Justin Bieber criticized for hoping Anne Frank would've been a 'belieber'

[joeybee12]

Singer Justin Bieber stirred controversy over the weekend for claiming that Anne Frank, who wrote movingly of her years spent hiding from the Nazis, might have been a fan of his.

Staff of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, where Frank and family hid from the Nazis until they were betrayed in 1944, posted on Facebook that Bieber visited the landmark building.

The staff noted that Bieber signed the museum's guestbook with, "Truly inspiring to be able to come here. Anne was a great girl. Hopefully she would have been a belieber."

http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2013/04/15/17749349-justin-bieber-criticized-for-hoping-anne-frank-wouldve-been-a-belieber?lite

What an obnoxious little sh*t

[tarheelsunc]

1. Does he not realize if she was still alive, she would no longer be a little girl? eom

[Victor_c3]

2. I'm probably going to be called a "piece of crap" for this comment

but I say give the kid a break. He is what, 19 years old? How many of you had any concept of what the Holocaust really entailed or could really identify with it when they were that age? I know I didn't/couldn't. And no, I'm not a Bieber fan by any means.

I visited the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam in 2006 so it has been a while, but I remember most of the book and the exhibits in the house were focused on making you connect with Anne (and her family) as people. After coming to recognize Anne Frank as a person and a young girl I don't believe his comment is that callous. He probably would have said that after getting to know any girl that age. Had that comment been written in a guestbook at Auschwitz where she was murdered, I'd have a different opinion.

As misplaced as his comment may have been, I believe that his heart was in the right place.

[Quantess]

3. Yes, agreed. Not only that,

he hasn't had a normal adolescence. Child / prebubescent stars traditionally have had a hard time growing up.

[joeybee12]

4. Sorry, but he leaves the Anne Frank house and all he can think

about is himself...immature little shithead.

[el_bryanto]

6. I wonder what I would be like if from the time I was 14 I was a pop superstar

And had a whole world telling me I was awesome and pretty and talented - I wonder if I would be that mature?

I mean I wouldn't have much motivation to become mature would I?

Thank goodness when I was 14 I was largely friendless and getting beaten up regularly (my life did get better later on though).

Bryant

[joeybee12]

7. Hopefully you would have also had a handler who kept you

in line and avoided bad publicity.

[el_bryanto]

8. So are we mad at Bieber or mad at his handlers? nt

[joeybee12]

10. Maybe he doesn't have a handler...

In either case, he's an immature little brat.

[el_bryanto]

14. Nods - i guess that's the bottom line -

Thank goodness he's the only 18-19 yr old to be an immature little brat. Can you imagine what it would be like if most of our youth were immature little brats?

Bryant

[Demoiselle]

28. How could he be much wiser?

Yes, it was an incredibly stupid thing to say, but he's lived in a bubble that's all about him since he was 14. And it isn't so unusual to have your head stuck up your own patoot during adolescence. It also takes a while to fully comprehend the horror of the holocaust. I hope he'll visit the Holocaust Museum in D.C. And Auschwitz , too. Reading a few books couldn't hurt either.

[joeybee12]

29. Have you veer been to the Anne Frank House?

I doin't think so, because if you're not moved, if you are not at least able to see that it does not involve your own tiny little world, then you wouldn't be defending him.

[zipplewrath]

31. I have

And I'm not sure I agree with you.

I was struck by how "sterile" the place was. From my readings I pictured a completely different place. As I wandered through, what struck me was that it wasn't as cramped and crowded as I envisioned. And then it struck me, there was no "stuff". There was so little there, that it was roomier and cleaner than I suspect the reality was at the time of their occupation.

And that sort of goes to the point of this 19 year old kid. He was seeing something that he otherwise had though little to nothing about. So what he was seeing was an empty closet. It wouldn't be surprising that a kid like that would miss the larger significance of what he was experiencing.

I'm not suggesting that they are running the place "wrong". But in comparison to some Holocaust museums I've been to, it wasn't nearly as "moving" as they were. It was interesting to me, because of what I already knew. But if I hadn't had that foreknowledge, I'm not sure I would have grasped what I was seeing, especially at that age.

[Demoiselle]

32. No. I've been to Auschwitz and the Holocaust Museum. And it was horrifying and very moving.

I really don't understand how my saying Mr Beiber has his head stuck up his ass is defending him.

[Aristus]

11. I wouldn't call you a piece of crap.

I'd call him a piece of crap. What has being 19 years old go to do with it?

Anne Frank was 15, and she wrote beautifully, with maturity and sensitivity, and with an awakening understanding of human nature that Bieber will probably never have, even if you shut him up in a suite of cramped, uncomfortable rooms for two and a half years.

If he had stopped with "she was an amazing girl", he would have been okay. But he had to make it about himself. He should face his justified criticism, and take it like a man.

[FirstLight]

23. +1000!!

We read her diary in 8th grade as part of our required reading... even at 15, I got it.
This guy is an ass, and deserves all the criticizm he gets.

[blueamy66]

13. I remember knowing about the Holocaust when I was 14, cause I questioned my Religion teacher about

it in HS.

I also read her diary that year.

Are our high schools not teaching history anymore?

He's twit.

[atreides1]

18. I did!

But then again I actually enjoyed reading when I was growing up...history was one my biggest interests!

I even managed to read "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" in the 8th grade...but one would have to have an interest such things.

I have no idea where his heart was, but his head was up his ass with that statement!

[Victor_c3]

34. It's one thing to know about it, but a completely different thing to truly understand it.

Are you a fellow German history nerd? I find the era of the third reich absolutely fascinating. I took several college courses on the subject as electives when I was getting my chemistry degree and I even took a 2 week guided tour with my professor focusing on 3rd reich history. I was fortunate enough to be stationed in Germany for 4 years when I was in the Army and I lived just 45 minutes outside of Nuremberg and I visited numerous concentration camps of other sites of significance when I was living there.

Reading it is one thing, but to actually step foot in some of these places and to imagine yourself there adds a true depth to the reality of it all. I know I didn't get that depth until I actually saw some of it first hand.

I know I'm getting very far off the OP here, but Dachau was the most disturbing concentration camp for me to visit. It is surprisingly small and the perimeter of the places butts right next to the backyards of many people's houses. I believe that those houses were occupied during WWII which means they knew full well what was going on in that camp.

[warrior1]

5. this little shit needs to get over himself

the world doesn't revolve around him.

[Dreamer Tatum]

9. "We're more popular than Jesus" - St. John Lennon nt

[Gidney N Cloyd]

12. His managers must really suck to let something that blockheaded slip through.

Or is Bieber's head so big now that he no longer listens?

[reformist2]

15. Bizarrely flippant. Even a teenager like him should know that is a tasteless thing to say.

[cbdo2007]

16. She was really into the "pop culture" of her day and dreamed of being a movie star...

and had posters of some famous singers from her day on the walls. I think that's where his comment came from. Not sure why anyone would think that would be offensive.

[polly7]

20. That's what I thought too. nt.

[RZM]

17. I don't see the big deal

A lot of teen girls like the Biebster. It's quite possible she would have too.

Perhaps a bit self involved for him to say that, but that's why he's a star. He's not the first pop star to put himself at the center of something.

This seems more honest than pretending to care about Africa or whatever the celeb cause of the moment is.

[Dreamer Tatum]

19. +1 nt

[bhikkhu]

21. "Teenage kid says something dumb - internet erupts in disdain"

...I don't get all the fuss myself, way too many people get too invested in either hatred or admiration of performers.

[RZM]

25. I agree. And it goes in cycles too. Right now he's experiencing a period of bad press

That's the way celeb culture goes. It's a jungle out there.

If it wasn't this, we'd be hearing another story about him smoking weed, missing shows, throwing a tantrum, or whatever.

Same shit, different day. As long as he's not drawing a swastika in the guestbook, I have no problem with Bieber's visit to the Anne Frank house.

[HappyMe]

22. Obviously he didn't pay a lick of

attention to what the museum was all about. Being young has nothing to do with understanding what Anne Frank and others went through. He's a fool.

[joeybee12]

24. Thank you...I'm amazed people are saying it's because he's young...

Well-brought up kids pay attention to the world around them.

[justhanginon]

26. Is it possible to be any more self absorbed?

[Drale]

27. To quote Ricky Gervais on Twitter

"I agree with Justin Bieber. Anne Frank would've loved his stuff. It's perfect for being played really really quietly so no one can hear it."

[joeybee12]

30. Hee-larious!

[libodem]

33. Did he ever go to high school?

Or was he homeschooled? Must be an insulated existence to be so proud to be so shallow. Guess that is the currency of trading on your looks. Money trumps reverence.