Justin Bieber opens up about previous 'heavy drug use' in emotional message to fans

Justin Bieber has said he became involved with “pretty heavy drugs” earlier in his career, as he opened up about the negative side of fame in an emotional post.

The 25-year-old shot to global stardom after being discovered on YouTube when he was just 13 years old.

Not long afterwards, he began topping the charts and amassed millions of fans but had several run-ins with the law and often made headlines for his controversial behaviour.

He was also frequently on the receiving end of hateful messages and a petition calling for him to be deported from the US once attracted more than 100,000 signatures.

Now Bieber, who has recently committed to being devout Christian, has said fame went to his head and by the age of 20, he had “made every bad decision”.

In his Instagram post, he said: “I started doing pretty heavy drugs at 19 and abused all of my relationships. I became resentful, disrespectful to women, and angry.

“I became distant to everyone who loved me, and I was hiding behind, a shell of a person that I had become. I felt like I could never turn it around.

“It’s taken me years to bounce back from all these terrible decisions, fix broken relationships, and change relationship habits. Luckily god blessed me with extraordinary people who love me for me.”

The Sorry singer, who is now married to model Hailey Baldwin, said his “whole world was flipped on its head” when his career first took off and he went from a “13 year old boy from a small town to being praised left and right by the world”.

“You hear these things enough as a young boy and you actually start believing it,” he added.

Bieber said finding fame as a child left him unable to cope with the real world, where people waited on him hand and foot.

He said: “Everyone did everything for me, so I never even learned the fundamentals of responsibility. By this point, I was 18 with no skills in the real world, with millions of dollars and access to whatever I wanted.”

The Purpose hitmaker described himself as celebrity who went from being “one of the most loved and adored people in the world to the most ridiculed, judged, and hated”.

But his new marriage to Baldwin is what he calls “the best season” of his life.

Speaking of his spouse, he added: “You learn patience, trust, commitment, kindness, humility and all of the things it looks like to be a good man.”

Bieber, who was filmed crying during a worship session at his church last week, added: “Jesus loves you.”

While the couple is legally married, they are reportedly set to have a bigger, official ceremony in front of their loved ones later this year.

Bieber is currently taking a break from touring and studio time.

Read more

Kevin Hart's wife confirms he is 'awake' and doing 'just fine'

Justin Bieber reveals he is related to Ryan Gosling and Avril Lavigne

Justin Bieber cries while leading church worship