Teen pop superstar, Justin Bieber, addressed his fans on Saturday after photos went viral of the 18-year-old star holding what appeared to be a marijuana joint. Bieber posted a series of tweets to his approximate 32.5 million twitter followers:

The alleged drug photos in question were from a Newport Beach Hotel room party on Wednesday January 2 and were posted by TMZ . Bieber never spoke directly about the photos but he thanked his followers for their support and deemed himself ready to face “new challenges” and “new doubters” in 2013:

The photos were taken a day after a paparazzi photographer was killed trying to get pictures of Bieber’s white Ferrari . Sources say that the driver of the Ferrari that day, 19-year-old rapper, Lil Twist was also at the party.

Bieber is set to kick off his Believe tour on January 5 at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. The tour comes shortly after news broke of Bieber’s newly single relationship status after reportedly breaking up again with girlfriend, Selena Gomez . The nationwide tour will celebrate the slated June release of Bieber’s new album, Believe.