Justin Bieber’s team dismiss reports he’s in financial distress as “clickbait stupidity”

Justin Bieber‘s team have dismissed reports that the singer is in financial distress as “ill-informed” and “clickbait stupidity”.

• READ MORE: Justin Bieber – ‘Justice’ review: pop star finds his purpose again

Speculation that the singer may be having financial difficulties emerged after The Hollywood Reporter (THR) claimed he was allegedly “more than $20million” in debt. The publication reported that sources told them the debt came from Bieber’s failure to fulfil his contractual obligation to tour promoter AEG, after he cancelled his ‘Justice’ world tour in 2023.

Now, representatives for Bieber have responded, saying: “This is just clickbait stupidity based on unnamed — and clearly ill-informed — “sources,” disappointed that they no longer work with Justin,” in a statement to US Weekly.

They went on to say: “As Justin forges his own way forward, these unnecessary stories and inaccurate assumptions will continue. But they won’t deter him from staying committed to following the right path.”

THR also reported that the ‘Baby’ singers’ team had reached out to them directly to say: “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.”

Bieber’s ‘Justice’ tour was cancelled in 2023 – just four months after it began – due to health reasons, after Bieber revealed his diagnosis with Ramsay Hunt Syndrome in June 2022, which had temporarily paralysed the right side of his face.

The outlet’s initial reports claimed that sources told them that Scooter Braun (who was Bieber’s manager at the time) covered what was owed in the form of a loan, and to date, Bieber has only returned a portion of what he borrowed.

Bieber recently went through a high-profile break-up with his former longtime manager Braun, following the two having worked together since 2008.

At the time of cancelling the tour, Bieber told fans: ‘Obviously, as you can probably see with my face, I have this syndrome called Ramsay Hunt syndrome and it is from this virus that attacks the nerves in my ear and my facial nerves and has caused my face to have paralysis.’

Justin added that it was “pretty serious”, saying: “Obviously my body is telling me I’ve got to slow down.”

In other news, last month, Bieber shared a cryptic personal message in which he says he “hates” himself when he feels himself becoming “inauthentic”, which was later followed by a post saying he struggles with feeling like “a fraud”.

The Canadian singer was also recently seen rapping about being high, sparking concern from the public. The clip came just days after a representative for the ‘Stay’ singer shut down online rumours of drug use, branding the comments as “false” and “harmful”.

Elsewhere, earlier this month, he appeared to cut ties with his own brand Drew House, publicly telling his fans “don’t waste ur money” on the clothing line.

As well as comments about his health, there have also been reports that Bieber is back in the studio and planning a major comeback soon. These were heightened when Mk.gee revealed that he had been working with the singer on new material.

If the studio output comes together as a full album, it will be his first studio release since 2021’s ‘Justice’.

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