If Justin Bieber’s Instagram and Twitter accounts are any indication, this week has definitely been a rough one for the superstar.
Abroad in London for a series of concerts, he intended to celebrate his 19th birthday last Friday—only to send out this ominous tweet to his 36 million Twitter followers: “Worst birthday.”
Since then, it seems that he’s rapidly becoming unhinged, making several appearances around London clad in gas masks, fainting at one of his concerts, and getting into a scuffle with a paparazzo. Many have been quick to note that his behavior is reminiscent of Britney Spears—who showed similar signs of destruction in 2007 prior to her infamous breakdown.
Up until recently, it seemed the 19-year-old pop star had it all figured out for someone dealing with an absurd level of worldwide fame: He had an equally vanilla girlfriend (Selena Gomez—they’ve since split), a close relationship with his family, and no incidents of violence or crime associated with him. In a matter of months, however, this all started to change.
In early January, photos surfaced of Bieber at a party in Newport Beach, California, smoking a blunt—surrounded by friends including rapper Lil Twist, who immediately became a blog target and labeled as a “bad influence” on Bieber. That same week, a story broke that a paparazzo, in hot pursuit of Bieber’s white Ferrari, was killed in a car accident while chasing it, and Lil Twist ended up being the one behind the wheel. (Note: This is merely one of the first auto-related incidents concerning Bieber’s wild new posse.)
While we’re hoping that the singer doesn’t fall prey to the perils of the classic “too much too soon” syndrome that often afflicts child superstars, it’s impossible to avoid the fact that his behavior on social media this week has been downright bizarre. Need proof? Click through the slideshow above for a timeline of Bieber’s erratic behavior.
