What Do You Mean, Justin?

Should the internet be worried about Justin Bieber?

Back when Vine was the preferred app for doomscrolling, pioneer influencers like Amanda Cerny and King Bach turned 1600 Vine- the modern condos above Trader Joes- into Hollywood’s epicenter of clout. Ring lights in every window, selfie sticks in every hallway, and a rooftop packed with aspiring YouTube pranksters who spent $15,000 on a blue checkmark. No ID was required to get into the parties—just your follower count. Everyone in the building was famous or pretending to be. Even puppies had publicists.

Hot 20-something groupies in string bikinis lounged in the hot tub each night, hoping their hourglass silhouettes might score them an invite upstairs to the building’s most wanted resident: Justin Bieber. This was 2017—post-Selena, pre-Hailey, long-haired party era Biebs- his pissing off the balcony days far behind him.

One night in the hot tub, a model gushed to her friend that she went to an exclusive party at Justin’s unit. “I touched his foot,” she whispered starstruck, a story she’d tell her friends for eternity.

Grazing Bieber’s left sock on a Wednesday night justified the building’s overpriced rent. These encounters were more valuable than the amenities. Leasing agents had it made during his brief residency. Women wanted to be with him. And men wanted to be him.

Skinny white boys across America mimicked his signature f**boy style- wife beaters, backwards hats and socks with sandals. His Purpose album from 2015, was still a DJ favorite around the LA club scene- “Sorry” serving as a soundtrack for bad 2 AM decisions, and “Love Yourself,” cleaning up the mess the morning after.

The plot became ultra-meta when I was invited to a party at 1600 Vine by a Justin Bieber impersonator I met at a circus in Fresno. Not just any impersonator—this guy had every one of Bieber’s tattoos inked on his own body- a walking tribute to a pop star he never met.

( Listen to podcast here: “The Bieber Imposter” )

I was hoping the real Justin Bieber would bump into imposter Justin Bieber. Of course, that moment never came. No opportunity to graze a pop star’s left sock, but plenty of opportunity to watch “young hustlers” map out their five year plan on a giant white board. The coolest character we met that night wasn’t even human. It was a dog named Shaggy Wolfdog AKA Swagrman, a Christian dog with a chain necklace and 3 million followers. Only in Los Angeles does meeting a dog make you feel like you’re professionally inadequate. Swaggy had a website, merchandise line and a perfectly-polished mission statement. Bieber’s hit “What Do You Mean,” started playing at the party, but before we reached the chorus, imposter Bieber and I were kicked out for not meeting their “follower requirements.”

(Listen to podcast here: "The Lords of Douchetown: Kicked Out of 1600 Vine")

Fast forward two years later, and I’m pounding shots in the private backroom of the Comedy Store, nursing a messy breakup with cheap tequila. A bouncer turned down the music and announced that a VIP was about to walk in and advised all of us shitfaced comics to “act normal.” In walks Bieber, wearing his usual- baggy hoodie, mesh gym shorts and backwards hat. He was there to support his then-friend, Chris Delia, the now-cancelled-ish comedian.

He made eye contact with me and said, “Dope jacket.” It was a $5 windbreaker from the Goodwill.

“Thanks, I would compliment you but you’re wearing socks and sandals,” I joked, embracing PUA negging tactics necessary for survival on the seedy 2018 LA bar scene.

Bieber laughed, without taking an ounce of offense, so I pushed him a little further.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I hear there’s a VIP coming through the door, so if you could please step aside.”

He laughed harder. Then hugged me.

He wasn’t offended. He didn’t need worship. He liked banter more than praise.

Now it’s 2025 and here I am- still telling this story. I’ve become the girl in the hot tub who will be repeating this story for the rest of my life (Thank you for listening in advance).

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“JUSTINSPOSTS”

Here we are, in April 2025, and Justin’s reality isn’t as light hearted as it was back in 2016-2019 when he was bopping around the famous Sunset Strip freely, spotted in the audience of the Laugh Factory and Comedy Store.

Now, he’s thinner. Head shaved. His posts, increasingly erratic. Maybe it’s art. Maybe it’s a spiral. The internet can’t decide. Half his audience insists he’s just goofing off with friends. The other half sees a concerning, slow-motion breakdown.

When he unfollowed Selena Gomez’s new fiancé, Benny Blanco, recently, the comment section turned into a battlefield—flooded with “BENNY IS BETTER” in a dozen languages. OFC, Benny is still following Justin. These fans are never going to let Justin and Selena go, are they?

What we’re watching though, isn’t just “JUSTINSPOSTS”—it’s the collective obsession, projection, and parasocial dissection of a pop star the world never really let grow up.

“IS IT ILLEGAL FOR JB TO BE FUNNY?”

The other day, Bieber was spotted with comedian Dave Chappelle at Barney’s Beanery on Santa Monica Blvd, sitting out front on the patio taking a smoke. Even this meetup sparked conspiracy online. No matter what Justin does right now, fans expect the worst right now. And can you blame them? Justin’s posting patterns get increasingly more chaotic the closer we get to the Diddy trial scheduled to begin on May 5th.

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IS IT TOO LATE TO SAY SORRY…TO JUSTIN BIEBER?

Not a day goes by where you can log online and be free of seeing Justin Bieber’s name attached to a new Diddy conspiracy theory. For months, internet sleuths have made videos predicting that Bieber will be Diddy’s first “famous victim.”

Five months ago, when I started working on the DIDDY FILES, I began writing a piece titled, “Is It Too Late to Say Sorry…to Justin Bieber?”

At the time, the Diddy case was unraveling fast. TikTokers were bringing old clips back to life, connecting dots between Bieber, Diddy, and Usher. My inbox was flooded with requests: “Write about Justin—expose the truth!”

Despite the noise, there was no proof—just speculation and a collective online assumption that Bieber would be the first celebrity to testify.

Hitting publish on this piece didn’t feel right. It’s not my place to narrate someone else’s trauma—real or imagined—for clicks, especially when there was no solid evidence proving something traumatic happened between them.

If Bieber ever decides to speak on his old mentor, it shouldn’t be through anyone else's voice but his own.

According to a source close to the Biebers, the alleged sex tape that was getting shopped around illegally a few months ago, by some shady lawyer with a GoFundMe in her bio, had nothing to do with Justin Bieber. The public swore Bieber was the alleged celebrity victim on these tapes but Bieber’s team shut down those rumors.

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BIEBER FEVER COOLING DOWN

There was a time when the world burned with Bieber Fever—not just for his talent, but for the boyish charm that made millions believe he was singing just for them.

But something shifted after he married Hailey. The fever cooled down. Understandably so—his fanbase was built on teenage desire, and desire rarely survives commitment. It’s the same reason hot girls hide their boyfriends online: to keep the illusion of being available alive for the simps.

When Justin said "I do," the internet chanted, "We don’t beliebe you."

No matter how many interviews the couple gives, no matter how many gushy captions they share, the narrative online is fixed:

"Hailey is his handler."
"Selena was the one."

And now, as Bieber seems to unravel in real time on social media—flooding our timelines with erratic posts, maniacal facial expressions, sporadic celebrity unfollows and spur-of-the-moment livestreams- the fingers are still pointing one way.

At Hailey.

At the Baldwins.

At the wife they’ll never accept.

“Even though they look happy. They’re always arguing,” a source close to Justin’s camp said today when asked about the couples current relationship status.

FINANCIAL TROUBLE

When I told a friend this morning that I was working on a story about Justin Bieber, she said, “Oh Justin Bieber, you mean the same Justin Bieber who just defaulted on paying his property taxes in Coachella Valley?”

In October 2024, he was hit with a $380,349 bill for unpaid property taxes on his $16.6 million home in Coachella Valley, a desert getaway he purchased not too long ago- in 2023.

She lives in La Quinta and said the whole town was talking after news broke that Bieber defaulted on his property taxes. Homeowners down in Coachella Valley have been trying to figure out who was handling his finances to let a mistake that big slip through the cracks.

I didn’t plan on including this in the story—until a second source close to Bieber’s camp raised a more serious concern: Justin may, in fact, be facing financial trouble (allegedly).

If you remember, back in 2023, Bieber made headlines for selling his music catalog for $200 million at the age of 28. Most artists wait until later in their careers to make a move that significant—but Bieber cashed out early. At the time, it seemed like a smart business decision. But now, the move is being reexamined under a different light.

“Take that combined with Hailey spending all his money,” the source alleged. They claimed that Hailey and Lou Taylor—yes, that Lou Taylor, the controversial manager linked to Britney Spears’ conservatorship—have become extremely close, with Hailey allegedly signing off on everything. “She doesn’t take regular private jets—only the big ones,” they added.

“He hasn’t put out new music in years,” the source continued. “And he’s bankrolling a lot of people. His overhead has to be insane. He’s running out of money.”

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CHURCHOME

I remember when every aspiring actor in LA started flocking to Mosaic on Sunset, all because of a rumor that the pastor baptized Justin Bieber in holy water. For transplants craving God and a chance to see a pop star get splashed in the name of the Lord, it was a divine two-for-one.

Then came his Sunday Service era with Ye—back when the choir wore minimalist neutrals, not… Klan cosplay. Bieber joined a few of those early sets, even singing beside Ye and Marilyn Manson in eerie all-white garb. Say what you will about the optics, but the harmonies slapped.

For most of his career though, Bieber was committed to his former mega-church Hillsong. He currently attends Churchome.

“What we believe about ourselves is often times a reflection of how we feel God looks at us.. when the creator of the universe designed everything he made you. He thought of you! He made you with a plan and a purpose. You are not a mistake. You are his obsession and he will spend everyday tugging at your heart until you see him for who he is.”

-JB via IG caption

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JUSTIN BETRAYED LOYAL CAMP

According to a source close to Justin Bieber, things allegedly began to spiral financially when he handed over control of his business affairs to his new church, Churchome.

“Justin had an amazing team—people who were loyal to him, people who helped him become a multi-multi-multi-millionaire,” the source said. “But then he cut everyone out and gave everything to the church. Now he’s surrounded by people who aren’t even in the entertainment industry, taking on these pseudo-management roles. It’s like a cult.”

The insider added that Justin is now “basically bankrolling everyone’s life,” and that many around him, including his wife Hailey, have allegedly become enablers. “There’s no one telling him ‘no.’”

“What’s sad is, it all went downhill when he put his trust in the church. They’ve taken over every aspect of his life—and no one close to him before is in the picture anymore.”

JUSTIN: MANAGED BY HAILEY AND THE CHURCH?

Allegedly, Justin Bieber is now being managed by two unlikely forces: his wife, Hailey, and his church, Churchome.

“Why is a global pop star being managed by a church?” the source close to Bieber asked—genuinely puzzled by his decision to cut ties with his longtime team and hand over control to spiritual advisors not familiar with the music business.

In 2023, Bieber quietly parted ways with Lou Taylor and Tri Star Entertainment—the controversial business manager linked to Britney Spears' conservatorship. He’s now working with Ed White. But according to the source, Lou never completely exited the picture. Instead, her relationship with Hailey allegedly deepened.

“Lou and Hailey became super, super close,” the source claimed. “And Hailey's been signing off on everything.”

The same source alleged that Hailey's spending has skyrocketed in recent months. “She’ll fly to New York just to get her nails done. She refuses to take small jets—only big ones. She’s basically blowing through Justin’s money.”

Currently, Justin’s Instagram bio has one link that takes you directly to the Chucrhome app.

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PETER PAN SYNDROME

Despite years of slimy reporters painting Bieber to be a villain in the media, everyone I’ve met who’s had a brief encounter with him sings his praises (although, I’m sure if we asked a paparazzi for their take, they’d beg to differ).

“He’s a nice kid,” people always say.

“Kid.”

“KID KID KID.”

“Kid” is the key word here. People still see this man as a child even though he’s 31.

Is the public’s projection and perception of him debilitating his growth?

Even though Justin is a 31-year-old married man and father now, most of the world views him as the kid that got kicked out of Tulum for mooning. The kid that threw eggs at a house in Calabasas. The kid singing “One Time” on acoustic guitar. Or the kid that got in trouble for his guestbook entry at the Anne Frank House: “Anne was a great girl. Hopefully she would have been a belieber.”

These last couple weeks online strangers who are big fans of his, have stepped in (yet again) to parent the pop star after seeing “concerning” social media behavior.

“The public has always perceived him as an 11 or 12-year-old boy. But he’s 31 and he’s a father and he’s married,” the source said.

“They claim people are worried but it’s time for Justin to step up and take control back of his life before everything falls apart.”

They asked one final question:

“At what point does this responsibility become his?”

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GROWING UP IS HARD TO DO

I remember the first time I heard Jordan Peterson talk about “Peter Pan syndrome.”
I was deep in my party phase—obsessed with freedom and allergic to structure.
His words felt like a personal attack. I thought, this guy’s the absolute worst.

But now that I’m over the hill, I think maybe he was onto something.
Growing up isn’t the loss of youth. It’s the acceptance of weight.
The weight of choice, of consequence, of carving a life instead of floating through one.

Neverland was beautiful, but had no future.
I think what Peterson is trying to say is that sacrifice is the inevitable toll you must pay for a bright tomorrow.

We don't have to give up our childlike wonder. We just need to learn how to protect it.

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UP NEXT- Diving Deeper into Churchome