Justin Bieber: ‘I am a human, right? I think people often forget that’

Justin Bieber’s latest visit to Ellen DeGeneres aired yesterday. The last time we covered Swaggy, I delivered a rundown of his shenanigans in the past 18 months. Swaggy issued a contrite apology video because he’s probably getting ready to drop a single. As if the general public hasn’t suffered enough already.

Ellen is a fantastic sport, always. She was gracious to Swaggy as he gave her Calvin Klein underwear as a birthday gift. They talked about his ridiculous underwear ads, and Ellen pretended to be impressed. Then Justin’s apology tour took over the conversation:

Why he apologized: “Well it was the first time I was on television for a long time and I just was worried about what people were thinking about me. Like I said last time, I did a lot of things over the past few years that I’m not proud of.” I kinda just wanted to explain myself.”

Leave Bieber alone: “I am a human, right? I think people often forget that, even with their comments and stuff, they think it doesn’t get to me. But it gets to me. Things that people say bother me.”

His upcoming Comedy Central roast: “I think it’s cool to laugh at yourself.”

[From The Ellen Show]

Before the trainwreck of the past 18 months, Swaggy’s antics hit a brief lull after a another huge round of bad behavior. He gave interviews about how the media bullied him. His manager said Bieber only wants to be “normal.” Then both Swaggy and Scooter Braun figured words were enough to change perception, and Bieber went back to being a nightmare.

Do “normal” young adults endanger the public by driving on sidewalks and drag racing through city streets? Do they abuse flight attendants, blame Mom for the drugs, pout during depositions, and cry over their racism? These are honest questions. I could provide more examples, but we’d be here all day. Bieber doesn’t understand that people don’t treat him normally because he’s a brat. Yes, he’s famous, but his notoriety is his own doing. But to Swaggy, his reputation is everyone else’s fault.

Justin Bieber

Justin Bieber

Screencaps courtesy of YouTube; photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet

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95 Responses to “Justin Bieber: ‘I am a human, right? I think people often forget that’”

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  1. Greata says:

    Money running out Beebs?

    • Kitten says:

      Exactly. I can imagine the major meetings that have been happening with Biebz and his team re: image rehab.

      I don’t think this kid has learned sh*t, he’s just scrambling because the checks are drying up.

      • Tifygodess24 says:

        Bingo!

      • littlestar says:

        100% agree.

      • Liv says:

        Yep. Also as if he bothers what others think about him – I must admit I chuckled a bit! 😉

      • FLORC says:

        I’m not sure the money has stopped. Though it’s surely not coming in like it use to.
        When he was under 18 didn’t his mother wisely save and invest his money? Like she nearly doubled his worth and that all was wasted.

        He’s hanging out with “Good church girls” and dressing a little differently, but i’m not buying this. If he owned up to his behavior or made some claims that he finds himself accountable for his past actions, fine. He’s not. He’s asking us if he’s a human being. And technically I think he us, but cannot confirm that. That’s hardly him maturing.

    • ORLY says:

      Nah. He made 88 million from June 2013- July 2014, at the height of his brattiness.

      • Sarah says:

        But how fast is he going through it? Very fast, would be my guess. A douchebag entourage is very expensive, as it constantly having to rent new places because you trash the old ones.

      • Tiffany says:

        Yeah, but everyone’s hand is in the pot and I doubt the Douche is saving for obscurity. It would not surprise me at all if it is gone.

      • Petee says:

        Look at MC Hammer who had a ton of money and blew it on all of his entourage.

      • littlestar says:

        He has so many human dingle-berries following him around though, including his parents, that I can easily see him blowing through his money very very quickly.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        Think of all of the payoffs he has had to make to prevent lawsuits! Think of the insane insurance rates he’d have on home and vehicles because of the damages he has done to rental property, speeding tickets, etc.

      • lucy2 says:

        I’d imagine managers, agents, and taxes took a good chunk of that, and his entourage, dealers, and other hanger ons took the rest.

      • Green Girl says:

        Yes to everyone’s points above, especially taxes, staff and entourage. Don’t forget the maintenance on any property that is owned, as well as private planes and so on.

    • pikny says:

      he is a transparent little douchebag.

  2. swack says:

    Has he pulled up his pants yet and worn them as they are meant to be worn or are they still down around his knees? Actions always speak louder than words. He can say all the pretty words he wants to but let’s see how long he behaves himself.

    • AtlLady says:

      The other day he showed up for a meeting with his parole officer wearing saggy shorts, a tee shirt, and a baseball cap worn backwards. Big change – NOT.

  3. Mmhmm says:

    I have to say at least he looks ‘decent’ here. By decent I mean a step above his normal baby looking self.

    • bettyrose says:

      Yep. Someone styled him as a respectable clean cut young man. So when he eggs people’s houses, does he take time remember that they’re “human too”?

  4. Cecada says:

    He’s human?

    • Judyk says:

      Took my comment, and, no, not in my book. Wish he’d just fade into obscurity. If I still had a teenager, he’d have nothing I’d want her to emulate. He’s a poster boy for being completely self-absorbed, self-obsessed, spoiled, and inauthentic.

    • Ruyana says:

      The problem is not that he’s not “human” – it’s that he thinks he’s the ONLY human and shows disrespect for others at every opportunity. And yes, I think he’s running out of money.

  5. theoneandonly says:

    Whateva baby beibster – but in due time you will go the way of Menudo and Leif Garrett (and they had more talent). Hey, maybe you can get a job on Vanilla Ice’s Rehab show hanging drywall as your second career.
    Ya know if this kid had real talent and appeal al la Robert Plant or Michael Hutchence back in their glory days, maybe, just maybe, some of this douchery could be kinda overlooked, but my housecat chasing his stuffed mouse across the floor displays more talent.

  6. Pandy says:

    God, my only take-away from this is that I’m glad I don’t watch Ellen.

    • Judyk says:

      I’ve grown so tired of her and used to love her show. She’s into everything, and it’s overexposure at its best…her overblown ego is just too much for me.

      • Sea Dragon says:

        I haven’t watched her show in years but I do catch clips on youtube and they make me laugh quite a bit. She’s expertly navigated the waters to be a lasting figure in our culture. I still love her. As for the overexposure comment, is she everywhere? I only see her when I search for light comedy.

      • Judyk says:

        @Sea Dragon. She has another new show based on her own show where she used to whisper into her guest’s ear and tell him/her what to say. I think her humor is so immature at times, i.e., scaring guests, etc.

        Also, she has a new design show on HGTV. I’ve quit watching and won’t watch either of her two (2) new enterprises.

        And then there is the brown-nosing, as others have pointed out, which is a total turnoff. I’m permanently turned off.

    • zinjojo says:

      Co-signed!

    • jessia says:

      I don’t watch her anymore either. She kisses these no-talents ass too much. Bieber, the Kardashians, Kanye West, Sophia and Grace,etc. All losers.

  7. ToodySezHey says:

    It must be contrition month. First Johnny Football checks into rehab (no doubt a play from the Tiger Woods school of image rehab), now JBiebs is tossing mea culpas like confetti. Looks like the school for scoundrels is on recess.

    • Tiffany says:

      The Johnny Football thing is taking all my attention because his crash and burn was fast and epic. Could not have happened to a nicer person. Say with Baby Douche.

      Also, I thought it was an unwritten rule that every Beiber story ended with the photo of his hot bodyguard putting him in her carseat.

      • Kitten says:

        The Browns have been having a tough week.

        I’m still waiting for the huge national press conference with Ray Farmer and everyone else involved in Textgate– you know like the Pats went through with Deflategate.
        Sorry, I know I’m tiresome, but I just couldn’t resist 😉

      • taxi says:

        @ Tiffany re: baby beebs – Or carrying him at the Great Wall of China.

    • littlestar says:

      Who is Johnny Football and what did he do???

  8. maeliz says:

    Does Justin think it’s cool that so many people laugh at him? He thinks it’s cool to laugh at himself, is that why he did the CK underwear ads?

  9. Babalon says:

    Goway Biebs.

  10. LadyMTL says:

    I just love the fact that he’s asking if he’s human. “I am human, right?” I sort of figured you are, why the need to ask? You’re a self-entitled, spoiled brat but I always assumed human.

    • Sea Dragon says:

      I rolled my eyes and laughed at his comment. He’s not very bright, is he? It’s “I’m human” or “I’m only human” little boy Bieber

  11. Brin says:

    Awww, he’s not sure. Somebody help him out.

  12. smcollins says:

    I’m gonna go ahead and say it: he actually looks cute in the Ellen stills. He’s not doing that stupid eyebrow thing, so his face looks relaxed and, yes, cute. Please don’t banish me from the site. I still think he’s an entitled, arrogant, not-very-talented douchebag if that helps.
    😉

  13. Jaded says:

    Oh Biebs you’re human alright. Nobody out there thinks you’re super-human. You’ve proven again and again that you’re susceptible to the basest of human behaviour – throwing tantrums, egging a neighbour’s house….yes Biebs, you’re human. About as human as a spoiled 2-year old.

    • anne_000 says:

      Yup. I agree with you.

      His saying “I’m human” doesn’t mean that his behavior has been acceptable human traits.

      And so what about being human? Everybody in prison is human. Should that be allowed as an excuse for their actions and thus be pardoned out of their convictions?

      – “I kinda just wanted to explain myself… I am a human, right? I think people often forget that”

      Uh no. Nobody has forgotten he’s human. But he’s forgotten how to apologize (because some of his actions could have been a danger to others), how to be sincere, and how to accept that his actions and all the consequences and criticisms of them are 100% his own.

      Instead of saying “I’m human” and that people forget that, he should have said “I’m a grown man and I keep forgetting that” and then taken his lumps without spreading around the blame for what he’s done.

  14. BendyWindy says:

    Do normal people do those things? Not everyone, obviously, but a lot of kids his age do. And they don’t have a spotlight on them when they colossally screw up. Has he behaved badly? Yes. Is he some sort of nonredeemable scum? Not really, but the way people cover his shenanigans, you’d certainly think so. Is it all part of the fame game? Sure, but I think he makes a good point. Whether we’re talking about Kim Kardashian, or Justin Bieber, or crazy Amanda Bynes, or the Middletons, or whomever…there ARE actually people behind the public persona, and words do hurt. I say that as someone who is complicit in the machine, because I certainly do my share of trash-talking. Every once in awhile, though, I just have to close my browser window because I can’t wrap my head around some of the vitriol spewed about basically harmless people, even if they’re stupid, vapid, shallow, etc.

    • oneshot says:

      “Harmless”?

      Is that the word you’d use to describe egging neighbours’ houses, driving dangerously, using hard drugs, etc?

      He wants to have his millions and have a single mea culpa wash away the memory of him being an entitled douche? No dice.

      • anne_000 says:

        +1

      • Petee says:

        Me too.

      • Neonscream says:

        The dangerous driving isn’t harmless but yeah egging houses hurts no-one at all and the “hard” drugs thing is meaningless. All drugs can be used responsibly or irresponsibly. I think he’s a major douchelord but I’m not sure what else to expect when someone that young is given THAT much money and adulation. It rarely ends with humble and well adjusted people.

      • msw says:

        The homeowner overreacted by suing to the tune of $80k,but egging a house is not a victimless crime. I am a homeowner, and I barely have time to get my lawn cut. I definitely do not have time to clean up two dozen eggs thrown on it by a bratty neighbor with a god complex. Not harmless just because no one’s life was at risk.

    • Tiffany :) says:

      He has been treating people really poorly for sometime now. Are you really going to give people the side eye for not buying his new “turned leaf” shtick immediately?

      Instead of using the victim card so early in his apology tour, turning the situation around to make it seem like he has been the one suffering in all of this, he should keep the focus on accepting responsibility for his actions.

    • Erica Blue says:

      @Bendywindy, I just wanted to respectfully point out that Biebs is a man in his 20’s. Old enough to join the military, drink alcohol legally, be a college graduate, get married. He is not a kid. If he really was a tween or teenager, I think people would be inclined to give him some leeway. But he is an adult, which is probably a major reason why the general public finds his behavior so incredibly inappropriate. Peeing in mop buckets that hardworking employees have to clean up after? Engaging in the classic grammar/middle school prank of egging the neighbors houses? No twenty-something with even half a brain does crap like that.

      • MeloMelo says:

        Isnt a theory going on around here that the celebrity mentally stays at the age they got famous or something like that?
        I think he was so controlled before he was 18 that he just rebelled against that, and against people hating on him since he started out. Hes always been hated and probably believes that no ones ever in his side(?). I dont know.
        Not excusing him, just trying to understand his behaviour.

    • msw says:

      I cannot BELIEVE people defend this little a*wipe like he is just engaging in harmless youthful shenanigans. He engages in illegal, reckless and cruel activities, ones with potential to seriously harm other people’s bodies and personal property, and has no sense of responsibility for it. No, just no. If he were a black non celeb, he’d probably be in jail and people would be cheering.

      Of course he has potential for change, but as long as he is a perpetual victim of his circumstance, it won’t happen. He needs to take some ownership of his actions and have a serious come to Jesus moment –not one of those rebaptisms he is so fond on doing.

    • (The original, not CDAN) Violet says:

      I’d have to disagree. His age doesn’t excuse any of his sh*tty behavior. For example, I’ve never heard of anyone relieving themselves into a janitor’s bucket and having a good laugh about it at the expense of the poor guy making minimum wage who has to clean up after him. Ha ha, Bieber, good one — not.

      And that’s a pretty benign example, but there are plenty of times he’s done stuff that could’ve killed or seriously injured someone.

  15. Jayna says:

    He has spent two years being a punk, rude, disgusting, and during those two years, not focusing on music or performing or interviews about his craft. Just disgusting behavior and entitled behavior. Very smug. Now he’s coming out all humble on Ellen. Hmmm.

    This is the rehabilitation “tour” because he has the Calvin Klein ad and promo to do and he has an album which will coming out this year. He did a few acoustic appearances in clubs trying to prove he’s an artist again and not a joke. He’s doing the roast to show he’s a man now and can take it and laugh at himself. I think the roasts are awful, they are cruel, so wonder how good it is to be raked across the coals like that so viciously at his age.

    The bigger question is, is this calculated damage control and not from the heart at all, this change because he has projects coming out he doesn’t want to bomb? We’ll see as the next year unfolds.

  16. Jenna says:

    UGH THOSE PANTS
    STOP

    THAT FAKE AMERICAN ACCENT. UGH. STOP!

    • jwoolman says:

      He’s spent quite some time in the US. Some people (like myself) tend to pick up the accents around them unconsciously. Mine kept changing as I moved around. A colleague on the phone thought I was a fellow Southerner, but I’ve never even visited that area of the country. I picked it up from the people in my current town, who have a bit of a Southern accent for historical reasons (many came originally from the South).

      So his accent may not be fake, just flexible. Was he not saying “eh” or “oot and aboot” often enough?!?

  17. Cindy says:

    I hope he can pull it together, I feel kinda sorry for him. I just don’t see this lasting….he is way too messed up and it seems like the only people around him are leeches. His only role model is a guy named scooter? Does not bode well.

  18. Lilacflowers says:

    I thought he was the fake baby?

  19. Tippy says:

    Biebs can dish it out but he certainly cannot take it.

    I seriously doubt that he’ll be able to withstand being roasted. There’s just too much material to work with and Bieber has a very short fuse.

  20. lucy2 says:

    Remember when he peed in a janitor’s bucket at a club? Well, the guy who had to clean that up was a human being too. And the neighbors he endangered with his driving? Humans.
    Fully agree this due to income slowing down but the ridiculous lifestyle not. If he truly is sorry and grown up now, let’s see it in actions, not empty words.

  21. daughterofjean says:

    Too much money and fame at a precarious time in his life. He needs to grow up for sure but everyone deserves a second chance.

  22. scout says:

    Don’t know Biebs, are you Human? Just keep laughing at yourself, one day you might get it.

  23. mytbean says:

    Going on Ellen, giving her Birthday flowers (and looking at the audience to absorb the reaction), sliding his sleeves up to show off his tattoos, just everything about him oozes insecure attention wh*re.

    He could still make it… he could still use all the time he’s been in the lime-light but it would require an intense amount of reinvention. He just needs to disappear and on return be reinvented completely… drop the Boston accent (or whatever it’s supposed to be), redo his entire look, learn how to stand up straight, and NOT to posture himself as a wannabe gangstah, etc.

    THEN – so people don’t see it as an attention play, come back as something more behind the scenes – like a producer or something.

    This persona he has now is completely connected to his previous antics and I just can’t see how it would be disconnected in the public eye. Everything he does will be read as a way to manipulate the public… as disingenuous.

  24. Tiffany :) says:

    Um, no. It was YOU baby biebs that forgot to treat your fellow man like human beings (peeing in buckets, egging neighbors homes, supporting sex trafficking by going to brothels, driving recklessly and nearly killing people).

    I have no patience for people who treat others horribly and then pretend like they are the victim. See also: Lindsey Lohan.

    • Petee says:

      Word on that one.All of a sudden he is all clean cut but he has been trouble for the last two years.His Mom did’t want anything to do with him and they were really close.

  25. lower-case deb says:

    “sometimes forget”?
    don’t think so though. maybe because everyone is profoundly and painfully aware that the Beibs is human that we expect better from you.

    i mean, unless you’re a sea anemone, or a pearlfish, then maybe we’ll reconsider?

  26. lile says:

    When u act like a d bag 95% of the time, when people look at you they see a d bag. Treat others as you would like them to treat you. Is that really so hard to understand?

  27. lile says:

    Anyone can talk Biebs. Let’s see it in action. Consistency in actions over an extended period of time – not just for 4 to 6 weeks. Instead he immediately posts pics of his twisted idols on IG – Mayweather and Lil Wayne. You are who you hang with dude and Mayweather may b a bigger d bag than you are.

  28. JM says:

    “I am a human, right? I think people often forget that.”

    Especially YOU, Justin. When you act like an entitled brat with a God complex, don’t be surprised when people call you on your abhorrent behavior.

  29. Birdix says:

    I wonder if there is more hope for him or Lindsay Lohan…

    • Josefa says:

      Bieber still is young enough to go the right path. Lindsay isn’t old but she has already messed up her body and her career irreversibly.

      In Lindsay’s defense, though, I feel like she has done more harm to herself than she has done to others.

      • jwoolman says:

        Lindsay is physically violent, has indeed injured people, and has come close to killing them. She should certainly never drive a car again, but she has injured people off the road also. People still have her confused with the nice little twins she played in The Parent Trap remake. But she has shown herself repeatedly to be a manipulative liar and thief who is quite capable of violence and whose deep-seated anger issues have left a long line of traumatized people in her wake. She is not harmless.

        Lindsay has avoided such obvious violence for a while, at least in public, so maybe she has figured out that she’ll stay on probation forever otherwise. She seems to have slowed down on the booze and other drugs since her last forced rehab, which probably has helped. But she’s actually very like her father. If she were male, her record with the law would rival his.

  30. Itsa Reallyme says:

    Ugh, with the tattoo sleeves. It’s like wearing your identity crisis. Permanently.

  31. SmellyCat says:

    If he’s human why does he walk hunched over like a Neanderthal?

  32. kim says:

    Even if his roast is good enough to save his career, I don’t know he’s got anything left in him to offer to this world. His body may stopped growing since 14, but he’s now too old to sing “baby” or “boyfriend”. Right?

  33. LAK says:

    What is that make over??!!!

  34. emma says:

    we KNOW he’s human, that’s why we’re disgusted by him.

  35. Lia says:

    I think HE often forgets that. He prances around like he thinks he’s some kind of god, and then when people laugh at him and turn their backs on him, he pulls the “I’m only human” card. He needs to grow up, deflate the ridiculous ego, act respectful and present himself as the adult he is, and then maybe the jokes and the scorn will stop.

  36. Iheartgossip says:

    It must suck for him to come begging. His ‘attention’ tank must be empty; so he’s out looking to fill it. Guess he’s worried his upcoming album will fail, since all his ‘fans’ have aged out.

  37. TOPgirl says:

    What happened to this kid? He looks horrible! That sweet face is gone! He looks rough and not aging well. Better get off the drugs.

  38. Katie says:

    I’m pretty sure most of the people you were horrible to would say the same thing about you.

  39. mmerain says:

    I do think people forgot at the beginning of his career that he was just a child. I remember all the mean things that were being said on him just because he was a 15 years old boy with a badish song that young girls loved. I never understood the hatred. Now it’s a different story and I think even him can’t say seriously all that crap he is saying. But what was the excuse for the hatred when he was 6 year younger?

  40. jwoolman says:

    I dunno- maybe he’s starting to grow up. Wait a year and see how he does. If he’s still dragging along his druggy entourage, abandoning animals, spitting at people and trashing places- then he hasn’t changed. But maybe he realizes he’s coming closer to wasting his life in prison and has decided he doesn’t like the idea so much. Males in their teens and early twenties tend to think they are immortal and invincible. As they head toward their mid-twenties, most of them begin to realize how mortal and vincible they really are.

    Bieber really did have musical talent. I wondered if he lost it as his body started going through full puberty, if his voice was no longer under his full control. That’s an awkward period anyway, too old for the original audience but without a clear attraction for the older crowd. Maybe his voice has settled down and he’s thinking more about his long-term career. Maybe he got bored with the hangers-on.

  41. snowflake says:

    they’re both full of b.s. and so fake. first, he brings her a gift of calvin kleins so she has the opening to show his Calvin Klein ad. then he mentions I’m so nervous, a little ploy to seem down to earth, like he gets nervous with public speaking, just like the rest of us. then he puts on the i’m really a good person act. he’s a spoiled entitled brat who thinks he can do whatever with no consequences. wtf is he wearing? how can girls his age find that attractive?

  42. jess says:

    Biebs does looks like a normal kid who’s desperate to be so cool and then fails. Miserably. Everytime. ;p