InstagramTry as he might, Justin Bieber will never blend into the crowd.
Ahead of the first of two shows at TD Garden in Boston, the 22-year-old singer ventured into the Public Garden for some alone time. But his presence didn't go unnoticed, as fans took photos of him listening to music on a bench and feeding a squirrel near a tree. Bieber himself shared an uncaptioned landscape and a selfie on Instagram, writing, "Eyes are the window to the soul." At one point, Bieber—dressed in a Thrasher hoodie—removed his shoes and wandered back to his hotel barefoot. Thanks to a bodyguard who had kept his distance, his kicks were later returned.
Instagram user Windsor Dalton was just one of several fans to snap a picture of Bieber strolling solo in the park. "WHEN U WALKIN HOME FROM WORK AND @justinbieber IS TOO," he wrote.
In fact, several fans approached Bieber during his outing on Monday. On two occasions, the "Love Yourself" singer asked his admirers to stop filming the encounter, saying, "Don't do that." One of his fans, Christina Gesualdi, shared a video of Bieber via her Twitter account. "He gave so much attitude but then told us to put our phones away and talked to us for 5 mins," she wrote. Gesualdi's friend, Jenna Sullivan, tweeted, "I just met Justin bieber I love my life goodbye."
Little did they know, Bieber was reaching his breaking point.
Bieber and a friend were playing pool at Lucky Strike Lanes Tuesday afternoon when a family allegedly demanded that he pose for a photo op. As a rep for the venue told Just Jared, "It was toward the end of their last game that a family, also at the venue, began trying to get to Justin, acting like they were looking for the bathroom and eventually confronting him and demanding photos, implying they were owed a photo because they had bought Justin's albums."
As a result, later that night, Bieber announced that he will no longer be taking photos with his fans. "If you happen to see me out somewhere know that I'm not gonna take a picture I'm done taking pictures. It has gotten to the point that people won't even say hi to me or recognize me as a human, I feel like a zoo animal, and I wanna be able to keep my sanity," the singer wrote on Instagram. "I realize people will be disappointed but I don't owe anybody a picture. and people who say 'but I bought ur album' know that you got my album and you got what you paid for AN ALBUM! It doesn't say in the fine print whenever you see me you also get a photo."
Later, in response to fans' protests, the "Sorry" singer wrote, "Years ago it was impossible to even take a picture at anytime not everyone was accessible to a camera now everyone has a camera phone and Now it's just a different thing. If you think setting boundaries is being a douche I'm the biggest douche around but I think it's smart and will be the only way I last."
"I wanna enjoy life and not be a slave to the world and their demands of what they think I need to do!!" he wrote. "I love the fact that I am able to make people happy but cmon if you truly were in my position you would understand how tiring it is (boo hoo Justin get over it) I'm going to keep making decisions I feel are fit for my growth and no human being will make me feel bad for it."
he gave so much attitude but then told us to put our phones away and talked to us for 5 mins::::))) pic.twitter.com/6y98N6qwSy
— christina gesualdi (@christinagess) May 10, 2016
In March, Bieber announced that he would be cancelling all meet-and-greets for the duration of his Purpose World Tour. "I'm going to be canceling my meet and greets. I enjoy 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 wrote on Instagram. "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. Never want to disappoint but I feel I would rather give you guys the show and my albums as promised."
"Can't tell you how sorry I am, and wish it wasn't so hard on me.." Bieber continued. "And I want to stay in the healthy mindset I'm in to give you the best show you have ever seen."