Justin Bieber tells NHS doctor to 'f**k off' after mental health post

Dr Joshua Wolrich said he spoke to the singer for an hour about his mental health claims
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Megan C. Hills19 August 2020

Justin Bieber and an NHS doctor engaged in debate on Instagram, after Bieber posted an image that read “The right healthy food is actually medicine.”

After Dr Joshua Wolrich challenged Bieber’s post in the comments and told him food is “not medicine”, the Baby singer screenshotted his comment and told him to “literally f**k off” in a follow-up Instagram Story shared with his 144 million followers.

Wolrich shared the experience on his social media account, which aims to debunk medical myths and fights against weight stigma with body positive posts.

Bieber first posted his picture linking food to medicine two days ago: “If you are feeling anxious or depressed a lot of it has to do with our diet! Try changing up your diet! It has helped me so much !!” he wrote.

Getty Images

Wolrich responded in the comments that the “intention behind this post was good, but unfortunately the potential outcome is quite harmful.”

He said: “Anxiety and depression [are] very rarely as a result of food intake. Mental health is complex and boiling is down to the privilege of food choices is incorrect and stigmatising for those who struggle with it on a daily basis.”

Addressing Bieber’s fans in the comments, he continued: “For any of you who read this and felt a sense of guilt that if only you changed your food you wouldn’t struggle with mental health... please know that’s not accurate. You are doing a fantastic job - do not compare yourself to a celebrity with all the capacity for change and privilege in the world.”

Wolrich screenshotted his comment and Bieber’s caption, tagging the singer in it as he posted it to his Instagram Stories. In response, Bieber reshared the story and captioned it, “Bro literally f**k off lol.”

Wolrich, who describes himself as an ‘NHS Surgical Doctor’ in his Instagram bio, said he was soon hit with a deluge of Beliebers “DMing me and commenting on my latest post.”

As he continued that “food can’t fix all illnesses...and actually it very rarely can fix any particular illness”, he revealed he then spoke to Bieber directly through DM about his post for an hour.

“I do appreciate the fact, although I find it slightly mad, that I spent an hour talking to Justin in my messages yesterday,” he said.

Instagram / @drjoshuawolrich

The conversation ended up having a small impact on Bieber, as Wolrich continued: “The reason I’m saying that is because we need to engage in these conversations and I appreciate the fact that he changed the caption - very slightly, but he did edit the caption which he didn’t need to do. There’s a long way to go, but these conversations are a good start.”

Wolrich shared a screenshot of the caption before and after. Prior to their conversation, Bieber’s caption read: “If you are feeling anxious or depressed a lot of it has to do with our diet!” - however after his discussion with Wolrich it was tweaked slightly to read, “If you are feeling anxious or depressed it can often have a lot to do with our diet!”

Calling it “movement in the right direction”, Wolrich said the amendment is “better than nothing.”

For those seeking mental health support, the Samaritans operate a 24/7 helpline which can be contacted at 116 123 or by email at jo@samaritans.org. The NHS also provide resources for those seeking support in their area and mental health charity Mind can be contacted by text at 86463, by phone at 0300 123 3393 and online at their website.