What was Justin Bieber's "All you want is money" moment? Singer seemingly references confrontation with the paparazzi on his song "Butterflies"

Justin Bieber seemingly references one of his many confrontations with the paparazzi in the song Butterflies, the sixth track from his surprise album Swag. The Baby hitmaker released his seventh studio album on July 11, 2025, with minimal rollout. The album has a 21-song tracklist and includes guest appearances from artists like Cash Cobain, Gunna, and Sexyy Redd, among others.

In Butterflies, Bieber says, "All you want is money," an alleged reference to his viral moment with the paparazzi in April 2025, where he called out photographers for allegedly being money-hungry and not caring about people due to the nature of their jobs.

According to Page Six, the incident took place in Palm Springs ahead of Coachella. The pop star was spotted at a coffee shop with his friends as a group of paparazzi lurked outside the establishment to take pictures of him when he walked out.

One of the photographers greeted Justin Bieber with a "good morning," to which the singer replied that he was not having a good morning because of them. He reportedly accused them of only caring about money and not thinking about other human beings, saying:

"No! Not good morning! You already know. Why are you here?... Money, money, money, money, money...Get out of here, bro. Money, that’s all you want. You don’t care about people or human beings. Go, get out of here. All you want is money. Money, money, money, money...You don’t care about people—only money. No people; you don’t care about human beings. Go," Bieber said.

The latest song Butterflies reportedly begins with a soundbite of Justin Bieber's confrontation with the paparazzi, followed by the pop star singing:

"When the money comes and the money goes/ Only thing that's left, uh, it's a lovely holder/ It's a pain in pleasure, never black and white (Never black and white)/ 'Cause the sun keeps shining, uh, gonna close my eyes."

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Justin Bieber seemingly references another viral paparazzi interaction in Swag

This is not the only paparazzi interaction that Justin Bieber has apparently referenced on his new album, Swag. The singer has a track titled Standing on Business, an alleged reference to his viral confrontation with the paparazzi in mid-June 2025.

During this encounter, the singer was spotted leaving Soho House and he allegedly went on an 11-minute tirade against several photographers, telling them to "get out of [his] f**king face."

Justin Bieber at the Sziget Festival 2022 on August 12, 2022 in Budapest, Hungary. (Image via Getty)

According to Page Six, Justin Bieber urged the paparazzi to leave him alone, adding that they were not his friends and accusing them of posting out-of-context videos. Furthermore, he reportedly blamed them for attempting to provoke him when he was trying to demand respect and enforce boundaries. He allegedly said:

"You’re not getting it. It’s not clocking to you that I'm standing on business… I don’t give a f**k if you’re on the sidewalk. I’m a human f**king being, you’re standing around my car, at the beach! You know what I’m saying? You don’t think I’m a real f**king guy, do you? I don’t know who the f**k is paying you to provoke me, but I’m not the f**king one. OK? Stop provoking me and s**t … I’m not to be f**ked with.”

Following the encounter, Justin Bieber's comment, "It’s not clocking to you that I'm standing on business," blew up on social media, becoming a now-viral meme.

In the new track Standing on Business, the singer has sampled a recording of this interaction, followed by comedian Druski (who features in the track) teaching him how to pronounce the phrase. The track plays out like a skit instead of a song.

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Justin Bieber began promoting Swag on July 10, 2025, after various billboards featuring the album's title were spotted in Iceland, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. This marks the singer's first album since his 2021 LP, Justice.