Justin Bieber Addresses His Mental Health in Post Amid Fan Concerns

Not even five Diamond certifications, two Grammy awards, and a nearly two-decade long career can keep Justin Bieber‘s imposter syndrome at bay. In a candid Instagram Story post, the musician opened up about feeling “unqualified and unequipped most days.”

“People told me my whole life ‘wow Justin u deserve that’ and I personally have always felt unworthy. Like I was a fraud,” Bieber wrote. “Like when people told me I deserve something. It made me feel sneaky like damn if only they knew my thoughts. How judgemental I am, how selfish I really am. They wouldn’t be saying this.”

The post was set to an audio titled “Sneaky Sneaky” and continued: “I say all this to say. If you feel sneaky welcome to the club. I definitely feel unequipped and unqualified most days.”

The post follows weeks of speculation and concerns from fans about Bieber’s well-being. In February, representatives for both Bieber and his wife, Hailey Bieber, called comments on his mental and physical health “exhausting and pitiful and shows that despite the obvious truth, people are committed to keeping negative, salacious, harmful narratives alive.” The pair welcomed their first child, Jack Blues Bieber, in 2024.

The statement noted that Bieber recently “ended several close friendships and business relationships that no longer served him” and has been working on new music. His most recent album, Justice, arrived in March 2021. Last year, Mk.gee revealed he had been in the studio with Bieber. “He’s searching,” the singer-songwriter said. “Anything that comes out of his mouth: That’s pop music. You can really do pretty wild stuff behind that, just because it represents something.”

Bieber’s recent statement builds on concerns he previously expressed about his complicated relationship with success and his career.

“There’s all these opinions. And in this industry, you’ve got people that unfortunately prey on people’s insecurities and use that to their benefit. And so when that happens, obviously that makes you angry,” he told GQ in 2021. “And then you’re this young angry person who had these big dreams, and then the world just jades you and makes you into this person that you don’t want to be. And then you wake up one day and your relationships are fucked up and you’re unhappy and you have all this success in the world, but you’re just like: Well, what is this worth if I’m still feeling empty inside?”