Justin Bieber Gets Advice From Ex-‘N Sync’s Lance Bass And It Isn’t Pretty
The seemingly never-ending debate that is ‘What do we do about Justin Bieber?’ has acquired another celebrity opinion. This time from Lance Bass, ex-‘N Sync alum and wanna-be space cadet.
Speaking on Piers Morgan Tonight in a recent interview, Bass had stark words of warning for the Canadian whose behavior of late has seen him clash with a Brit paparazzo, show up late to a show, reportedly banned from a Vienna club, the removal and quarantining of his pet monkey by Munich customs officials — and more alarmingly — accused of battery.
Likely referring to Bieber’s insistence in a recent Teen Vogue interview that he was “very much in control,” Bass advised caution to that bravado.
“I started when I was 16, so I didn’t know much, ” said Bass. “We got taken advantage of every step of the way. You know, we always felt like we were the ones in charge, we were the bosses, but we definitely weren’t … They kept us so busy, we didn’t really get to understand what was happening in our lives.”
Bieber’s busker to brand heartthrob journey kicked off when his manager Scott “Scooter” Braun discovered the then 14-year-old Stratford, Ontario native after watching his viral YouTube clips of popular covers, mostly R&B.
A subsequent Atlanta meet with Usher followed by a signing to Island Def Jam Music Group, and the ascent to global Bieber Fever began.
Countless press meets, appearances, interviews, concerts, an autobiography, a $100 million grossing movie Never Say Never, six albums (not including best of’s and remixes), a paternity suit, citations, weed pictures, paparazzi fights and a castration-murder plot later — and Bieber appears to have arrived at 19 with his previously sunny disposition considerably darkened.
Of this change in Bieber, Bass again recalled his own experience in ‘N Sync, one of the biggest pop boy bands in the 1990’s, commenting that the fame game can be especially difficult for a solo artist.
“When you’re a solo artist, no one’s there telling you no. I think that’s the big problem, especially with teen idols. You immediately go from, you know, learning about puberty to having, you know, hundreds of employees and not really knowing how to deal with that. And with fame comes entitlement. You have tons of people around you saying yes, sir, yes, sir, yes, sir. So it’s hard to keep that ego in check.”
Unlike Will Smith, who recently described the media’s hyperventilation on all things Bieber as a “war” on young artists (echoed by his wife’s “cyber bullying” Facebook post), Bass doesn’t blame Hollywood or the press. To him, Bieber is simply exhibiting growing pains made much worse by a version 2.0 world.
“Well, I mean, I don’t blame Hollywood,” he said.”I think every teenager goes through, you know, these times. Everyone’s going to rebel with their families. It’s just these teens happen to do it in the public eye and especially with social media being what it is today, you can’t hide anything.”
In the last few weeks celebrities past and present have offered Bieber advice about how to handle life in the lens. Whether it’s taken — or needed — remains to be seen.
[Image via Featureflash / Shutterstock.com]
