Bieber responds to mother's prayer post with pinky-toe joke

Justin Bieber responded in a brief Instagram comment this week to a lengthy prayer posted by his mother, Pattie Mallette, that called for his strength and healing. Mallette shared a carousel of black-and-white photos of the 31-year-old pop star on Sept. 22 and wrote that she was "cheering you on and praying for you always" while asking for "freedom, strength, clarity, and healing" over her son. Bieber replied in the post's comments on Oct. 5, writing, "Only thing I need healing from is my rolled pinky toe from playing ping pong."

Mallette's caption invoked her Christian faith and called on the Holy Spirit to surround her son with "truth, light, and protection" and to "heal every wound in his heart, mind and body, seen and unseen." The post, which showed Bieber wearing a T-shirt bearing the words Pray for Me, drew thousands of supportive responses from fans. Mallette, 50, has often spoken publicly about her faith and the couple’s close relationship; she chronicled aspects of her life and Justin's upbringing in a 2012 memoir.

Bieber's joking reply was the latest public exchange that has attracted attention to his personal wellbeing. Over the summer he posted candid messages about...