Why Justin Bieber’s Hailey Vogue Comment Struck a Nerve

It’s not hard to imagine what went down at the Bieber home when Justin Bieber’s Hailey Vogue Instagram comments first started to go viral.

Many of us have been there. You write or say something that you may have meant to be a compliment, but it comes out just…wrong. Of course, not all of us are Grammy-winning superstars, so when we fire off a less-than-considered Instagram caption, it doesn’t immediately go out to 294 million people and upend an entire news cycle.

In case you missed it, Vogue released its summer issue Tuesday featuring cover star Hailey Bieber. While Hailey and Justin appeared together on the magazine’s cover in 2019, this was the first time she’d appeared solo. Justin appeared to want to celebrate his wife’s achievement, and did so, let’s just say, in his own way.

“Yo this reminds me when Hailey and I got into a huge fight, I told hails that she would never be on the cover of vogue,” he wrote, in an Instagram post featuring the cover. “Yikes I know, so mean, For some reason because I felt so disrespected I thought I gotta get even…I think as we mature we realize that we’re not helping anything by getting even, we’re honestly just prolonging what we really want which is intimacy and connection. So baby u already know but forgive me for saying u wouldn’t get a vogue cover cuz clearly i was sadly mistaken.”

Okay, so we can all imagine what probably went down after he posted this, right? Hailey, fresh off the big launch of her cover, was probably relaxing at home with Justin and her baby when she opened Instagram and saw…whatever this was supposed to be.

If you squint, you can see shades of good intentions in the post. I’d like to assume that Justin wasn’t trying to humiliate his wife, or diminish her success in front of the entire world on a day that should be a triumph for her. But it didn’t land that way and shortly after posting his rambling caption, Bieber replaced it with a string of emojis. It seems he realized—or was told by his appalled wife—the error he made, and tried to change course. But the damage was done.

Justin Bieber’s Hailey Vogue comments have now overtaken the pop-culture news cycle, one that nearly 24 hours later is showing no signs of abating. Women are in large part pissed, and it seems to have struck a nerve that says a lot more about gender dynamics in heterosexual relationships than about any cringe social media post.

That’s because the dynamic between Hailey and Justin isn’t that unique, even if it may be on a grander scale than what many of us experience. It’s important to view this moment in the context of what we know about their relationship, the changing nature of which is also explored in the Vogue cover story.

It details how over the past several years, Hailey has transformed from being a model and wife to a pop star into a business mogul and big-time celebrity in her own right. In fact, the article notes, she is often the one making headlines these days for her buzzy and successful skin-care brand, Rhode, with Justin usually being spotted at events two steps behind her, in oversized streetwear.

This is a far cry from the beginning days of their relationship in 2016, when Justin was fresh off his number one album Purpose, which would go on to be certified six times platinum and be nominated for four Grammys. It’s not hyperbolic to say that when the couple got together Justin was one of the most famous people in the world, while Hailey was mostly known for her friendships with other famous models like Kendall Jenner and being the daughter of one of the less well-known Baldwin brothers, Stephen.

Justin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin on July 30, 2018 in New York City.James Devaney

But now, the couple has experienced a drastic shift. While Justin’s star has remained bright and he is still incredibly famous, it’s now his wife who is the one drawing the crowds of adoring fans and more often making headlines. Hailey has a thriving (and reportedly, close to $1 billion) brand, while Justin has taken the past several years off work and has largely retreated from the spotlight. It’s a changing dynamic that, even in today’s world, is hard for some men to experience, famous or not.

The truth is that our culture is often still more comfortable with the notion of a couple that consists of a powerful and successful man and a woman who largely plays the role of silent cheerleader on his arm. And as some women have commented on social media in response to Justin’s post, when that dynamic gets flipped, especially when it happens several years into a relationship, it can be tough to navigate.

Several shared stories of facing embarrassment and hurtful comments from former partners once they reached a pinnacle of career success, saying their partner’s egos ultimately were unable to handle being outshone by a woman.

“May that kind of love never find me again,” wrote one person, in a common sentiment. “Never let anyone dull your dreams and ambitions.”

Is that what is happening here with Justin and Hailey? Ultimately, we don’t know, although that hasn’t stopped all the social media accounts obsessed with their dynamic from wildly speculating. Maybe Justin was trying to be cruel toward his wife, but maybe he had the best intentions and just just put his foot in his mouth.

Either way, as with many celebrity dustups, the response to what ultimately was a short-lived Instagram post says a lot more about us than it does about them.