Justin Bieber has said he became involved with “pretty heavy drugs” as a teenager as he shared a candid post about the pitfalls of fame.
The popstar, 25, was propelled to global stardom after being discovered while performing on YouTube aged 13.
He topped charts around the world and amassed millions of fans but had several run-ins with the law and often made headlines for his controversial behaviour rather than his music.
In 2014, a petition demanding Bieber be deported from the US attracted more than 100,000 signatures.
Bieber, who is now married to the model Hailey Baldwin, said fame went to his head and by the age of 20 he had “made every bad decision”.
He said: “I started doing pretty heavy drugs at 19 and abused all of my relationships. I became resentful, disrespectful to women, and angry.
“I became distant to everyone who loved me, and I was hiding behind, a shell of a person that I had become. I felt like I could never turn it around.
“It’s taken me years to bounce back from all these terrible decisions, fix broken relationships, and change relationship habits. Luckily god blessed me with extraordinary people who love me for me.”
Bieber said his “whole world was flipped on its head” when his career first took off and he went from a “13 year old boy from a small town to being praised left and right by the world”.
“You hear these things enough as a young boy and you actually start believing it”, he added. Bieber said finding fame at such a young age left him incapable of dealing with the real world.
He said: “Everyone did everything for me, so I never even learned the fundamentals of responsibility. By this point, I was 18 with no skills in the real world, with millions of dollars and access to whatever I wanted.”
Bieber said by the age of 20 he had gone from being “one of the most loved and adored people in the world to the most ridiculed, judged, and hated”.
The singer, who married Baldwin last year, said he was now “navigating the best season of my life” with his marriage.
“You learn patience, trust, commitment, kindness, humility and all of the things it looks like to be a good man”, he added.
Bieber, who has been open about his religion, added: “Jesus loves you”.
Canadian singer Bieber rose to global stardom after being scouted on YouTube by talent manager Scooter Braun.
His debut EP, My World, arrived in 2009 to international success. His hits include What Do You Mean?, Where Are U Now and Boyfriend.