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Justin Bieber exposed the harsh reality of stardom in a distressing video, which he shot himself.
The 31-year-old pop icon surprised fans by releasing a heartbreaking first-person account, providing an eye-opening peek into the severe media scrutiny he faced over the years.
In the footage, shot with his phone's back camera, the Favorite Girl singer and his wife, Hailey Bieber, can be seen going down a dimly lighted road towards a black vehicle before being attacked by a torrent of white camera flashes.
While escorted by his security crew, the Lonely singer pauses and turns to capture the overwhelming 360-degree swarm of photographers that surrounds him.
At one point, a team member shines a spotlight straight into the photographers' lenses, attempting to dissuade them while also encouraging them to back away and leave. Despite his security team's best efforts, the flashes continue unabated.
The Off My Face singer captioned the video with the simple yet powerful remark, "This has to stop."
Fans flooded the comments section with admiration and compassion for the singer, as well as fury at the star's continued mistreatment and calls for change.
"Keep filming from your perspective and show the world that this should be illegal!" pleaded one reader.
"Dang I believe this is the first celebrity perspective on paparazzi. "Really shows the perspective," another admirer commented, evidently scared.
"To think this has been happening to you since you were 13 is just absolutely insane," a third user exclaimed, apparently shocked.
"Watching from this point of view is quite distressing. "Breaks my heart," one person said, while a fifth user added, "My anxiety just shot up watching this."
Bieber's most recent interaction with paparazzi occurred a few weeks after he addressed some cameramen in Palm Springs earlier this month, when he expressed worries about a lack of respect for personal space.
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