No one ever doubted that Justin Bieber had a hard time growing up, between having a useless soul patch of a father and dealing with the tidal wave of fame that slammed into him while most kids his age were still eating baby carrots out of brown bags with their names on them. But on this Labor Day, Bieber has put forth an emotional Instagram post that acknowledges what a little barf he was in his teen years, from drug abuse to mistreating women.
The post shows a remarkable amount of insight (my therapist taught me that word) when it came to the circumstances in his life that made him the way he was:
You see I didn’t grow up in a stable home, my parents were 18 separated with no money still young and rebellious as well. As my talent progressed and I became ultra successful, it happened within the [span] of two years. My whole world was flipped on its head. I went from a 13 year old boy from a small town to being praised left and right by the world with millions saying how much they loved me and how great I was.
He goes on to say that by 18, he had basically no real world skills and a shit load of money, which, he points out, “is a very scary concept for anyone.” He talks about the dopamine rush that comes from being on stage, and hypothesizes that musicians who tour tend to fall into drug abuse “due to not being able to manage the huge ups and downs that come with being an entertainer.” Sounds right to me!
Bieber concludes by saying these various factors made him something of a nightmare to be around, but that luckily, he’s managed to right the ship, thanks to Jesus and Hailey Baldwin:
Now I am navigating the best season of my life: “MARRIAGE!” Which is an amazing crazy new responsibility. You learn patience, trust, commitment, kindness, humility, and all of the things it looks like to be a good man.
Good for him! God or no god, there aren’t a lot of 25-year-olds on this miserable planet that can own up to their past behavior with such wisdom and surprising lack of emojis. At this point, he’s been apologizing for The Bucket Pissing Years through various mediums for ages, and I think pretty much everyone has forgiven him. Except China.