Justin Bieber. Photo / Getty
By Elahe Izadi
Justin Bieber had already performed more than 150 times across six continents when on he abruptly canceled the remaining 15 shows on his "Purpose" tour.
"Unforeseen circumstances" was the official reason given Monday, but that's pretty murky.
The rumors as to what really happened have flooded the internet and gossip sites. Was he just sick of it? Did it have to do with his Christian faith? Was he planning to start his own church?
Bieber's longtime manager Scooter Braun apologized for the tour's sudden end. "A man's soul and well being I truly care about came first and We must all respect and honor that," Braun wrote on Instagram. "Justin will be back and I know he looks forward to performing for you and with you all again. One chapter ends and another begins."
The paparazzi and tabloids have been following Bieber closely since the sudden cancellation. On Wednesday night, Bieber hit a paparazzo with his truck as he pulled out of a driveway following a church event in Beverly Hills, local police told CNN.
The pop singer stayed on the scene during the investigation, and a 57-year-old man was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injures, Beverly Hills Lt. Scott Dowling told CNN. No citations were issued. A video of the incident published by TMZ shows Bieber getting out of his truck to check on the man.
It's all a dramatic end to the the past 16 months of Bieber being on his tour. Here's a look back, starting soon after the tour began on March 9, 2016, in Seattle.
Bieber made the announcement via Instagram, writing that he enjoys "meeting such incredible people but I end up feeling so drained and filled with so much of other people's spiritual energy that I end up so drained and unhappy. ... Want to make people smile and happy but not at my expense and I always leave feeling mentally and emotionally exhausted to the point of depression."
He added: "The pressure of meeting people's expectations of what I'm supposed to be is so much for me to handle and a lot on my shoulders."
Shortly after Prince died, California Breed's Andrew Watt posted a tribute on Instagram and called Prince "the last of the greatest living performers."
One comment in response received plenty of attention: "Well not the last greatest living performer," it read, and at first blush, it appeared to come from Bieber. The singer received a wave of backlash and loads of negative headlines.
But apparently the comment was "fake" and not made by the singer, Bieber's reps went on to say.
Bieber posted a photo of himself petting a chained tiger at his father's Toronto engagement party, and animal rights activists were not pleased.
PETA alleged that the tiger came from Bowmanville Zoo, whose owner resigned after being charged with five counts of animal cruelty.
"Justin and other guests are lucky that they weren't attacked by the wild animals. In similar situations, animals have been known to lash out because of the stress of their miserable lives," PETA said in a statement. "We're calling on Justin and his family never to use animals as selfie props or party entertainment again."
"He came in on Friday night and decided on a small cross near the corner of his eye," tattoo artist JonBoy told Complex. "(The tattoo) represents his faith and purpose in God."
JonBoy added he knows Bieber because they attend the same church, Hillsong NYC.
TMZ publishes a video of a man who slaps at Bieber's head, with the singer throwing fists back. (The singer was in town during the NBA finals.)
A year later, the man filed a police report, alleging that Bieber punched him several times in a dispute over cameras, which left him with an "acute head injury."
It came in the wake of some Bieber-Selena Gomez drama, with the two sparring on social media and prompting the hashtag #SelenaEndedJustinParty to trend on Twitter.
Bieber eventually posted a warning to his followers: "I'm gonna make my Instagram private if you guys don't stop the hate this is getting out of hand. If you guys are really fans you wouldn't be so mean to people that I like." Days later, he deactivated his account.
"Can you guys do me a favor? Can you guys just relax for about two seconds?" Bieber asked the crowd during a concert in Birmingham, England. "I get it, I get it, but I'm like two feet away from you. And I can hear you. I appreciate all the love, it's amazing. But can you show it in a different way? Screaming is just so obnoxious."
A few days later, Bieber made a similar plea to a Manchester audience: "I appreciate all the support, I appreciate love, I appreciate the kind things," Bieber said. "But the screaming in these breaks has got to stop. Please and thank you. I don't think it's necessary when I'm trying to say something and you guys are screaming."
When they don't stop screaming, he drops his mic and walks away.
Bieber eventually returned, explaining: I'm not going to talk the rest of the night. We're just going to do the music. Obviously Manchester just can't handle it so let's do the music."
TMZ once again publishes a video purportedly showing Bieber throwing punches, this time in Barcelona. A group of screaming fans crowded around a car in which Bieber was riding. The video shows a man sticking his arm through the window, then Bieber punching out.
A fan was later shown with a bloody mouth.
This time, the incident took place in the West Hollywood restaurant Serafina Sunset. The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department said it responded to a "battery report call" around 2 a.m. and was told by a witness "that he saw Justin Bieber get into two separate altercations with two bartenders." A witness claimed that Bieber refused to leave, and "a few minutes later, he saw Mr. Bieber arguing with a patron, when Mr. Bieber suddenly head-butted the patron," the sheriff's department said in a release.
TMZ, naturally, ended up publishing video from that night. But by April, the outlet was reporting that Bieber avoided charges and the case went nowhere.
Authorities had initially said the victim refused medical attention and didn't want to file a police report.
"My left eye has conjunctivitis," Bieber wrote, again and again, in a series of Instagram photos that showed the allegedly infected eye.
Bieber is featured on a hugely popular remix of "Despacito," the hit song from Puerto Rico's Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee. And in May, video of Bieber botching his part while at 1 OAK in New York goes viral.
"I don't know the words, so I say Dorito," he croons along.
People were not pleased.
Fonsi later defended Bieber.
"That chorus is not easy to sing, even for fluent Spanish singers like myself," Fonsi told Rolling Stone. "It's got a lot of lyrics, it's kind of tongue-twisty."
Bieber tells the crowd at Summerburst Festival 2017 in Stockholm that he "can't do 'Despacito.' I don't even know it."
Someone in the audience throws a beer bottle at his head, which he ducks. "Don't throw things at me, please," Bieber said.
Beijing's culture bureau explained Bieber was banned from performing in the country because of his "on and offstage antics."
"Justin Bieber is a gifted singer, but he is also a controversial young foreign singer," the bureau said in a statement. "As far as we are concerned, he has engaged in a series of bad behaviors, both in his social life and during a previous performance in China, which caused discontent among the public."
What "bad behaviors" was China referring to? The bureau didn't specify.
"Justin loves his fans and hates to disappoint them," a statement from a tour rep read. "However, after careful consideration he has decided he will not be performing any further dates. Tickets will be refunded at point of purchase."
The Australian site cited a 'heightened threat level' as the issue.