While you might be in denial about how many years it’s been since Bieber first entered the spotlight, it’s a cold hard fact that the singer was only a teenager when he released the hit song ‘Baby’.
His position as a global pop star meant Bieber was often caught on camera as a teenager, and one video compiling some of the encounters he had with other A-listers has sparked debate over the way Bieber was treated as a child.
The video, which was shared on TikTok, features a series of clips of people interacting with the singer while he appears to react uncomfortably.
Viewers shared in his feelings, saying they found the way people behaved around him ‘disturbing’.
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In the first clip in the compilation, an 18-year-old Bieber is held around the neck and kissed by Jenny McCarthy while on stage.
Bieber leaned away from McCarthy in the clip before breaking free from the actor and saying, ‘wow, I feel violated right now’.
McCarthy, who is 21 years older than Bieber, later said she ‘did grab his butt’ and jokingly described the moment as ‘cougar rape’, saying she ‘couldn’t help it, he was just so delicious’.
The video went on to feature clips of Katy Perry grabbing Bieber’s butt, and James Corden telling the then-16-year-old star ‘you smell amazing’, and then complimenting him on his eyes.
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Other clips showed Bieber at 15 being asked to give ‘the sex talk’ to a woman, to which he said ‘I feel really uncomfortable right now’ and asked ‘why do you want to know the sex talk from a 15-year-old boy’.
As the shocking clips continued, viewers described the scenes as ‘gross and disturbing’.
One viewer said they felt ‘bad for overlooking his discomfort’, while another said Bieber ‘should never had had to go through all of that’.
Overall viewers largely agreed that Bieber had been badly treated as a child star, with one saying they ‘get why he has his guard up’.