Fans of Justin Bieber have weighed in on what they believe to be a stroke of "genius" after the singer leaked some pretty weird texts.
On Father's Day, the 31-year-old pop star stunned fans by posting a series of raw, emotional, and downright brutal text messages to his Instagram, leaving social media seriously divided in the process.
In the leaked screenshots, Justin appears to go scorched-earth on an unnamed friend, calling them a “p*ssy” and officially ending their relationship.
The first screenshot starts with Justin seemingly standing his emotional ground: “I will never suppress my emotions for someone. Conflict is a part of relationship. If you don't like my anger you don't like me.
"My anger is a response. To pain I have been thru. Asking a traumatized person not to be traumatized is simply mean.”
The recipient replies: “I'm not used to someone lashing out at me. It's not that I don't see and feel your anger.”
Justin responds with a cold "Ouch," before cutting straight to the point: “This friendship is officially over. I will never accept a man calling my anger lashing out. I enjoyed our short lived relationship.
"I wasn't kidding when I told u I didn't need u as a friend. I have good friends. Who will respect these boundaries.”
Then, things take a more personal - and aggressive - turn: “I thought u were a pssy. Which is why I always kept my distance but I was willing to give you the benifit [sic] of the doubt.
"This confirms u were the pssy I always thought u were. Please leave me alone now,” Justin wrote, ending the message with a middle finger emoji.
The unnamed friend responded with: “I'm a p*ssy?”
Justin’s final message said: “Blocking u now.”
The public airing of what appears to be a deeply personal conflict left fans both concerned and captivated.
Many questioned the timing, especially given Bieber shared the messages on Father's Day. The singer shared a number of posts on Sunday, including photos showing his son, Jack Blues Bieber, whom he shares with wife Hailey Bieber.
One image showed Jack on Hailey's lap at a piano; other posts included selfies and a photo that appeared to show a marijuana joint, with multiple captions featuring a middle finger emoji.
Adding to the drama, Justin took to his Stories to call out fans asking about his mental state: “Quit asking me if im okay. Quit asking me how I'm doing. I don't do that to you.
"Because I know how life is for all of us. Its hard. Lets encourage our people not project our insecurities onto one another. Your concern doesn't come off as care. It's just oppressive. Weirdo.”
In total, Bieber shared 19 posts in 24 hours.
Understandably, the posts triggered concern among followers, with some pointing to his 2023 diagnosis of Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which left him with facial paralysis and forced him to take a break from performing.
But while some fans expressed genuine worry, others saw an apparent method to the madness.
“I’m sorry but this is genius,” one fan commented, suggesting the messages could be part of a broader artistic move.
“Probably a clue for new album,” another speculated.
However, many fans simply asked Bieber to "take a break from social media", with one person writing: "Leave social media and Hollywood homie it’s not worth it."
The move to post these texts, especially when paired with highly curated (and chaotic) imagery, has fans wondering: Is this an emotional spiral or an elaborate promo campaign?