Justin Bieber accuses ex of dating Zayn Malik - report

Justin Bieber's love war with ex Selena Gomez has reportedly hit new heights after he accused her of cheating on him with Zayn Malik in a now deleted Instagram post.

The former lovers' war of words began over the weekend (13-14Aug16), after the Sorry hitmaker shared several black and white snaps of himself with his rumoured new girlfriend Sofia Richie, the teenage daughter of Lionel Richie, on social media.

Fans posted rude comments about Richie, prompting Bieber to come to her defence - even threatening to make his account private.

His comments appeared to irk his ex, who wrote: "If you can't handle the hate then stop posting pictures of your girlfriend lol - it should be special between you two only. Don't be mad at your fans. They love you."

Selena quickly deleted the post, but not before Justin caught sight of it, responding, "It's funny to see people that used me for attention and still try to point the finger this way. Sad. All love."

The Come and Get It singer didn't respond immediately, but shared a photo collage of her with numerous fans, dedicating the post to her devotees by writing: "My whole life. You matter most. Thank you letting me do what I love every day."

On Monday (15Aug16), the former lovers tiff reportedly hit explosive new heights when Selena allegedly called out her ex for his womanising ways, adding, "Funny how the ones that cheated multiple times, are pointing the finger at the ones that were forgiving and supportive, no wonder fans are mad. Sad. All love."

The social media clap back really angered Justin, who is reported to have responded: "I cheated... oh I forgot about You and Zayn?"

As WENN went to press, it remained unclear as to whether the Instagram feud did, in fact, take place, as the explosive posts were reportedly quickly deleted.

Bieber started following Gomez on Instagram in June (16). The former couple ended its on-again, off-again romance in November, 2014.