Bieberpocalypse! The latest controversy to engulf Canadian child singer Justin Bieber has been deemed damaging enough to warrant the man who loosed him upon an unsuspecting world, Usher, to weigh in. In the last few years, Bieber has evolved from a charming, helmet-haired boy into a disrespectful tough guy who shows up late to concerts, and recently we’ve discovered that even early Bieber was a bit of a dick, what with all the racist jokes and whatnot.
Now, Usher’s stepped in to defend his boy, posting a picture of the two of them to Instagram, along with a statement saying that while the Bieb may be a lean-chugging hoodlum, he’s “unequivocally not a racist”.
“At my core, I am a person that supports growth and understands without judgement, that growth often comes as a result of pain and continues effort,” he said. “As I have watched Justin Bieber navigate difficult waters as a young man, I can tell you that he hasn’t always chosen the path of his greatest potential, but he is unequivocally not a racist. What he was 5 years ago was a naive child who did not understand the negative power and degradation that comes from playing with racial slurs. What he is now is a young man faced with an opportunity to become his best self, an example to the millions of kids that follow him to not make the same mistakes.”
It’s not the first time Usher’s had to defend Bieber; in an interview last December he said that the singer’s tumultuous year was just a part of growing up in the public eye. Especially if you’re a dick, probably.
Image via Jason Kempin for Getty Images Entertainment
