Singer Justin Bieber is reported to be in debt to the tune of tens of millions of dollars.

According to U.S. entertainment media TMZ, The Hollywood Reporter, and Forbes on the 14th (local time), Bieber currently owes his longtime manager Scooter Braun about $8.8 million (approximately 1.2 billion Hanwha).

The report states that the incident began with the cancellation of his tour in 2022. At that time, Bieber halted the 'Justice' world tour early due to health issues and had already received an advance payment of $40 million (about 55.8 billion won). The contractual penalty alone amounted to $24 million (about 33.5 billion won). Afterward, his former manager Braun's company HYBE intervened to resolve the matter, but it is reported that Bieber only paid the promised partitioning amount once.

Bieber's side claims to be wronged. His business manager, Lou Taylor, asserted that Braun unjustly collected a commission of $26 million (about 36.3 billion won), while HYBE conducted an internal audit to refute this. The results were just the opposite. HYBE released internal audit results showing that Bieber actually owed Braun more than $1 million (about 1.4 billion won).

As the controversy escalated, HYBE commissioned an external auditing firm, PwC, to conduct an audit; six months later, the conclusion was that Bieber indeed owed about $8.8 million. Although Bieber's side did not provide any substantial rebuttal to this result, they stated they had no plans to disclose the audit results.

In the meantime, reports continued that Bieber was in an economic crisis, leading to speculation about bankruptcy. The Hollywood Reporter stated, "He has cut ties with longtime team members, incurred significant debts to AEG, some of which he has never repaid."

Bieber's former colleagues also spoke out. A former team member expressed concern, saying, "Right now, he is wandering without anyone to protect him. There is no one around him to say 'no.'"

As the controversy grew, Bieber's team issued an official statement and firmly rebutted the claims. "This is merely a distorted assertion from unnamed sources, and a false report aimed at clicks by some individuals disappointed by the end of their relationship with Justin," they dismissed. They further stated, "Justin is still forging his own path. External speculation will not change his direction," strongly denying the bankruptcy rumors and the debt controversy.

[Photo] SNS

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