Resurfaced clips of Justin Bieber being sexualized as a teen are going viral on TikTok.
The footage, which has over 3.5 million views in less than 24 hours, shows a young Bieber being inappropriately touched and asked sexual questions by celebrities and tv hosts.
@kendallrae111 He was just a kid 🙁 #fyp #justinbieber #hollywood #industry #fame ♬ retire (final) – Alvedon
The Facts
- One of the clips shows 40-year-old actress Jenny McCarthy kissing a then 18-year-old Bieber on the neck, and groping his bum on stage at the American Music Awards in 2012. Bieber responds: “Wow, I feel violated right now.”
- In an interview with Entertainment Tonight in 2012, McCarthy reportedly said that she “kind of molested” the teenage singer.
- In another video, singer Katy Perry grabs a young Bieber’s backside to see what it “felt like.”
- An audio recording shows a reporter at the Grammy Awards 2010 ask a 15-year-old Bieber to explain sex to him. “My parents never gave me the sex talk, so why don’t you give me the sex talk?” the reporter asks Bieber. “Why do you want to know the sex talk from a 15-year-old boy? That’s pretty weird,” Bieber responds.
- In other clips, TV David Letterman appears to forcibly grab Bieber’s arm during a live interview and James Corden tells the uncomfortable-looking 16-year-old singer that he smells amazing and compliments his eyes.
- TikTok users have also been calling out how a 16-year-old Bieber was sexualized in an “inappropriate” Elle photoshoot with a then 29-year-old Kim Kardashian.
@famebird Replying to @peppercleaps who could forget. He was 16, she was 29. #kimkardashian #justinbieber #selenagomez ♬ i hope ur miserable until ur dead – Nessa Barrett
Why it matters: The resurfaced clips have led sympathetic TikTok users to discuss how male objectification in Hollywood is rarely discussed.
- TikTok users suggested that the public’s response would have been very different if the celebrity involved in the clips was a young woman. Instead, the inappropriate sexual behavior towards Bieber was repeatedly ignored as he was male.
- In recent months, male stars have increasingly spoken out about being sexualized and objectified in the entertainment industry. In the run-up to the Oscars this month, The Whale actor Brendan Fraser has discussed being “objectified” by Hollywood as a young actor and Aftersun star Paul Mescal discussed his “fury” after a female fan groped him during a selfie
- Meanwhile, The Last of Us actor Pedro Pascal has been sexualized as the internet’s “Daddy”. However last month, Pascal was praised after he politely refused an interviewer who asked the actor to read some overly sexual comments about himself.
this is the worst thing I’ve ever seen pic.twitter.com/7npzBOqCxk
— lauren | tlou & mando spoilers (@djarinluck) March 1, 2023
Update 03/11/2023 by Pesala Bandara: Information on 16-year-old Justin Bieber’s photoshoot with Kim Kardashian.
