SORRY

Did Justin Bieber Cancel His Tour to Dedicate Himself to God, or Just to “Ride Some Bikes”?

After getting banned from Beijing and getting a water bottle thrown at him, the singer is taking a break.

July 25, 2017

Samir Hussein/Getty Images

Earlier this week, it transpired that Justin Bieber is no longer allowed to perform in Beijing, due to “his series of misbehaviors”—a decision that especially drew ire amongst Beliebers given that he was set to take the Purpose world tour to Asia in September. Now, however, Bieber announced on Monday that he’s cancelled the rest of his tour “due to unforeseen circumstances.”

“Justin loves his fans and hates to disappoint them,” his official statement says of the past 150 shows in six continents that have so far made up the tour. “However, after careful consideration he has decided he will not be performing any further dates.”

More information has, of course, come in the form of anonymous sources: Variety reports that “it wasn’t a decision made overnight. He’s had some time off and was able to consider his commitments.” (That time last month that his fans threw a water bottle at him for not remembering the lyrics to “Despacito” no doubt just showed up on his pro and con list.)

But Bieber, who’s kept silent on social media other than posting some unrelated memes and paparazzi shots taken of him on a shirtless run to 7-Eleven, actually cleared things up himself when he ran into TMZ after they spotted him “chilling” near the beach in Santa Monica hours after he made the announcement. “Everything’s fine,” he told a reporter, reminding them that he’s spent the past two years on the road and is due for some “resting,” “getting some relaxation,” and “rid[ing]” some bikes.

He also wished his fans to “have a blessed day,” which brings us to the next stage of the Bieber drama: Less than 24 hours later, TMZ is now reporting that sources close to Bieber’s Hillsong Church say the cancellation is because Bieber has “rededicated his life to Christ.” Bieber has, after all, been spending much of the last few months with the mohawked Hillsong pastor who baptized him, Carl Lentz, everywhere from Australia’s McDonald’s to church conferences.

It was at one of those conferences where, last month, Bieber said in a bizarre video that his “faith is stronger than two years ago,” seeing as it “grows every day.” (He also paused the interview several times to talk about his acne and even start brushing his teeth.)

Still, Lentz and god aren’t Bieber’s only support these days: He’s also found a friend in one John Mayer, who applauded Bieber’s self care, and seemed to allude to Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington and Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell’s recent suicides:

As for Bieber’s tour crew of around 200, it appears to definitely be too late now to say sorry: Out of work with no notice, they’re reportedly “incredibly pissed off.”