Canadian pop superstar Justin Bieber took down his Instagram account after irate fans bashed his new girlfriend, Sofia Richie.
Earlier on Sunday, he threatened to set his account to private after many Instagram users showered Richie with hostile comments and snake emojis on his post. “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 real [ly] fans you wouldn’t be so mean to people that I like,” he captioned his photo with Richie.
The issue went viral, helped by former flame singer-actress Selena Gomez’s reaction to his previous Instagram snap.
READ: ‘Jelena’ spat continues, Bieber says ex ditched him for Malik
“If you can’t handle the hate then stop posting pictures of your girlfriend lol – it should be special between you two only,” Gomez wrote. “Don’t be mad at your fans. They love you and supported you before anyone ever did.”
The squabble spiked up further when Gomez, 24, subtly accused him of cheating and Bieber, 22, fired back by pointing out Gomez’s romantic alliance with Zayn Malik, according to reports.
On Tuesday, Bieber switched his account settings to private, then deleted it. On the other hand, several fans speculated that the singer has cooked up a separate private account hours before he deleted his original account.
Beliebers, or avid fans of Bieber, broke down on social media after hearing that their idol shut down his Instagram account. The hashtag #JustinDeactivatedParty was one of the trending hashtags on social networking site Twitter.
#JustinDeactivatedParty he'll be back when he needs more money or the 17 year old dumps him… pic.twitter.com/goRTKxSzLR
— Dads Princess Grace (@gabbiesprincess) August 16, 2016
Did Justin really deactivate over a 17 year old girl he just met almost a week ago #JustinDeactivatedParty pic.twitter.com/qKoLym3kT3
— ᴱᴸᴵᴬᴰᵞˢᴸ (@BabygirlEly) August 16, 2016
https://twitter.com/girlposts/status/765437562899013632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Omg how are you gonna find an instagram model girlfriend now?? @justinbieber #JustinDeactivatedParty pic.twitter.com/GVpIktxyIy
— Shadey (@Shadeyxo) August 16, 2016
Gianna Francesca Catolico