Justin Bieber with regards to Anne Frank

[Seiryuu]

So some people may have heard about the comment Bieber made in a guestbook at an Anne Frank museum and the resulting outburst. Thoughts?

I for one think people are reading way too much into this. Was it unthoughtful? Sure. But to grab the torches and pitchforks over this slight boo-boo is overkill.

[Hillia]

It's just another indicator of his total self-centeredness.  Sad that the official guestbook for the site now has to have his moronic speculations preserved for all time.

[JenJay]

I took is as "She was amazing and I would have been honored if she'd have liked my music" but I agree that it was a dumb thing to have said.

[Judah]

I don't understand what the flap is about.  Apparently, Anne Frank was a fan of the pop culture of her time. She even had posters of movie stars on her walls. If Bieber had been around then, she may very well have been a fan. All he did was express the thought that she might have been a fan. Why is that so awful?

[Hillia]

I don't understand what the flap is about.  Apparently, Anne Frank was a fan of the pop culture of her time. She even had posters of movie stars on her walls. If Bieber had been around then, she may very well have been a fan. All he did was express the thought that she might have been a fan. Why is that so awful?

Because the Anne Frank house is not about how supercoolamazinglyhot Justin Bieber is, or thinks he is.  Can he not just leave the comments at 'She was an amazing person' without dragging his ego into it?

[DottyG]

Wow.  More proof of how thoughtless and conceited he is.  He should be ashamed for doing something like that (although, I suspect he's not).

[Jones]

Probably not how he meant it, and upon reflection he probably just meant that he wished she could have been the (seemingly) low-stress, pop-culture fan that so many girls her age are today instead of the fugitive she was, but I think to a lot of people his remarks came off as:

"Hey, this girl was cool and all, and I'ma let the tour finish, but hopefully she'd have been my fan 'cause I'm the greatest boy wonder of all time."

[katycoo]

I don't understand what the flap is about.  Apparently, Anne Frank was a fan of the pop culture of her time. She even had posters of movie stars on her walls. If Bieber had been around then, she may very well have been a fan. All he did was express the thought that she might have been a fan. Why is that so awful?

Because even in a place as amazingly awful as the house Anne Frank took refuge in, he was thinking about himself.

[Kaypeep]

I don't understand what the flap is about.  Apparently, Anne Frank was a fan of the pop culture of her time. She even had posters of movie stars on her walls. If Bieber had been around then, she may very well have been a fan. All he did was express the thought that she might have been a fan. Why is that so awful?

Because the Anne Frank house is not about how supercoolamazinglyhot Justin Bieber is, or thinks he is.  Can he not just leave the comments at 'She was an amazing person' without dragging his ego into it?

I can't believe I'm defending Justin Beiber, but I agree that it was not that big of a deal. I've never been to the Anne Frank annex but I was watching an episode of "Gene Simmon's Family Jewels" where he and his wife went.  They were both very reverent throughout the visit, but were surprised to see the pictures on the walls of the Hollywood Celebrities.  His wife commented with something along the lines of how it was nice to know they still enjoyed their 'stargazing' while in hiding, and that as a celebrity it touched her and reminded her that they bring joy to people who are in bad situations, so it's nice if their work or pictures or whatever made someone's day a bit brighter.  Now I'm not a huge fan of Kiss or Playboy models either, but I got her point and I thought was very touching. I suspect Beiber meant something similar, only he wasn't as gracious about it.

[Iris]

I rather like Simon Pegg's take on it;

"What is wrong with Bieber?! When I was 19, absolutely everything I said was thoughtful considered and intelligent. Like all of us, right?"

I would hate to be judged by the things I did, said and wrote when I was 19. Adult me thinks that 19 year old me was a self obsessed immature brat with all the social graces of a rock and I like to think I've turned out okay.

[hyzenthlay]

I remember when reading the Diary of Anne Frank thinking how real a person she was. She wasn't a flawless ideal, she was a real teenager with day dreams and plans.

I don't see a durn thing wrong with Beiber's comment (given that yes, it came from a 19 year old) and it'll probably help motivate another generation to read the book and try to sympathize with the realities of what happened.

[KB]

I remember when reading the Diary of Anne Frank thinking how real a person she was. She wasn't a flawless ideal, she was a real teenager with day dreams and plans.

I suggest to those who haven't that they read an unabridged copy of the diary, particularly an edition post-2010, because it contains a lot of information that Otto (Anne's father) censored from the earlier editions. The reader gets a much more detailed insight into Anne's burgeoning sexuality and particularly her relationship with her mother. It makes her even more 'real.'

[violinp]

I rather like Simon Pegg's take on it;

"What is wrong with Bieber?! When I was 19, absolutely everything I said was thoughtful considered and intelligent. Like all of us, right?"

I would hate to be judged by the things I did, said and wrote when I was 19. Adult me thinks that 19 year old me was a self obsessed immature brat with all the social graces of a rock and I like to think I've turned out okay.

As I remember from my teen years (which were oh so long ago ), I was a bit of a tool myself. I shudder to think what people would have thought of me if I were rich and famous in those years.

[Twik]

I don't understand what the flap is about.  Apparently, Anne Frank was a fan of the pop culture of her time. She even had posters of movie stars on her walls. If Bieber had been around then, she may very well have been a fan. All he did was express the thought that she might have been a fan. Why is that so awful?

I agree it was self-centred, but then, a kid in Bieber's place is unlikely to be anything but. And yes, Anne Frank was a typical teenager, and she probably *would* have been a fan. I think Bieber was, in his own klutzy way, trying to say he thought she was cool.

[VorFemme]

The Simmons are a lot older, and at least Mrs. Simmons worked on her phrasing to get her meaning more exactly across.

Beiber's phrasing......is so badly done that you know no one helped him work out the wording ahead of time with his publicist or agent.....