Justin Bieber has spoken out about the tough time he’s had of it over the years, complaining that he’s been held to as high a standard as Gandhi and that the media is trying to destroy him, just like it did to Amy Winehouse.
In an interview with the media – namely NME – to promote his new album, Justin explained his fall from grace. ‘It’s because of the way the “Justin Bieber brand” was portrayed. I was a wholesome pop star who was so amazing who had nice hair and a fucking image that no one could ever live up to,’ he said.
‘So when all this happened people were like, “Woah, let’s rip him apart”. If you see Gandhi roll up a blunt, it’s different to seeing Ryan Gosling roll up a blunt. You wouldn’t give Ryan Gosling a hard time.’
He then added, sadly, ‘I just want people to know I’m human. I’m struggling just to get through the days. I think a lot of people are.’
It sure looks like Justin’s struggling through the days, as he recently stormed out of an interview, refused to do a scheduled performance because too many fans were touching his feet and then got irritated his young fans couldn’t clap on the beat of a song he was crooning:
No, but seriously, all that paparazzi and fan attention must get a bit overwhelming. ‘You get lonely, you know, when you’re on the road. People see the glam and the amazing stuff, but they don’t know the other side. This life can rip you apart,’ he said.
‘[I get depressed] all the time. And I feel isolated. You’re in your hotel room and there are fans all around, paparazzi following you everywhere, and it gets intense. When you can’t go anywhere or do anything alone you get depressed. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone.’
He also said: ‘I watched the Amy Winehouse documentary on the plane and I had tears in my eyes because I could see what the media was doing to her, how they were treating her. People thought it was funny to poke her when she was at rock bottom, to keep pushing her down until she had no more of herself. And that’s what they were trying to do to me.’
At ‘rock bottom’, Amy Winehouse was in an abusive relationship, dealing with an eating disorder and addictions to both crack cocaine and heroin. She’d overdosed twice before her death, as a result of an alcohol dependency.
As for fans? They were plentiful but perhaps not as obsessive or able to follow her every move via social media as Justin’s are, and some took to booing her off stage when she was too wasted – or simply unwell – to perform. Her husband had been sent to prison for paying for trial-fixing in an assault case, and she herself had been arrested in connection with the case.
Justin Bieber’s ‘rock bottom’? Presumably being arrested for alleged drag racing in a fancy car and spending lots of time alone in hotel rooms with fans screaming for him outside.
Follow Sophie on Twitter @sophwilkinson
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.