We all saw how poorly Justin Bieber was treated, writes Emma Clarke. Where was the outrage back then? Why didn’t anyone step in?As a young teen, Justin Bieber faced many inappropriate situations.
There was one encounters where In one instance when Justin was in an interview, he looked uncomfortable while sitting in a chair and glanced at his mom for help after a female radio host asked him about “the xxx talk.”
“I really feel uncomfortable right now,” he said. “Why do you want to know this from a 15-year-old boy? That’s pretty weird.”And yes, it is pretty weird.
Unfortunately, this was not the only awkward moment he experienced. Many of these troubling situations happened during the start of his career.
Old videos of how he was treated have been shared on social media, especially after Sean “Diddy” Combs was recently arrested.
There was the questionable “48 hours” that 15-year-old Justin spent with the rapper, and a later awkward moment when Diddy expressed disappointment that they had lost touch. Other uncomfortable clips have also surfaced.
On the show The Talk, Bieber was asked, “Would you rather be on stage without clothes for a whole song or drink a cup of blended worms?”
When he was just 18, Katy Perry, then 27, was filmed playfully grabbing him at the Capital Summertime Ball. That same year, during the American Music Awards, Jenny McCarthy, then 39, held onto him while he accepted an award and leaned in close and gave him a kiss making him uncomfortable. “Wow. I feel violated right now,” he said.
Even though Bieber clearly felt uncomfortable and didn’t agree to this behavior, no one listened. It seemed like the adults thought they could do whatever they wanted with him just because he was famous. They brushed it off as “Bieber Fever.”
McCarthy even hinted at this when she told reporters, “It was a little intense, but I took the chance because I’ll never get to do it again.”
What’s worse is that the adults who should have protected him often ignored these situations and let them happen.
Bieber’s relationship with his mother, Pattie Mallette, has been difficult over the years. She was there for many of his early interviews.
In 2016, his father, Jeremy, made an inappropriate comment on social media about leaked private photos of Bieber, calling his son “a beaut.”
It’s clear that the adults in Bieber’s life allowed this behavior to continue, exposing him to rude comments and actions that became normal. When Bieber began to act out—like having tantrums in stores and getting arrested—these same adults turned away and refused to take responsibility.
Now, more than ten years later, people are finally realizing how wrong this treatment was, but we all watched it happen. Where was the outrage then?
Bieber’s experience is not unique. Other child stars like Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish, Charlotte Church, and the Olsen twins have faced similar problems. They dealt with countdowns to their 18th birthdays, comments about their changing bodies, and pressure about their personal lives.
Just this year, a documentary called Quiet on Set criticized the kids’ TV channel Nickelodeon for how it operated in the 2000s. In the show, former child actor Drake Bell said he was assaulted by a dialogue coach when he was 15, and others shared their stories about the harmful environment created by producer Dan Schneider.
The dialogue coach served time in prison and is now a registered offender. Schneider has acknowledged his past actions, saying he owes some people an apology.
In his 2013 book, Coreyography, actor Corey Feldman revealed that he and his co-star Corey Haim were abused by industry executives. During an appearance on The View, Feldman said that “some of the richest and most powerful people in this business” are involved in this behavior. Sadly, his claims were not taken seriously by Barbara Walters.
It’s clear that there is a serious problem in the entertainment industry that has existed for a long time. How many more children need to go through this awful treatment before it is taken seriously?
