Justin Bieber was heavily criticized after sharing a photo of his baby boy, Jack, with his almost 294 million Instagram followers.
The photo shows the 31-year-old singer soaking up the sun with his son, who is lying on top of him, facing away from the camera.
Justin opted to conceal Jack's face with an emoji but left his bottom exposed, according to some netizens.
Highlights
- Justin Bieber posted a poolside photo with his baby boy, Jack Blues, born in August 2024.
- The post sparked controversy, as Justin chose to cover Jack’s face with an emoji but left his bottom “exposed."
- People voiced concerns about the baby’s safety, arguing that Justin was making his son vulnerable to perverts online.
"Hate to take your feelings ransom," he captioned the post on Monday (March 31).
The image was part of a photo carousel that included screenshots of him FaceTiming with Jack—once again with the baby's face covered—and a photo of Tupac Shakur.
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In the comments, many people questioned the Sorry singer for censoring his son's face but not his bottom, arguing that this decision could expose Jack to perverts around the world.
"300 million followers and that man just posted a pic of his son n*ked on Instagram am I the only one seeing a problem here??" wrote one person, who re-shared the picture, censoring Jack's bottom with a black box.
"And for the people saying 'It's just a baby why are you thinking about this' wait til you learn there are creeps on the internet who are looking for this kind of pics and when you have 300M followers it's VERY dangerous to post a n*ked pic of your baby.”
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They added: "For all we know his baby pic may already be shared on ped* chat groups like y'all don't understand how bad this is, these disgusting people literally scour Insta for baby pictures and with 300M followers they don't even have to dig it's given right away to them."
Someone else wrote: "What is wrong with you !!!???? Protect your kid!"
"I didn't think it was cool either... parents have a lot of love for their children, but bad people don't," said someone else, raising concerns about the photo being shared on the dark web.
Fans raised concerns about child safety, citing the risk of perverts online
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However, another group felt that people were overreacting and that the baby was not in any danger.
"He's hiding his son with his hands and you never see that baby's face… that baby is fine," one person said.
"People have to stop telling parents how to be parents," a fan chimed in. "He is being careful, he rarely posts his son but the one time he wants to post a cute moment of him and his son people attack him.. it's not like you can really see something."
Aware of the risks of sharing photos of their children, many celebrities choose to keep their family pictures private.
Many condemned Justin, warning about the dangers of the dark web, while others argued that he protected Jack's privacy
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Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes, Amal and George Clooney, Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik, Emily Blunt and John Krasinski, and Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are some of the celebrity parents who do not post photos of their children on social media.
In an open letter, Gigi Hadid asked "paparazzi, press, and fan accounts" to respect the privacy of her and Zayn Malik's four-year-old daughter, Khai, by blurring out her face in photos.
In July 2020, Meghan and Harry filed a lawsuit against paparazzi for photographing their then 14-month-old son, Archie, while at home in their backyard.
Several celebrities, including Ryan Gosling, Meghan Markle, and George Clooney, avoid posting their children's photos
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George Clooney issued a call for The Daily Mail and other publications to stop publishing images of celebrity children, emphasizing that they did not choose to be in the spotlight and deserved privacy.
"I am a public figure and accept the oftentimes intrusive photos as part of the price to pay for doing my job. Our children have made no such commitment," the actor wrote in 2022.
"We cannot protect our children if any publication puts their faces on their cover."
Justin and Hailey welcomed Jack Blues in August 2024.
Jack Blues Bieber was born in August 2024
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A source close to the couple told People that the day Hailey found out she was pregnant was the happiest of Justin's life.
"The pregnancy was something that they very much wished and prayed for," they said.
"The day they found out that Hailey was pregnant was the best ever for Justin. He was over the moon with excitement. It was a big celebration for them."
The Rhode founder and Justin did not announce the pregnancy after three months. She managed to keep it a secret for six months until her baby bump became noticeable.
Jack continues Justin's family tradition with JB initials, like his father and siblings
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"I didn't have a belly, really, until I was six months pregnant, which was when I announced it. I was able to wear big jackets and stuff," she told W Magazine.
"I probably could have hid it until the end," she added. "But I didn't enjoy the stress of not being able to enjoy my pregnancy outwardly. I felt like I was hiding this big secret, and it didn't feel good. I wanted the freedom to go out and live my life."
With Jack, the couple continued Justin's family tradition of keeping the JB initials. Justin shares these initials with his father, Jeremy Bieber, and his younger siblings, Jazmyn and Jaxon.
People shared their perspectives on whether posting the photo was appropriate or not
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