Justin Bieber has had the year from hell – well, at least that’s how the press paints it.
In a rare and very raw interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the superstar – who is notably the most Googled person on the planet for the last four years in a row – sits down to discuss his lifestyle, not giving a f*ck, and more.
His manager Scooter Braun also reveals what really happened in a few of the infamous incidents involving Justin, and discusses the men who mentor him – surprisingly, Drake is usually the first to contact him when Bieber makes headlines for something negative and Will Smith counsels the Biebs at least once a week.
Check out a few highlights below, some video footage up above, and head over to THR for the full interview. This is a must-read for Beliebers and non-Beliebers alike!
On Not Caring What People Say:
“Not ‘I don’t give a f—‘ to just be reckless and do whatever, but ‘I don’t give a f— what they say.’ … I know who I am and what I’m doing in my life and what I’ve accomplished and continue to accomplish as a performer, as a writer, as an artist, as a person, as a human being. I’m happy with the man I’m becoming.”
On Why Justin Wrote “Hopefully Anne Would Have Been A Belieber” In The Amsterdam Museum’s Guest Book:
“At the end [of the museum tour], he felt very connected to [Anne],” says Braun, whose grandmother survived Auschwitz. “They had just showed him the pictures of movie stars in her room, and they said: ‘Maybe you would have been on that wall, Justin. She might have been a fan of yours.’ And he was touched by that.”
On Drake Being The First To React To A TMZ Bieber Headline:
“He’ll text me, like, ‘What the hell is going with this? I’m pissed. I’m calling him right now. I’m about to go in on him,’ ” reveals Braun. “Drake is like a big brother to Justin. And Justin really looks up to Drake. They have an extremely special relationship.”
On Will Smith Being Justin Bieber’s Mentor:
But the most present mentor is Will Smith. Braun tells of a particularly tough time for Bieber around the time he returned from his world tour in May that prompted the movie star to drive to Bieber’s house and pull him out of bed for a three-hour talk. Bieber’s reaction, according to Braun: “He said, ‘Man, that makes me feel so loved. I woke up, and there’s Will Smith, one of, if not the, biggest movie stars on the planet. He took time out of his day for me.’ “
On Will Smith Believing The Biebs Has To Go Through The Growing Pains:
“He’s telling me: ‘Justin’s got to go through it. You can’t stop him from going through it. That’s youth in itself. He’s a young man who’s growing up, and that’s what makes him interesting and relatable. Otherwise, he’d be some kind of weird robot.”
On The Negative Press:
“When people see a negative thing about me on a magazine, they’re gonna buy it. Every time some site writes something bad, all my followers go on there, and it brings them more traffic. Now they have all the Beliebers on their site, which gives them money from advertisers. They’re just worried about money. They don’t care about ruining someone’s name.”
On Being Influenced By Black Culture:
“I’m very influenced by black culture, but I don’t think of it as black or white,” he says. “It’s not me trying to act or pose in a certain way. It’s a lifestyle — like a suaveness or a swag, per se. But I don’t really like to say the word [‘swag’] anymore. It’s kind of played out.”
SOURCE: THR
