Justin Bieber has a tempestuous history of volatile romantic relationships, alleged drug abuse and run-ins with the law. But, recently it seemed like the singer was finally in a good place, with him appearing to be happy and healthy.
However, now, a "disturbing" new video of the Love Yourself singer has sparked concern among his legions of fans.
The footage in question shows the 24-year-old pop star greet admirers on the streets of New York, wearing a white t-shirt, black shorts and a backwards baseball cap. It begins innocently, with Justin seemingly poking fun at his overexcited fans by waving enthusiastically.
Moments after, the singer begins to twitch uncontrollably with his eyes tightly closed and his hands clutching his chest and torso. After, he draws a female fan in for a hug and is seen frenziedly stroking her side and back, before turning to the camera and frantically grinning.
Purportedly filmed last week, most people online have only just caught wind of the footage, with it going viral yesterday. Immediately after Justin's fans saw the video, many of them expressed concern for his health, with some suggesting his twitching and shaking could be down to drugs.
"Ohmygod, one of the worst things I saw this month- This is year is the vid going around of Justin Bieber tweaking hard. It’s so disturbing I wished I never watched it (sic)," Twitter user @poisedslay wrote.
She was joined by @AlyssiaByrd13 who insisted the singer had addiction issues. "Everyone keeps laughing at the way Justin Bieber looks now but if he was to die.... y’all would all be mad upset," she tweeted. "I’m sorry for such a stretch but he looks like he has a drug problem and instead of anyone addressing it y’all all laughing at his appearance.. (sic)"
In spite of fans' concerns, it appears that the people surrounding Justin in the video are laughing at his behaviour, potentially suggesting a happier alternative explanation. One woman can even be heard saying "aww" as Justin shakes.
The fresh wave of worry comes after the Sorry singer's manager revealed he used to be terrified that Justin would overdose and die when he wasn't there.
Describing the 24-year-old's "dark place", Scooter Braun told Van Lathan’s The Red Pill podcast: "There was a time when I would go to sleep almost every night — when he had the money to fly away from me — and I was worried every night that I was gonna lose him. That was the time when I was telling him he’s not allowed to work. He used to yell and scream at me and he wanted to put music out. He wanted to tour, but I thought if he did that, he would die. So I just refused."
He continued: "We weren’t making any money, it wasn’t like I was trying to take advantage — I didn’t want him to work, I wanted him to get healthy... I thought he was going to sleep one night and that he would have so much crap in his system that he would not wake up the next morning. I was trying to monitor him from a distance, I would fly after him at times, all kinds of different stuff."
Justin cancelled the remainder of his Purpose world tour in summer 2017, with his 37-year-old music manager saying at the time that the singer’s "soul and well being … came first." At the moment, he is in Italy with partner Hailey Baldwin.
Let's hope the perturbing video has a happy explanation. Stay safe, Justin.
