Justin Bieber has asked fans to pray for him after opening up for the first time about being struck by a rare virus that has paralysed one side of his face.
The pop star announced on Friday evening that he had been diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt Syndrome, which had saw his face become 'fully paralysed' down on side after a rare virus attacked the nerves in his ear.
After sharing the shock health update, the singer returned to Instagram to appeal to his huge following.
"Been getting progressively harder to eat which has been extremely frustrating.
"Please pray for me," he asked followed by a tear emoji.
Hours before, Justin told fans of his condition as he explained he had no choice but to cancel upcoming shows on his Purpose tour.
Posting a video on Instagram, the 28-year-old said: “It is from this virus that attacks the nerve in my ear in my facial nerves and has caused my face to have paralysis.
“As you can see, this eye is not blinking. I can’t smile on this side of my face. This nostril will not move, so there’s full paralysis on this side of my face.”
In the video, Justin attempted to smile, blink, and move his face but one side remained still as he continued to speak.
He added: “So for those who are frustrated by my cancelations of the next shows, I’m just physically, obviously not able of doing them. This is pretty serious as you can see.
“I wish this wasn’t the case but obviously my body is telling me I gotta slow down.
“I hope you guys understand, and I’ll be using this time to just rest and relax and get back to 100% so I can do what I was born to do. But in the meantime, this ain’t it.”
The Baby singer said he has been doing facial exercises to try to regain movement, but it will take time to recover.
He added: “We don’t know how much time it is going to be but it’s going to be okay, I have hope and I trust God. I trust it is all for a reason. I’m not sure what that is right now but in the meantime I am going to rest.”
Bieber received an outpouring of love for his honesty from celebrity friends including DJ Khaled, Romeo Beckham and his wife Hailey Bieber who wrote: “I love you baby.”
Bieber kicked off his world tour with a 52-date North American leg in 2022, starting in San Diego on February 18.
