Justin Bieber admits that the Tom Cruise fight offer was 'just a hoax'

Justin Bieber doesn't want to fight Tom Cruise in the octagon after all, it appears.

Earlier this week, the Sorry singer offered the Mission: Impossible star the opportunity to go toe-to-toe, an incident which went unexpectedly viral.

Read more: Justin Bieber just challenged Tom Cruise to a UFC fight

It inexplicably drew in the likes of Conor McGregor, UFC boss Dana White, Mark Wahlberg, Dick Van Dyke and Angela Lansbury.

But apparently, he never wanted a scrap with Cruise in the first place.

Collared by TMZ in Los Angeles, he said: “I don't know him. The story is I'd read an interview with him. And he was just on my mind. I don't know why.

“It was just a random tweet. I do that stuff sometimes. I think he'd probably whoop my ass. I'd have to get in shape. I'm really skinny.

“And I think he'd probably be out of my weight class. He's got that 'dad' strength.”

But from this 'random tweet', things quickly got out of hand.

UFC champ Conor McGregor got involved, saying he'd be happy to host and promote the fight, and then offered Mark Wahlberg out himself, claiming he'd 'slap the ears' off him.

It was followed by a glut of folk on Twitter offering to fight celebrities 31 years their senior (Cruise is 56, Bieber is 25).

Things took a peculiar turn when the actor who plays Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation offered to fight Murder, She Wrote star Angela Lansbury, 93.

Obviously, Dick Van Dyke then stepped in to defend her. At which point Data backed down.

We live in curious times.