Justin Bieber says Tom Cruise is ‘toast’ as he renews offer to fight actor

Bieber initially challenged the Hollywood star in June 2019

Justin Bieber has jokingly said that Tom Cruise is “toast” as he reignites his 2019 offer to fight the Top Gun star.  

Bieber first challenged the actor to a fight in a social media post shared in June 2019. “I wanna challenge Tom Cruise to fight in the octagon. Tom if you don’t take this fight you’re scared and you will never live it down,” wrote the singer.

He called on UFC boss Dana White to organise the bout, stating: “Who is willing to put on the fight? @danawhite?”

Days after his initial post, the “Holy” singer admitted that Cruise would likely “whoop my a** in a fight”. He added: “I’d have to get in good shape, I’m really skinny right now. I think he’d probably be out of my weight class because he’s big, you know, he’s got that dad strength.”

Bieber appears to have revived the challenge nearly two years later in a new Instagram post promoting the music video for his latest single “Anyone”, which sees the singer portray a prize fighter.

Bieber shared a photo of himself starring in the music video yesterday (3 January), accompanied by the caption: “Tom Cruise is toast.”

The post – likely shared as a joke – has attracted attention from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who commented his support for the musician in his bid to fight Cruise.

Referencing a line from Sylvester Stallone’s classic Rocky, the actor wrote: “‘You’re gonna eat lightning and crap thunder’. Go get em bro.”

The 26-year-old’s mum Patty Mallette, however, seemed less enthusiastic about the possible fight, having commented: “WHY!!!??????”

Last month, Bieber partnered with Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir for a new charity version of his single “Holy”.

The 2021 release of “Anyone” follows the release of his 2020 album titled Changes, which featured hit tracks such as “Yummy” and “Intentions”.

You can read The Independent’s two-star review of the album here.