Has Justin Bieber gotten too big for his boots?

During his recent stint in the UK, Justin Bieber received much negative publicity from our media. He was here to complete the UK part of his Believe Tour at the O2 Arena in London, and before he’d even begun the first show he’d caused controversy by allegedly showing up two hours late – a claim which he later denied, stating he was in fact only 40 minutes late due to technical difficulties. 40 minutes or 120 minutes, late is late. Considering the young age of his fans and the location of the O2, you would expect he would do all he could to ensure he made it on stage on time – being a weeknight I can imagine there were some rather less-than-impressed parents worrying about getting the train home and their children, or ‘Beliebers’, up for school the next day.

A few of days later, he left the stage mid-concert after reportedly finding himself short of breath. He is said to have collapsed backstage before returning to finish the show, after which he was rushed straight to hospital. Could be legitimate, but if you ask me it’s all rather coincidental how this happened just after he found himself in hot water… Perhaps a way to win back some fans?

Bieber wasn’t finished there either. When leaving his hotel towards the end of his stay, he ended up in a war of words with one of the paparazzi outside. What exactly caused it remains hazy, but for whatever reason the photographer began shouting at Justin after he’d been escorted into his car. Bieber then reappeared and attempted to launch himself at the man, being held back only by one of his entourage, with some pretty colourful language accompanying his angry actions.

Granted, having paparazzi follow you everywhere you go must be annoying. But isn’t that pretty much a given if you want the celebrity lifestyle? Looking at the footage of his outburst, it’s hard to believe it’s the same 14-year-old I first saw singing Chris Brown’s With You in a homemade YouTube video.

Has he got a little big for his boots? The way he’s acting of late is brings the words ‘prima donna’ to mind. Perhaps having millions of teenage girls screaming at him constantly has gone to his head slightly. Justin himself responded angrily, saying “ Idon’t think I deserve all this negative press I’ve worked my ass off to get where I am”. That may be, but it certainly doesn’t justify acting like a spoilt brat or having an I-can-do-what-I-like-I’m-famous attitude.

He also found himself hitting headlines due to the slightly crazed nature of some of his fans. He has over 36 million followers on Twitter, some of whom recently bombarded one girl after she admitted to not usually being a fan but liking his acoustic material. After Bieber retweeted her message to his followers, fans from all over the world reacted badly, with some even calling her a “whore” and telling her to “go kill yourself”.

Also, back in January this year, #CutForBieber became a worldwide trend on Twitter after he was allegedly photographed smoking marijuana. The tweets using the hashtag were accompanied by rather disturbing photos of wrists that had been scratched or cut as a form of plea to Justin to stop. Although it later emerged the trend was started as a hoax, that didn’t stop many young fans being duped into it.

What you have to remember is that he’s only 19-years-old. Is that simply too young to be dealing with the constant media attention? With other reports suggesting he might need a stint in rehab, I can’t help but be reminded of young stars Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan. Both were thrust into the public eye at a young age, and their behaviour consequently became stranger and stranger, resulting in Britney’s very public breakdown and Lindsay’s seemingly endless battle with drink, drugs and the law. Whether it’s down to the early fame or simply a growing ego, could Bieber be headed down the same path? If he continues on this sudden downward spiral, it doesn’t look promising. Let’s hope he sorts himself out before it becomes too late…

Reddit this article ↓