Olivia Wilde faces Belieber backlash after telling Justin to put on a shirt

If she’s going to marry “Saturday Night Live” comedian Jason Sudeikis, Olivia Wilde must have a pretty good sense of humour, right? Not if you ask the legions of Beliebers who recently unleashed a whole lot of anger upon the 29-year-old actress after she slighted Justin Bieber on Twitter.

“Bieber, put your f---ing shirt on. (unless you lost all your shirts in a fire in which case my condolences and please purchase a new shirt.)” Wilde posted earlier this month, referencing the 19-year-old’s tendency to reveal his chest on social media and in photos snapped by paparazzi.

The particular incident that incited Wilde’s blunt response was at the pop star’s birthday festivities on Feb. 28. He was seen leaving London's British Luxury Club in a pair of bright blue pants, white shoes, and nothing else.

But, alas, poor Wilde never stood a chance against the army of Beliebers who swiftly came to the “Boyfriend” singer’s defense. While visiting Jay Leno on “The Tonight Show,” Wilde claims she was blasted with about 17,000 angry tweets as punishment for her comment.

“He is in London and it’s so cold there, I was concerned. I have a 19-year-old brother in London and it’s freezing, and if I saw him without a shirt, I would tell him to put it on,” Wilde explained, as she continued to read a few of her favourites.

“At first I thought they were just being mean, but then I realized it was just helpful advice, friendly advice like I gave to him,” she said. “One of them was ‘Are you a lesbian or are you too old?’ And it’s great, because it’s a question I never asked myself before.”

Wilde also joked about the Twitter abuse while promoting her upcoming comedy “Drinking Buddies” at South by Southwest in an interview with CNN.

“I'm going to get attacked with acid, someone's going to throw acid in my face. If that happens there are 35 million Beliebers that did it,” she said, again insisting that her joke was made “with all the love in the world.”

It's been a rough few months for Bieber -- he’s suffered a string of unfortunate events in 2013. The latest of which is, unfortunately, the death of his pet hamster Pac, which he had gifted to a fan a few months back.

At least he can take comfort in the fact that 35 million fans, and even Olivia Wilde, have his best interests at heart.