After sharing a heartfelt message that he is taking a break from music to focus on some “deep rooted issues”, Justin Bieber is back on Instagram trying to quieten a wave of trolls who still have something to say about his relationship with Hailey Baldwin.
After the “Sorry” singer posted a picture of Mrs Bieber, one follower @jaileyisjoke commented: “You are not in love with Hailey! You only married her to get back at SG [Selena Gomez] plus Hailey sleeps with men like @shawnmendes for fame and she’s a racist @wflig.”
This hostility from @jaileyisajoke – a moniker conceived as a dig at the portmanteau decreed by the social sphere – is not an anomaly. The couple, like many high-profile figures, is constantly subjected to the thoughts of the online community – both positive and negative. This time, however, Bieber took a stance.
“I absolutely loved and love Selena. She will always hold a place in my heart, but I am head over heels in love with my wife and she is absolutely the best thing that has ever happened to me period,” he replied. He then went on to address the naysayers, who press send on comments without considering the repercussions: “[This] is a reply to all immature sick people who send Hailey hurtful messages, like ‘he always goes back to Selena’ or ‘Selena is better for him’. You have no idea [about] my life and what’s good for me!! Hailey is my bride period. If you don’t like that or support that, [it] means you don’t support me and if you don’t support me, you’re not a fan nor a good person.”
The takedown comes weeks after Bieber first alerted his fans that he had “been struggling a lot” and “feeling super disconnected and weird”. He hoped that his openness would “resonate” with the online community he has built during his decade growing up in the spotlight, and acknowledged that he “always [bounces] back so [is] not worried.” Almost 5 million people liked the post.
What a difference two weeks make. Bieber ended the takedown by acknowledging @jaileyisajoke’s immaturity and that he “will never respond again to a message like this”: “I don’t like to even give it my energy.” But, what measures are there in place for the Biebers to safeguard themselves against trolls? Instagram, Twitter and Facebook all have guidelines for users to abide by and consult, but they are not prominent on the social platforms. Facebook’s “Safety Centre”, for example, has downloadable pdfs entitled “Think before you share”, “End LGBT bullying online”, “Empowering women online” and “Keeping Muslims safe online”, but how many people actually access the portals and prevention hubs? When Vogue reached out to all of the social enterprises, none responded to queries of how they specifically deal with trolls – particularly in cases of high-profile figures, where there are whole communities of users spreading negative energy. The fact that Kensington Palace recently released its own social media rules for people commenting on the royal family shows that there is more to be done.
If Bieber deleted his social accounts, in order to “[focus] on repairing some of the deep rooted issues… so that [he doesn’t] fall apart”, he would shut down interaction with the followers who do bring positivity to his life. With 106 million Instagram users hanging off his every post, it is impossible to separate between the Beliebers and the anti-Jailey trolls.
“In this day and age, I’m scared to have kids to be honest,” Baldwin told Vogue last week. “I see the way the culture and the youth are now, and I think, ‘In 10 years, what is it going to be like?’ It’s really important to help young people understand where their identity comes from.”
She went on to highlight the fact that social media might promote the democratisation of celebrity culture – one where everyone can communicate with one another – but no one knows herself or her husband “for real”. “What’s really weird to me is they create scenarios in their head of what they think is happening or what they think should happen,” she continued. “It’s just so dumb. It’s so dumb.” Bieber’s comments, however, show that trolling might be mindless, but it has a serious impact on mental health, and it is not something that should be left to play out for the world to watch.
