Canadian singer Justin Bieber performs in a concert at the Atlantico pavilion in Lisbon March 11, 2013.Hugo Correia/Reuters
Justin Bieber keeps making news – but not necessarily for the right reasons. Lately, there have been rumours and speculation about rehab, lagging ticket sales, concerned family members, drug use – all typical stardom stuff.
Yesterday, Bieber vented his frustrations over the barrage of negative press on Instagram with a caption that runs longer than this blog post.
The 19-year-old (he states his age three times just so we're clear) made a point of listing his accomplishments and telling us he's a "good person with a big heart."
He also underscored that he's human and allowed to make mistakes and feel normal emotions.
In the original message, he even managed to insult Lindsay Lohan and her tax statements; the dig was subsequently removed and smoothed over – mostly likely by a PR handler.
But let's not dwell on that; he's human, remember?
Somehow, Bieber left out the part about being unable to compose a sentence without typos. (Although one colleague here has raised the possibility that Bieber's sloppy writing style is a deliberate part of his image. What do you think?)
Bieber has more than 7.3-million followers on the photo sharing service. So far, the picture has prompted upwards of 60,000 comments – although most are gushy pledges of love, all-caps encouragements and emoticons.
An article on the Atlantic Wire speculates that such overwhelming feedback from fans acts to insulate and protect Bieber. "Insulation by way of adulation might just be part of a very modern plan; Bieber may have built a cradle of love to shield himself... from himself," writes Esther Zuckerman.
Indeed, Bieber is trying to navigate that precarious limbo territory between teen sensation and adult. And there are enough people out there – Bieber himself among them – who believe he will manage just fine. Because the alternative, of course, would be far worse than a spate of negative press.
Amy Verner