Justin Bieber Takes Dreadlocks Up A Notch With Cornrow Pigtails For Miami Music Video With DJ Khaled
May 4 2021, Updated 9:52 a.m. ET
It’s been less than a week since Justin Bieber sprung up on Instagram debuting controversial dreadlocks, and it appears the 27-year-old pop star has changed up his look once again.
We just can't tell if it's better or worse.
The Biebs was out in Miami over the weekend, playing a round of golf with DJ Khaled, when photogs snapped several shots of him looking – um – different? The luscious blonde locks we fell in love with as teens were pulled up and back into what can best be described as cornrow pigtails.
Though a wild look for sure, we're going to throw the Biebs a bone and say maybe the new 'do is simply a look for the Let It Go music video, which he was shooting alongside Khaled and 21 Savage while on the Miami golf course?
While on set, Bieber went through a few outfit changes. He went from an all-white jumpsuit, to a multicolored short-sleeve button-down/matching short combo, and was later spotted in an oversized jersey atop oversized jean shorts. His hair, however, remained the same throughout the day.
Justin's supermodel wife, Hailey Bieber, was also present. Her hair was pulled back, her makeup was minimal and her outfit was effortlessly chic – as always. Perhaps love really is blind.
Though there hasn't been enough time for the internet to see, process and assess JB's new hair, he was certainly skewered after posting his dreads last week.
"I don't care how long I've liked you, this is cultural appropriation and I don't like it," one person tweeted in response to the star's Instagram selfie. "As a black woman, this is totally offensive and disrespectful. Cut your hair or fix it, the fact that it is 2021 and people are still appropriating black people is gross."
"Justin Bieber is wearing those dreadlocks again. I guess it's cultural appropriation season. He is so mediocre," added another critic, as a third wrote, "Get it the f--k together. @justinbieber I'm tired of constantly having to defend your ass but I really won't this time like I said yesterday, 3 steps backward every time."
The following day, Bieber appeared to respond to the backlash with a lengthy message about wanting to be "accepted."
"All of us humans just want to be liked, fit in, belong, feel heard, be accepted," he wrote on Instagram. "We all have our own insecurities that we try and hide and we make it seem like we have it all together."
The Peaches singer continued, "Arent we all broken? We can all hide behind superficial things but the truth is we are all hurting. The answer can't be within ourselves, the answer must be in a a [sic] perfect one, one who can rescue us from our humanness."
Justin – who rose to global fame at 15 – is not new to public criticism. It's also not the first time he's been accused of cultural appropriation. In 2016, the musician faced similar backlash after sporting a homogenous style of dreads. At the time, his response to the outcry was simply, "It's just my hair."