Justin Bieber puzzles fans by changing his NAME on Instagram before sharing rare glimpse of son Jack Blues

Justin Bieber threw his fans for a loop on Thursday when he mysteriously changed his profile name on Instagram.

The 31-year-old pop superstar had previously used his own name for the account, but social media users noticed that he had rebooted the account name as ‘lilbieber’ without warning or explanation.

The odd behavior — which coincided with a rapid-fire string of bizarre posts — came just a day after he shared another content creator’s post about receiving the ‘silent treatment,’ which many of his fans interpreted as referring to his marriage to Hailey Bieber.

The post followed Justin and Hailey’s bitter Father’s Day, when they apparently bickered publicly on social media. 

Hours after the name change, the Sorry singer interrupted his posts of moody black-and-white self-portraits to share some rare photos of himself bonding with his 10-month-old son Jack Blues.

The surprisingly public display followed in the wake of an insider’s claim to The Sun that the model had branded her husband a ‘f***ing child’ in response to his post on Mother’s Day, in which he said the holiday ‘sucks a**.’

One fan account posted a reply that Justin allegedly posted in response to a comment about his name change, but the context and meaning wasn’t immediately clear. 

‘We love to catagorize and box people in and it’s hurting us [sic],’ he allegedly wrote.

Over on X (formerly Twitter) fans were largely negative on the name change, with several expressing their consternation over the unexpected move. 

‘Why did Justin bieber change is his insta name to lilbieber…. [sic],’ wrote one puzzled user.

Several people joked that the name change signaled that Justin was leaving pop music behind in favor of rap.

‘justin bieber becoming an underground rapper,’ one poster wrote.

Others described the change as the sign of a ‘midlife crisis,’ though Bieber is a bit young for that. 

‘Midlife crisis or marketing strategy? Either way, “lilbieber” feels like a 2013 time capsule cracked open,’ one person mused. 

‘Maybe the lilbieber is gonna be the crazy over sharing account and Justin Bieber will be his new official Instagram for the new ear,’ a fan account theorized. 

‘lilbieber, standing on business,’ another user wrote, referencing a phrase Justin featured in his recent Instagram posts. ‘justin unlocked his new 56th personality im afraid.’ 

One person joked, ‘Alright lilbieber needs a time out from social media.’

Several fans poked fun at the name change for being immature.

‘lilbieber bffr you’re a 31 year old man,’ wrote one.

Another wrote, ‘lilbieber, huh? Trying to shed that baby image, I see.’ 

One person even compared Justin’s recent actions on social media to those of the disgraced rapper Kanye West. 

‘justin bieber changed his instagram handle to lilbieber. what’s happening to that guy he’s really the next ye,’ another user worried.

Confusingly, once Justin changed his Instagram name, a new account appeared under his original name.

It was completely blank and was set to private, meaning that followers have to be approved by the owner.

It’s unclear if Bieber could have kept his original username as a second account or if another person quickly swooped in to steal his old name.

The change confused several fans on social media who thought the hitmaker had wiped his account, as the blank page appeared to have the same URL as Justin’s original Instagram account.

It was even more likely to mix up fans, as the new blank account appears to be the first result when using search engines to find Justin’s Instagram.

Instagram’s frequently asked questions suggest that Justin may not even be able to get his old name back if someone else has claimed it, though it’s possible that his celebrity status may afford him special, unmentioned perks that regular Instagram users wouldn’t have access to.

After the name change, Justin shot off a bevy of Instagram posts that alternated between expressionistic black-and-white self-portraits and context-free photos of shoes and clothing that appeared to be items from his new Skylrk fashion line.

But amid those posts came a rare glimpse of his and Hailey’s son Jack Blues, whom the two usually try to keep out of the spotlight. 

In a post with two photos that he only captioned with emojis, Justin shared two nearly identical snaps of little Jack sitting in a cardboard box with some colorful plastic balls.

Justin covered himself with a coral-colored zip-up hoodie as he beamed playfully at the little boy.

He shared thee sweet photos following reports that his wife Hailey is doing everything in her power to keep her family together. 

Amid reports that she is struggling in her marriage, a source told Us Weekly that the Rhode founder, 28, who recently sold her brand to e.l.f. Beauty for $1 billion, has been focused on remaining ‘the stable parent.’

‘Justin’s been a hard person to deal with recently because of what he’s going through,’ they explained. ‘It’s been really hard on her.’

The insider added: ‘Family issues have clouded her success.’

‘Justin’s going through a difficult time, and Hailey is giving him room to get himself back on track. He’s doing his best, but it’s tough,’ a second sourced told the outlet. 

The second insider claims the pair have been enduring more ‘ups and downs’ than usual and ‘things have been very tense in the last month.’ 

‘Hailey’s worried about Justin, especially with a [baby at home]. He hasn’t been down like this in quite some time, so there’s concern,’ they explained. 

As Justin continues to spark concern online over his bizarre social media posts, Hailey is said to feel frustrated over his ‘loose cannon’ antics. 

But, ultimately, the source explained: ‘She knows that’s part of the industry and who she’s married to.’ 

‘They don’t talk about divorce,’ the first source insisted.

The second insider confirmed the odds of them calling it quits ‘are very slim, especially because of their faith.’ 

‘Faith is a big part of their life,’ the source said. ‘They believe they are soulmates and meant for each other.’ 

‘They’ll do anything to make it work,’ the second source stressed. ‘They are going to get through it.’

On Wednesday, the Sorry hitmaker shared footage of him facing off against a paparazzi that has become a viral meme. 

‘Still standing on it no joke,’ he captioned the video of the heated exchange, in which he told a paparazzo to leave him alone because he was ‘standing on business.’ 

Earlier this week, a source told Entertainment Tonight that Justin has been ‘irritated by Hailey and feels she ‘can be superficial about the way their relationship looks in the public eye.’ 

The insider added that ‘Justin’s lack of motivation has been upsetting for [Hailey]’ and they’re ‘not good.’

Still, they are both said to be hopeful they can repair their marriage.

Last month, Justin told Vogue via email: ‘I’ve done a lot of dumb things in my life, but the smartest thing I’ve ever done was marry Hailey.’

He added: ‘I’m walking in the days I always dreamed of.’

As far as having more kids they both want that, but Hailey told the journalist that she plans to take it ‘a kid at a time.’

Hailey also gushed that Justin sees her as a ‘superhero’ after welcoming their son.

‘It’s been my biggest teacher so far,’ she said of becoming a mom. ‘The biggest teacher in my relationship. You see your partner so differently.’

She continued: ‘Justin is an ‘amazing dad… I think you empathize with your parents a lot more. There’s so much perspective that comes with it.’

In his email, Justin also pointed out: ‘[Hailey is] in the spotlight, and has the attention because of her effortless knack for style, business, art, and fashion. And the way she makes being a mom and wife look easy.’

In the interview, Hailey admitted she thought she might ‘die’ during her traumatic labor last year.

The model welcomed her only child with Bieber, 31, in August 2024, but experienced some ‘scary’ complications during the birth.

Despite prepping for nine months in which she exercised, worked on her pelvic floor and felt ‘physically stronger’ than ever before, Hailey found herself going through a very tough labour, with the stunner admitting in a candid new interview that giving birth was ‘the hardest thing I’ve ever done’.

Speaking for the first time about the birth, Hailey told Vogue: ‘That s**t was so crazy. That was not fun. They broke my water. I went into labor and I labored for a few hours. No epidural, nothing.’

Hailey began leaking amniotic fluid at 39 weeks and had to be induced, with the star given medication to bring on contractions while a special balloon was placed inside her uterus to help dilate her.

However, while she eventually welcomed her boy after 18 hours, her troubles continued as she then experienced a postpartum hemorrhage, with Hailey sadly admitting that the thought had crossed her mind that she wouldn’t survive the ordeal.

On the fact that death could be a result of this complication if not treated quickly, which she told was ‘a little bit scary’, Hailey shared: ‘I trust my doctor with my life. And so I had peace that I knew she would never let anything happen to me. But I was bleeding really badly, and people die, and the thought crosses your mind.’

Hailey also spoke of her ‘difficulty’ at coping with the ‘new version of herself’ while facing rumors surrounding her marriage to Justin.

Fans have expressed concern for the couple due to their stony-faced public appearances, and Hailey’s famous friends have allegedly urged her to leave the singer due to his ‘unacceptable’ behavior.

Addressing the challenges, she shared: ‘Being postpartum is the most sensitive time I’ve ever gone through in my life, and learning a new version of myself is very difficult… And to be doing that all the while going on the internet every day and people being like, “They’re getting divorced” and “They’re this” and “They’re not happy”: It is such a mindf**k. I cannot even begin to explain it. It’s a crazy life to live.’