Justin Bieber is having a laugh after dropping his latest single “Anyone” and its inspirational video at the stroke of midnight on Jan. 1.
The popstar shared a black-and-white image of himself in a boxing ring from the video, in which he portrays a tattoo-free fighter, on Instagram Jan. 2. “Tom Cruise is toast,” he captioned the Instagram image of himself looking ready to battle.
Some of his famous acquaintances got in on the fun, including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. “‘You’re gonna eat lightning and crap thunder,’” commented the wrester-turned-actor, referencing a line from Rocky. “Go get em bro.”
Bieber’s “Lonely” collaborator, Benny Blanco, also chimed in, writing, “def knocking me out in the first round.”
The “Holy” singer raised eyebrows in June 2019 when he seemingly challenged the Top Gun: Maverick star to a bout. “I wanna challenge Tom Cruise to a fight in the octagon,” he tweeted at the time. “Tom if you dont take this fight your scared and you will never live it down. Who is willing to put on the fight?”
Days later, he admitted that he was simply joking about getting into a ring with the movie star. “I was just playin’,” he told paparazzi in a video obtained by TMZ. “I’m pretty sure Tom would … probably whup my a– in a fight.”
Check out Bieber’s video for “Anyone” below, and see his post on Instagram.