Justin Bieber: I'm Sorry For Scoffing At Lindsay Lohan's Financial Woes

Justin Bieber is apologizing for sniping at Lindsay Lohan and her financial woes.

As we previously reported, Bieber went on an Instagram rant, complaining that he's getting unfairly skewered in the media. At the end, he said, "...to those comparing me to Lindsay Lohan look at her 2012 tax statements :)." In other words, Lindsay's not in his league because she's a loser who's in debt.

Bieber tells TMZ ... "My post was only up for a few minutes but I realized right away that what I said at the end was wrong and distracted from what I was trying to say."

Bieber goes on: "I immediately deleted it and rewrote it so it would show what I was really feeling and those words are up now."

FYI ... After taking it down 10 minutes after posting it, Justin re-posted his comments, the reference to Lindsay had been removed.

Bieber's fans were quick to rally behind him too ... check this video that just surfaced on YouTube.