Justin Bieber perfectly demonstrates how to emerge from an awkward moment like a total winner
Justin Bieber is a bellweather guy- either you’re a Belieber or you’re extremely not- but even the skeptics have to admit that the Bieb’s recent handling of a mishap shows that he’s becoming an respectable pro at handling the curveballs.
While at lunch in Cannes last week, Bieber was filmed flipping over a chair and storming out of a restaurant. Perez Hilon, among others, seized immediately on the video as evidence of Bieber “flipping out” and linking it to other recent awkward PR moments for the performer, including getting agitated with fans at a concert in Spain for not clapping on-beat.
This is the kind of the story which, fueled by existing polarized views of Justin Bieber, can quickly spin into a minor media frenzy. A balanced look at whether his behavior was appropriate or not is certainly not going to be the focus when a whiff of celebrity-going-gradually-crazy is in the air. We’ve seen celebs taken down by these stories before, and with the trend of prior pieces on the 21 year-old’s antics sure to grab clicks, Bieber’s handling of the situation is an important moment in how the story gets framed: no stranger to exploitative press, Bieber knew enough to take immediately to social media to de-escalate the incident.
There was also this:
Bieber’s fans, rallied to the call of their leader, then followed suit by posting dozens of GIFs of chairs being violently manhandled, which the performer gamely retweeted.
Mollified by his supporters, Justin seemed glad that the people he cares most about- the fans- were still on his side. He wisely exited the conversation by combining some love to his supporters, the incident, and a plug for his upcoming album. That’s multitasking!
Judgement on Bieber’s chair-flipping behavior is, of course, a tough call. If he received, as he claims, bad personal news, his flip-out is probably just that- an impulsive action that he’d like to move on and forget about. We all have occasional overreactions (one of mine involved hurling a teacup at a white-wallpapered wall, causing a stain that could never ever be removed) which can haunt us for years as mortifying recollections. While hopefully the Bieb made amends and left a big tip, we can still take a lesson from his response to the scandal-happy press: laugh and be truthful, then move on with amusing GIFs.
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(Image via Twitter)
