Justin Bieber is explaining why he stormed out of a recent concert — but is it enough to make fans finally listen?
On October 23, Bieber walked off stage during his Purpose World Tour stop in Manchester. Bieber wanted his fans to stop screaming in between songs so that he could talk to the audience, but despite Bieber's repeated attempts to shush the crowd, the roar continued. After a few frustrated minutes, the "Baby" singer dipped off stage. Though he returned shortly after, the 22-year-old pop star refused to acknowledge the audience, choosing to only perform his songs for the rest of the night. Bieber has since penned an open letter about the incident, made available via Us Weekly, which he shared in a since-deleted tweet.
"When people try to twist things and say, 'Justin's angry at his fans. He doesn't want his fans to scream' that's not at all what I was doing. All I was simply doing was wanting people to listen; to kind of hear me out a little bit. Certain people...certain cities aren't going to want to hear me out, and you know, sometimes it's my job to just say, 'Hey, I'm not going to try to force anything.'"
Of course, not everyone is happy with how Bieber reacted to his fans showing their appreciation for the artist:
Justin Bieber walked off stage because his fans wouldn't stop screaming? Lmfao. What the hell
— KB⚡️ (@Black_BanditKB) October 30, 2016
So Justin Bieber walked off stage and finished his show because people were screaming between his songs? Has he been to a concert?
— ☾ (@emmycatt) October 30, 2016
@justinbieber mate u fancy swapping? you have the struggle of being in a band & playin to 20 people and we will take the screaming fans????
— Frank (@frankbanduk) October 30, 2016
It's frustrating when you feel like you're not being listened to, especially by people who claim to really respect you and appreciate your music. Still, I can't help but roll my eyes a little bit at Bieber: his fans are freaking out because that's how excited they are to see him. What he sees as an act of fan defiance, they see as an act of appreciation. Sorry, Biebs, but screaming fans? Kind of comes with the pop star territory.
It's not the first time Bieber has been called out for treating his fans poorly. This spring, he declared he wouldn't take any more photos with fans at meet and greets. In July, he told a fan attempting to give him a hat that he "don't want that shit." One month later in August, he shut down his Instagram as backlash against fans who criticized his relationship with Sofia Richie.
If Bieber wants the Beliebers to keep on beliebing, he may want to try a kinder approach.
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