[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text module_class=”custom-post-title” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_font=”Black Han Sans|700||on|||||” header_text_align=”center” header_font_size=”46px” header_letter_spacing=”4px” custom_margin=”25px||5px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”intro-wrap” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|600|on||||||” text_text_color=”#808080″ text_font_size=”16px” text_orientation=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Rather than unpicking his behaviour, we should be listening to his words…<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”credit-name” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Black Han Sans|||on|||||” text_text_color=”#000000″ header_4_font=”|||on|||||” header_4_text_align=”center” text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Words by Georgia Aspinall<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-1252574142.jpg” alt=”Justin Bieber” title_text=”Celebrity Sightings In Los Angeles – May 03, 2023″ force_fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n The videos of Justin and Hailey Bieber at Coachella were endearing at first. They sang and danced arm in arm while watching Travis Scott, Yeat and Roddy Rich. Then came the clips that social media users have labelled \u2018disturbing\u2019, showing Justin shirtless and hunched over in the crowd, being physically supported by a friend as he danced, and later smoking what appeared to be marijuana next to his younger sibling, Jaxon, 15 \u2013 whom Hailey was then seen shepherding away.<\/p>\n It’s become part and parcel of the news cycle to see warnings about Justin\u2019s behaviour. In September last year, after P Diddy was charged with sex trafficking (allegations he denies), fans began to unpick Bieber\u2019s close relationship with the rapper during his early fame, jumping to harrowing conclusions which Justin has never commented on.<\/p>\n Instead, his sometimes-dishevelled public appearance has been scrutinised endlessly and former team members say he\u2019s \u2018disintegrating\u2019. \u2018He\u2019s lost,\u2019 one recently told The Hollywood Reporter. \u2018There\u2019s no one protecting him because there\u2019s no one there willing to say no to him.\u2019<\/p>\n In February, Justin\u2019s representatives were forced to deny allegations of drug use, saying he\u2019s in the best place in life, parenting his newborn son, Jack, and working on new music. \u2018The past year has been very transformative for him,\u2019 a rep said. \u2018He ended several close friendships and business relationships that no longer served him.\u2019<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2209847688.jpg” alt=”Justin Bieber” title_text=”Celebrity Sightings In Los Angeles – April 15, 2025″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n The latter is in reference to Justin\u2019s longtime manager, Scooter Braun, who Justin severed ties with in June 2024. Braun discovered Justin aged 13 from a YouTube video Justin had posted singing a cover of Ne-Yo\u2019s So Sick \u2013 he was catapulted to global fame within a year, after his debut single, One Time, peaked at 17 on Billboard\u2019s Hot 100 chart. But at the same time, he began smoking cannabis and says he later started abusing alcohol, lean (a mixture of codeine cough syrup, soda and sweets) and MDMA, as well as taking pills like Xanax and psychedelic mushrooms.<\/p>\n \u2018People don’t know how serious it got,\u2019 Bieber said on his YouTube series, The Dark Season. \u2018My security were coming into the room at night to check my pulse\u2026 it was legitimately crazy scary.\u2019 Bieber has publicly blamed the pressures of early fame on his drug dependency, telling Billboard in 2015, \u2018I wouldn\u2019t suggest being a child star. Look at the statistics on how many child stars have crumbled\u2026 It\u2019s because it\u2019s f-cked, this lifestyle.\u2019<\/p>\n Justin\u2019s right that studies show child stars are more likely to suffer with PTSD, anxiety and depression \u2013 and he\u2019s not the only one to speak out. Alyson Stoner, who made her acting debut at eight on the Disney Channel, says she \u2018narrowly survived the toddler-to-trainwreck-pipeline\u2019. Jennette McCurdy, another Disney alumni, called child fame \u2018a trap\u2019 and Mara Wilson, who played Matilda aged nine, told The Guardian in 2023, \u2018I don\u2019t think you can be a child star without there being some kind of lasting damage.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018Recent research suggests that growing up as a child entertainer can count as an \u201cadverse childhood experience\u201d, which is typically defined as experiences of trauma or sexual abuse,\u2019 explains Dr Audrey Tang. \u2018For child stars, there\u2019s a lack of safety and stability, increased stress and additional burdens from working in entertainment. \u2018<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”custom-quote” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_font=”Libre Bodoni|||on|||||” header_2_text_align=”center” header_2_text_color=”#333333″ header_2_font_size=”40px” header_2_line_height=”1.2em” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n This all begs the question, should there be an \u2018age restriction\u2019 on fame? Of course, there will always be young actors and musicians working in the industry, but if we isolate entertainment from fame, there are changes that can be made. Stricter reporting restrictions could be introduced for those under 18. Studios and record labels could be required to offer adequate management and psychological support, as well as limiting contractual obligations around promotional tours for projects. While there may still be social media sleuths who document the lives of their favourite teen idol, tech giants could introduce stricter guidelines on content that pertains to celebrities who are still minors.<\/p>\n \u2018The industry has a responsibility to stop making excuses and understand there are real issues at stake here,\u2019 adds Dr Tang. \u2018Children need someone safeguarding them that they can trust, who doesn\u2019t have an agenda outside of their emotional wellbeing \u2013 because that isn\u2019t always the parent.\u2019 [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ divider_position=”center” divider_weight=”2px” module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text module_class=”credit-texts” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|||on|||||” text_orientation=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Photos: <\/b>Getty<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We need to start redirecting this conversation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":8910,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"guestgrazia","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8904"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8904\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9769,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8904\/revisions\/9769"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}‘I wouldn’t suggest being a child star.’<\/span><\/h2>\n
As we sit and watch in horror while the same narrative, we\u2019ve seen far too many times before plays out, it\u2019s time to ask: when will we have seen enough to make a real change?<\/p>\n