearances reflect this confusion. It’s a mix of everthing: attitude, fights and statements. The past two weeks have brought it all to a head, with three videos stirring concern.

The first shows him in a bar surrounded by strippers and dancers, fully aware he’s being filmed. It was rapper Sexyy Red’s 27th birthday, and Bieber joined her in Los Angeles, wearing a fur coat and gold chains, vaping and dancing under the glare of dozens of phones.

The second was at Coachella, the high-profile music festival in the California desert. There, he was seen partying with his wife, Hailey Bieber, after Lady Gaga’s performance. A fan later caught footage of him at a concert with Hailey and his 15-year-old brother, Jaxon. Justin is seen shirtless, dancing, and appearing to smoke marijuana. In the clip, Hailey quickly pulls Jaxon aside and leads him away from the scene.

The third video captures Bieber leaving a Palm Springs coffee shop, visibly agitated, confronting photographers. “All you care about is money, not human beings,” he snaps. “Money, money, money, money!” he continues to yell.

Later, he posted a video showing paparazzi lying in wait for him during an outing, writing, “This has to stop.” “I’m getting hit from all angles. And I’m no victim I moved to LA knowng it’s fucked out here. But can we as a unit align with how fucked it is out here and change this shit or are we gonna let these fuck boys keep treating me like shit and not change laws or anything because people have had to die cuz of this shit princess Diana is the first that comes to mind,” he added in a follow-up message, denouncing the media persecution.

His carefree, adolescent attitude is beginning to raise red flags — especially in the conservative cultural climate of the U.S., where public drug use and erratic behavior by a married adult man with a career and a baby on the way can have serious repercussions. It’s not just fans who are alarmed. Those closest to him, as well as the media — from TMZ to The Hollywood Reporter and People — are all asking the same question: What’s going on with Bieber?

Answers are scarce, but the concern is widespread. “He is facing a lot of different demons right now,” a family source told People. “He is making some really poor decisions lately, further impacting friendships, money, and business. People are worried about him.”

A former member of his team told The Hollywood Reporter: “Seeing him disintegrate like this … it’s watching the embodiment of someone not living their purpose. He’s lost. There’s no one protecting him because there’s no one there willing to say no to him. You say no, you get blown out.”

How did things get to this point? It’s likely a combination of factors converging at once. One key element is that the Canadian singer hasn’t released an album in four years. His last was Justice, which came out in March 2021 and included what might be considered his final major hit, Peaches. If he doesn’t release new music by June, it will mark the longest professional hiatus of his career.

It’s also been three years since his last single, Honest, featuring rapper Don Toliver — a track that largely flew under the radar. Bieber has more than 15 songs that have surpassed one billion streams on Spotify; Honest hasn’t even reached 140 million. This kind of hiatus is highly unusual for an artist of his global stature.

Adding to this, he’s stepped back from performing live. His Justice tour was cut short due to a bout of facial paralysis, a health issue that not only sidelined him but came with financial consequences. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Bieber failed to fulfill his contract with the tour promoter, who had paid him $40 million upfront. As a result, he had to return a substantial portion — more than $20 million.

You could say Bieber has been more focused on his personal life, perhaps trying to escape stress — and that’s partly true. He married model Hailey Baldwin (now Hailey Bieber) in September 2019, and last August the couple welcomed their first child, a son named Jack Blues. Throughout their seven-year relationship, the pair has frequently been the subject of breakup rumors. The most high-profile incident came in January, when Bieber appeared to unfollow Hailey on social media. He later denied it, blaming “someone” for the action and cryptically adding, “Shit is getting suss out here.”

The person Bieber has unfollowed — and lost — during this turbulent period is Scooter Braun, the man who guided and managed his career for years. Now more of a businessman than a traditional talent agent these days, Braun parted ways with several of his high-profile clients in the summer of 2023, including Demi Lovato, Ariana Grande, and Bieber himself.

In January, Bieber unfollowed the Braun on social media, despite the fact that they had been together since the artist was 13 and started uploading homemade videos to YouTube — when Braun discovered him and launched him to global fame. It was Braun who helped shape Bieber’s superstar image and cover up his missteps — like the time he was arrested for drunk driving in 2014. It was also Braun who lent him $20 million to cover tour expenses, a debt that, according to reports, still hasn’t been repaid.

Braun, like Bieber, is a complicated figure in the music world. Both came up as outsiders with no industry godfathers, relying instead on instinct, hustle, and good timing to climb the ranks and become not just powerful but immensely wealthy. They also share connections to a circle of now-troubled figures. Braun once managed Usher, now a close personal friend, and was also behind the rise of Kanye West, the controversial rapper and businessman who has since fallen from grace. Braun introduced Bieber to Usher early on to help him navigate the industry, but today Bieber no longer follows the R&B star.

Braun, like Bieber, is a complicated figure in the music world. Both came up as outsiders with no industry godfathers, relying instead on instinct, talent, and luck to climb the ranks and become not just influential figures but millionaires. They also share connections to a circle of now-troubled figures. Braun once managed Usher, for example, and they’re now such close friends that they vacation together; but he also represented Kanye West, the disgraced rapper and entrepreneur.

After discovering Bieber, Braun introduced him to Usher to help him navigate the industry, but today the Canadian singer no longer follows the R&B star.

Also part of that scene was Sean Combs, known as Puff Daddy or Diddy, a rapper and record label founder. Combs is currently incarcerated and is set to stand trial this coming May on five charges: two counts of sex trafficking, two counts of transportation for prostitution, and one count of racketeering. He faces hundreds of allegations from men and women across the country accusing him of harassment, abuse, and rape — several of them minors.

It’s unclear what kind of relationship Bieber had with Combs, but the rapper was part of the singer’s early initiation into the adult world. There are a few telling details — for instance, Bieber once spent 48 hours with Combs at the age of 15, a fact he shared in a video years ago that recently resurfaced amid the rapper’s legal troubles.

It’s also known that they celebrated some of Bieber’s birthdays together. On a 2014 episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, one of the wealthy and high-profile sisters, Khloé Kardashian recalled attending one of Combs’ infamous parties, though it’s not confirmed whether it was one of the events now under criminal investigation. “I got on a plane at 5:30 a.m. This party… I think half the people there were butt naked,” she said, listing “a bunch of friends” in attendance, including “Diddy, Quincy [Brown], Justin Bieber…” It seems logical that Combs’ trial, which begins on May 5 and could see Bieber’s name brought up, is weighing on the pop star.

Meanwhile, more relations have been severed — whether as part of a new direction or an attempt to cut ties with the past. Bieber has ended his relationship with Ryan Good, his former stylist and co-founder of his clothing brand, Drew House. Good was Bieber’s best man at his wedding, but now the singer has unfollowed on Instagram. In fact, Bieber publicly disavowed the brand in another erratic move.

“I Justin Bieber am no longer involved in this brand. Drew House doesn’t represent me or my family or life [...] Don’t waste your money on Drew House,” he wrote in an April 10 post that was later deleted.

Now, in his eagerness to erase the past and focus solely on the future, Bieber has hired new collaborators for Skylrk, a fashion brand he’s been developing for a couple of years — though it has yet to officially launch, and no release date has been announced. On social media, he shares photos of clothing he wears himself, but it remains unclear whether these pieces are in actual production or simply prototypes.

Earlier this month, he unveiled the most revealing glimpse yet: an animated video promoting the brand, subtly filled with references to what he’s leaving behind. In the video, he’s seen riding a scooter — a nod to Scooter Braun — down a street. He arrives at a house and abandons the scooter, its battery depleted. Inside the slightly run-down home, a float bearing the logo of his old brand, Drew, suggesting that this is Drew House. He then lights matches marked with the Skylrk logo, sets the house ablaze, and walks away — hand in hand with his wife, whom he kisses, and their son — toward a sunlit, transparent, and modern new home, without looking back.

Perhaps it’s fashion, not music, that’s calling to Justin Bieber now. Perhaps it’s the fatigue from years of working since childhood, or the toll of complicated relationships, that has led him to step back. Maybe it’s a sense of reluctance — or even financial uncertainty. Without touring or releasing music, his revenue streams have narrowed. A couple of years ago, he unexpectedly sold his entire music catalog for around $200 million. He owns six properties, stretching from Beverly Hills to Idaho, and his wife has built a career as a cosmetics entrepreneur, so money, on the surface, shouldn’t be an issue.

His representatives — rarely heard from — have firmly denied any financial troubles, stating: “Any source that is trying to sell you a story about alleged financial distress either doesn’t understand the entertainment industry or, more likely, is trying to paint an unflattering portrait of Justin, which bears no resemblance to reality.”

The truth is, there aren’t many artists like Bieber: young solo singers with a career that has spanned more than a decade and built a massive global fanbase. But that legacy is also a double-edged sword. Just a few weeks ago, Bieber admitted he sometimes hates himself and struggles with “anger issues” — comments he made days after confessing to feeling impostor syndrome: “I definitely feel unequipped and unqualified most days.”

For now, his refuge is his faith. He has found solace in a community called Churchome, based in affluent Beverly Hills and led by 44-year-old pastor Judah Smith, who also serves as his spiritual mentor. Bieber attends services both in person and via Zoom. “[We] talk all the time and pray a lot. We reflect a lot together,” Smith told The Daily Mail in an interview. The two even share matching tattoos. According to those close to them, Smith has a significant influence on Bieber’s personal and professional decisions. Time will tell how long that influence lasts in the life of the ever-volatile Justin Bieber.

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