Justin Bieber was a guest on Ellen yesterday, where he helped kick off the “first ever Justin Bieber week.” They introduced Bieber’s interview with a montage of his past appearances on the show. It was clear that Ellen was working to soften Bieber’s image, which has seemed more bratty than relatable lately. At times the two of them laid it on thick, although Ellen did tease Bieber a little about the unidentified woman in the background of his nude paparazzi photos in Bora Bora. He didn’t sound too broken up over the fact that the photos were out there. I mean his dad even gave him a virtual pat on the back. Here’s some of what he told Ellen, and the videos are below.

On what advice he would give his 16 year-old self
I would say listen more and listen to what people have to tell you because usually they’re telling you from past experiences.

On how he didn’t know about the paparazzi getting the nude shots of him
I just didn’t see them. I wasn’t looking out for them either…. they’re definitely in a boat.

On when he realized that the photographs were out there
A couple of days later. Scooter hit me and was like ‘yo, I hate to tell you this but your penis is on the Internet.’ So then the first thing I saw was like the censored one, it had like the black thing over it. I was like ‘oh my goodness, I don’t know what this is going to look like.’ It wasn’t as like, bad as thought it was going to be.

On if that was his girlfriend in the hotel room behind him
No it’s not.

Ellen: you just brought a friend to Bora Bora and you were just naked with your friend?
Why are you putting me on the spot like this? I’m not dating anyone though. She’s just a friend.

On why he called his album Purpose
I feel like I kind of lost my purpose for a while. I feel like I’m slowly finding my purpose. If I can let people know if you don’t have your purpose or if you feel like you’re looking for your purpose, it’s something that’s really fundamental in life. Yeah.

[From The Ellen show, aired 11-9-15]

I included the stuff about his album title because it was this circular word salad that I found mildly amusing. Ellen later claimed that Bieber often “makes an effort to see kids in hospitals” without seeking publicity. He got all serious and said “it’s often not the stuff that really gets recognized and I feel like people don’t really know that side of me.” My 11 year-old son walked into the room during that part of the interview and started cracking up because he thought that Bieber was full of it. Even tweens can see through Bieber.

After the break, Ellen asked Bieber about Selena Gomez and if any of the songs on his upcoming CD were about her. He said three were, What Do You Mean, Sorry and Mark My Words, and that a lot of things reminded him of her, like shows they used to watch together and smells. Ellen then asked him if they would ever get back together and he sounded hopeful. “We have a lot of history together so it possibly could happen but I think we’re both just on our own journeys of just figuring ourselves out and I think maybe once we figure ourselves out we can come together and make an awesome duo or she’ll find someone else and I’ll find someone else. I just want her to be happy honestly.” That sounded nice but it also sounded somewhat rehearsed. During this recent press tour, Bieber has said he still loves Selena and sounds like he wants her back while she just sounds over it. I hope that’s the case and that she stays far away from him. He’s still got a lot of growing up to do, even if he does secretly visit kids in the hospital. (Is anything he does really secret?)

Here’s the part where Bieber talks about his nude paparazzi photos:

And here’s where he talks about wanting to get back together with Selena:

photos are from 11-8 and 11-3-15. Credit: FameFlynet