Justin Bieber’s relationship with his mother, Pattie Mallette, appears to have hit an awkward note this week.
The popstar, 31, seemed to shut down his mother’s implication that he needed prayers.
The interaction unfolded under one of Mallette’s recent Instagram posts, a heartfelt prayer for her son’s strength and healing. T
he 50-year-old shared the message on September 22, alongside a carousel of black-and-white photos of Bieber, 31, wearing a T-shirt reading ‘Pray for Me.’
In the caption, Mallette wrote that she was praying for ‘freedom, strength, clarity, and healing’ over her son.
She called on the Holy Spirit to ‘heal every wound in his heart, mind, and body’ and to ‘surround him with truth, light, and protection.’ The post also urged God to make Bieber’s life ‘a bold witness’ of divine love and resilience.
Many took the message as a sign of continued concern for Bieber, who has made headlines in recent months for strange behaviour.
But Bieber appeared to shrug off his mother’s spiritual encouragement, writing in a comment: ‘Only thing I need healing from is my rolled pinky toe from playing ping pong.’
Who are Justin Bieber’s parents?
Justin Bieber’s parents are Pattie Mallette and Jeremy Bieber. Pattie gave birth to Justin on March 1, 1994, in London, Ontario, Canada, when she was just 18 years old.
She raised him largely as a single mother in the small town of Stratford, Ontario, with the help of her parents, Diane and Bruce Mallette.
Despite facing financial difficulties, Pattie encouraged Justin’s early interest in music, buying him his first drum kit when he was two and sharing clips of his performances online, which would eventually lead to his discovery.
Jeremy Bieber, Justin’s father, was involved in his son’s life but did not live with him growing up. He worked various jobs and maintained an intermittent presence during Justin’s childhood, though the two have generally had a close bond in adulthood.
Jeremy later married Chelsey Rebelo, and Justin has several half-siblings from that side of the family: Jazmyn (Jazzy), Jaxon, and Bay.
Pattie Mallette has spoken openly about the challenges she faced as a young single parent, including struggles with mental health, substance use, and poverty, which she chronicled in her 2012 memoir Nowhere but Up: The Story of Justin Bieber’s Mom.
Why are fans worried about Justin Bieber?
Fans have been speculating about Justin’s wellbeing for months after some erratic behaviour on social media, but in July he had a clear message after speculation about a potential breakup with Hailey Bieber.
Hailey’s face could only be partially be seen in the photos he shared at the time – one them just showed the back of her head – but he captioned the post: ‘My forever n always.’
He dropped new album Swag in July, and followed up with the appropriately titled SWAG II in September.
This follows Bieber opening up about having ‘anger issues’ in a series of erratic social media posts, calling himself ‘broken.’
‘People keep telling me to heal. Don’t you think if I could have fixed myself I would have already? I know I’m broken. I know I have anger issues,’ he began.
‘I tried to do the work my whole life to be like the people who told me I needed to be fixed like them. And it just keeps making me more tired and more angry,’ he continued, before referencing his strong Christian faith.
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‘The harder I try to grow. The more focussed on myself I am. Jesus is the only person who keeps me wanting to make my life about others.’
‘Because honestly I’m exhausted with thinking about myself lately, aren’t you?’
Mallette, who has often spoken openly about her Christian faith and her close bond with her son, has not publicly responded to Bieber’s comment on her prayer post.
Metro has reached out to reps for Justin Bieber for comment.
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