Justin Bieber shared an introspective moment with his 85 million Instagram followers on Sunday, reflecting on his troubled 2014 when he was arrested for driving under the influence.
“I LOVE THIS because it reminds me IM NOT EXACTLY WHERE I WANT TO BE BUT THANK GOD IM NOT WHERE I USED TO BE!! THE BEST IS YET TO COME DO YOU BELIEVE IT?” he wrote while depicting side-by-side “then” and “now” photos showing his 2014 mug shot and his healthier look today.
In 2104, Bieber had a string of issues with the law, many of which involved drugs, alcohol or violence.
He was arrested in January of that year on suspicion of driving under the influence (DUI), at which time more than 270,000 people signed a petition to have him deported and returned to his Canadian hometown of Ontario.
That July, he was charged with misdemeanor vandalism for egging his neighbor’s house, followed by another arrest in September for assault and dangerous driving.
Bieber deleted his Instagram account in August 2016 and told London concert-goers three months later, “I don’t want to get my Instagram back. Instagram is for the devil … I’m sure … I think hell is Instagram. I’m 90 percent sure. We get sent to hell, we get like locked in the Instagram server.”
After a five-month break, he logged back in, and his first post drew more than 7 million views.