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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Justin Bieber said he tried to shade Selena Gomez’s face in his wrist tattoo, but people could still recognize her. He did not explain why he stopped at shading rather than removing or fully covering the portrait. The available reporting therefore does not support the claim that he kept it for a particular reason—even after his relationship with Hailey Bieber.
What Justin Bieber said about the tattoo
In a 2016 GQ video about his tattoos, Bieber pointed to a wrist portrait of Gomez and said: “This is my ex-girlfriend, so I tried to cover her face up with some shading, but people still know.” CBS News described the image as Gomez depicted as an angel with wings in its February 17, 2016 report: CBS News.
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His comment establishes two things: he had tried shading her face, and the image remained recognizable. It does not explain his private reasoning or say that he chose to keep the tattoo unchanged.
Did he try to cover it up?
Yes, in the limited sense Bieber described: he tried shading the face. The contemporaneous reports by Entertainment Tonight and Glamour also recount that attempt. His quoted words indicate that the shading did not make Gomez unrecognizable.
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That is not evidence of a complete cover-up or tattoo removal. The reporting does not establish that either happened later, and it does not establish the tattoo’s current appearance.
Why didn’t he erase it after falling for Hailey Bieber?
No reliable explanation is established by the cited reports. They do not say that Bieber retained the portrait because of lingering feelings, respect for the past, Hailey’s wishes, the cost or pain of removal, or any other specific reason. Those explanations would be speculation.
Entertainment Tonight’s 2016 account notes that Bieber had not debuted a tattoo honoring Hailey Baldwin at that point; it does not connect Hailey to his decision about Gomez’s portrait. An earlier sentiment about Gomez, recalled separately by ELLE, likewise does not explain what he later chose to do with the tattoo.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the reports can—and can’t—tell us
- Established: Bieber identified the portrait as his ex-girlfriend Gomez and said he tried shading her face.
- Established: He said people still recognized the image.
- Not established: Why he did not remove or fully cover the tattoo, whether he later did so, or what it looks like now.
The central account comes from Bieber’s remarks in the GQ video, as reported by CBS News and recounted by other outlets at the time. Multiple reports of the same comment add context, but they do not independently establish a motive he did not state.
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