Canadian pop star Justin Bieber has opened up about struggling with imposter syndrome, drawing attention to celebrities having to balance the popularity and constant spotlight that comes with oodles of scrutiny.
The two-time Grammy winner rose to fame with the release of his chart-topping first album My World 2.0 in 2010, turning the then-teenage singer into a bona fide superstar.
“People told me my whole life, ‘Wow, Justin, you deserve that,’ and I personally have always felt unworthy,” the singer wrote in an Instagram story on Thursday.
“Like I was a fraud,” he wrote. “Like when people told me I deserve something. It made me feel sneaky like, damn, if they only knew my thoughts.”
Bieber was signed to a record deal the year he turned 14, after which he moved to the U.S. to pursue his music career. He went from teen busker to becoming an influential global phenomenon in a relatively short time period — and with all that fame came intense scrutiny.
“His post resonates with many — not just in the entertainment industry, but across society — because many human beings have the experience of self-doubt and feeling inadequate, even when they are working in a place where they objectively are quite successful and quite capable,” said Catherine Harrison, a mental health expert who focuses on the music industry.
“He started this at a very, very young age, so he didn’t really have a traditional opportunity to solidify his sense of self. He grew up under a microscope.”
She describes how the arts and entertainment industry can be notoriously demanding and exploitative, with artists under constant pressure to create, perform and maintain a certain image. And all of this comes with intense public scrutiny when being constantly written about online or incessantly trolled.
“His willingness to be vulnerable about this is a powerful reminder that fame and success does not shield you from those very human emotional challenges,” Harrison said.
Struggles with health and fame
Bieber, 31, has been vocal about his health issues in the past, including his struggle with depression, drug abuse, dealing with temporary facial paralysis from contracting Ramsay Hunt syndrome in 2023, and a battle with Lyme disease and a serious case of mononucleosis in 2020.
“How judgmental I am, how selfish I really am. They wouldn’t be saying this,” Bieber wrote in his post, describing his thoughts.
He concluded the post by saying, “If you feel sneaky, welcome to the club. I definitely feel unequipped and unqualified most days.”
In another Instagram story last month, Bieber, who hasn’t released an album since Justice in 2021, had said: “Changing is about letting go.”
“Fame can intensify the inherent experience of self-doubt, creating a pronounced gap between a celebrity’s public image and their private identity,” said Charlie Wall-Andrews, a creative industries professor at Toronto Metropolitan University.
“Research indicates that nearly 70 per cent of individuals experience imposter syndrome at some point, regardless of their status,” she added.
“However, for celebrities, the combination of intense public scrutiny, relentless performance expectations, and the pressure to maintain a meticulously curated image can magnify these feelings.”
Fans had recently expressed concerns about the singer’s health after Bieber, a new dad, had appeared tired, thinner and a little dishevelled in photos and public appearances. The Ontario-born singer and wife, Hailey Bieber, welcomed a son, Jack Blues, in August of last year.
The intense fan scrutiny about Bieber’s health and rumours about him using drugs again had resulted in a representative telling TMZ earlier this month that the singer was working on new music and was busy taking care of his infant.
They also called the persistent narrative about Bieber’s mental and physical health “exhausting and pitiful, and shows that despite the obvious truth, people are committed to keeping negative, salacious, harmful narratives alive.”