Usher chatted it up with Ellen DeGeneres about a number of subjects on Tuesday, including the bad boy behavior of Canadian teen pop singer Justin Bieber.
He and JB’s manager Scooter Braun go way back and paved the way in 2008 for their young protege’s stardom.
Fast forward five years and we find that the tween idol has become something of a menace with multiple allegations of reckless driving, hard partying, alleged marijuana use, late concert starts and Twitter drama.
Usher told Ellen in soothing tones, “We hope that in his transition — as friends and family who have helped him be who he is — that he will continue to just mature. But in this day and age of social media there is no privacy. That kind of trial and elimination period is done in front of a camera. It’s been done and many, many other celebrities have been a product of it. Some come out bad, some come out good. I’m hoping for the best.”
He has high hopes for the 19-year-old, “I don’t look at it as a negative, though. I look at it as a teenager. He is a teenager having to live his life in front of a camera. Imagine if you had to do that as a teenager … You go through something to get to something in life. If there were no humps in life, there’d be nothing to get over.”
Justin recently struck a similar tone with Us Weekly, “I’m young and I make mistakes. That’s part of growing up. I mess up sometimes. It’s part of growing up.”
He added, “I know who I am and I’m not gonna let negativity towards me bring me down. I’m a positive person and I plan on staying that way. This business can break you down, but I have a strong team around me, and my family and all the fans. The love overcomes the negativity. I’m not perfect but I’m growing and trying to be better everyday. That’s part of life.”
One thing seems certain — Scooter Braun no longer exerts the level of control that he once lorded over his high maintenance client? Is it time for a new management team or is the kid calling the shots? Your thoughts?
Photo Credit: WENN