Since the beginning of his overnight fame, Justin Bieber has been under highly publicized scrutiny by the media. The world saw him transition from being a young, innocent heartthrob for preteen girls everywhere to being a destructive and troubled teenager, often finding himself in trouble with the law.
Though he has a rough past, Bieber has recently begun actively reinventing his image in the public eye by acknowledging that his behaviour has been inappropriate, and by publicly apologizing for the past choices he has made. Though he has recently been criticized for angrily walking out on both a concert and an interview, he apologized for both of those events, explaining that he realizes he doesn’t always deal with his emotions well, and that he is truly making an effort to change.
Justin Bieber, now 21, has openly announced that he has dealt with an ongoing struggle as a result of his fame.
PerezHilton published snippets of an interview that Bieber is dealing with NME regarding his current personal struggle.
“I just want people to know I’m human. I’m struggling just to get through the days. I think a lot of people are. You get lonely, you know, when you’re on the road. People see the glam and the amazing stuff, but they don’t know the other side. This life can rip you apart.”
Bieber was discovered on YouTube at only 13-years-old, and became famous worldwide overnight. He then kissed privacy goodbye, and had to endure the rest of his teen years under the scrutiny of the public eye. We can all agree that puberty is bad enough—imagine going through puberty as one of the most famous celebrities; your every move being documented on social media and tabloids all over the world.
We often hear of child stars getting DUIs—Buzzworthy published an article in 2013 entitled “16 Disney Channel Stars Who Have Been Arrested,” with most charges being DUI and drug possession. Many of us have grown up alongside the stars that we loved as children, and have watched them be exploited by the media for everything from eating disorders and drug problems, to DUIs and public breakdowns—Amanda Bynes, Lindsay Lohan, the Olsen Twins, Mischa Barton, Britney Spears, and Shia LaBeouf, to name a few.
Many child stars have also spoken publicly about their struggles, including Mary Kate Olsen, who has spoken openly about her upbringing and her experience with Anorexia Nervosa.
Demi Lovato is another star who, similarly to Bieber, has recently returned to the spotlight with new music and with hopes to speaking openly to her fans about her personal struggles. She has recently become an activist for mental health awareness. Lovato reached fame at a young age, and now at 23, has revealed her struggles with self-harm, substance abuse, and eating disorders, as well as living with bi-polar disorder.
Mara Wilson, the child actress who starred in Matilda, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Miracle on 34th Street, now 25, has recently began speaking about the issues that many child stars deal with that can lead to self-destructive behaviour later in life. In a video that she made for Project UROK—an organization that she has teamed up with in order to increase mental health awareness and stop the spread of stigma attached to mental illness—Wilson talks about her own struggle with mental illness.
In a post that Wilson wrote in 2013 for Cracked, she provided a list of seven reasons why child stars struggle with mental health. One of her reasons was that parents and other adults in these stars’ lives forget that they are children, and often treat them like adults. As an example, she referenced an incident when a reporter asked Wilson on the Red Carpet about allegations made against Hugh Hefner for trafficking prostitutes—Wilson was only 7-years-old at the time.
Wilson also gave attention to a topic that is still often hidden in Hollywood, and that is the sexual exploitation of child stars. “To be a teen idol is to be vulnerable,” Wilson wrote. She referenced three former child stars, Corey Feldman, Corey Haim, and Todd Bridges, who went on record to say that they were sexually abused when they were young by adults in the industry.
Bieber’s willingness to speak to the public about his struggles with fame has contributed to an important discussion that has been generally taboo in Hollywood. With the release of his new album, and a heartwarming, week-long appearance on Ellen, it’s hard not to find yourself secretly rooting for the teen heartthrob.