Get your boats and paddles ready for the fangirl tears about to flood the Earth–at least if Justin Bieber is telling the truth. The popstar claimed via Twitter that he would be, no joke, retiring from the music industry. Being able to retire wealthy and famous at the ripe old age of nineteen? People have had it far worse.

Exactly why has Bieber decided that right now is the time for him to take a step back from making music? From his tweets, it sounds like being constantly hounded and derided by members of the media has taken a huge toll on the young man’s confidence. “[The media] make up a lot of lies and want me to fail,” Bieber laments. He promises that despite this, he will continue to be there for his loyal fans.

My beloved beliebers I'm officially retiring

— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) December 25, 2013

The media talks a lot about me.They make a up a lot of lies and want me to fail but I'm never leaving you, being a belieber is a lifestyle.

— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) December 25, 2013

It’s a highly ambiguous set of tweets, which makes one wonder what is really going on with the singer. Is Justin Bieber retiring, or is he just trolling members of the media and every individual that can’t stand his music? There has been some talk in recent days about the young singer taking a break from the industry. On December 19th, he mentioned that he might retire following the end of his world tour and ahead of his new movie, “Believe“.

The new movie, which is opened Christmas Day, is meant to show the highs and lows of Justin’s life. Perhaps it will give a glimpse into the reasons for his decision if it’s sincere. But before some of you start Irish stepdancing with glee, Bieber’s decision may not be final. This was said by Bieber himself during the recent interview.

“I want to grow as an artist and I’m taking a step out, I want my music to mature.”

So perhaps it’s not that Bieber is going to stop making music forever, it may be that he’s laying his image as a teen idol to rest. His attempts at a more grown-up image have failed to get him taken seriously and his childish antics have only caused a growing amount of derision. Perhaps disappearing from the limelight for a few years will provide him an opportunity to let enough people forget about him or their dislike of him to come back with a truly unique and grown up sound.

As his fans and haters are kept on the edge of their seat, we’ll just have to wait and see whether or not Justin Bieber is really going, going, gone.

Image via Justin Bieber Official Twitter