Justin Bieber: Anne Frank Controversy

Justin Bieber has been the topic of many news stories lately. Some true, some false. It’s been rough for the Biebs lately. He seems to be targeted by the paparazzi. They always seem to find something negative in everything he does. Recently he’s been talked about due to stuff like his monkey being taken, his old hamster dying, walking around shirtless, etc. But it’s getting ridiculous. The latest thing he’s done? Written in a guest book.
Bieber stopped at the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. Anne Frank was a young girl in the times of the holocaust, who spent a lot of time in hiding from the Nazi’s during World War II. After being discovered, she died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp at the age of 15 in 1945. The museum’s purpose is to remember Anne and everything she went through.
Before leaving the museum, Bieber did what many do: left a comment in the guest book. He said “Truly inspiring to be able to come here. Anne was a great girl. Hopefully she would have been a Belieber.”
In case you didn’t know, a Belieber is the name for Bieber’s fan base.
After the Anne Frank House posted how pleased they were that Bieber came in, and added in his comment, the comments started pouring in.
Many thought the comment was negative, and self- centered. But it wasn’t. The context of the quote, and the fact that he called her a great girl and talked about how inspirational it was right before, you can tell. People are offended because they think he took the focus off of Anne, and put it on himself. But he didn’t, he simply hoped that this “great girl” would have been one of his many Beliebers had she been alive today.
Where is the harm in that? Soon after the news hit Facebook, it moved to Twitter. Many people saying stuff like “Come on Twitter, settle down about Justin Bieber. It’s just a made-up controversy. We all know Justin Bieber can’t read or write”(@joegarden)
But, some stood up for Bieber. Like Simon Pegg, who tweeted “What is wrong with Bieber?! When I was 19, absolutely everything I said was thoughtful considered and intelligent. Like all of us, right?” Pointing out that everyone makes mistakes, especially 19 year olds who have grown up in the spotlight since they were barely a teen.
And someone else defended Bieber, recently also; Anne Frank’s stepsister. “It’s childish” said Eva Schloss, 83, “He’s a young man and she was a young girl, and she liked film stars and music.”
So…next time you read an article about something someone did or said, specifically Bieber, think twice before you believe it. This one was true, but nobody but him knows what he meant by it, and how he intended for it to sound