Diplo Rips Website For Taking Justin Bieber ‘Jerk’ Remark Out Of ‘Context’
Diplo has blasted a website for reporting that he called Justin Bieber a “jerk,” claiming that the site didn’t frame his remark in the appropriate context.
The Jack Ü producer-DJ sent two angry tweets to J14 magazine after the site published a post headlined “Yikes: Diplo Calls Justin Bieber A ‘Jerk'”.
In his first tweet to the teen-magazine, Diplo wrote, “@J14Magazine @justinbieber u guys f****** suck at this clickbait.”
His second slam blistered, “@J14Magazine stealing 2 quotes from somewhere else and making up stories = cheap journalism.”
@J14Magazine @justinbieber u guys f*****g suck at this clickbait
— diplo (@diplo) July 16, 2015
@J14Magazine stealing 2 quotes from somewhere else and making up stories = cheap journalism
— diplo (@diplo) July 16, 2015
Diplo also tagged Bieber in a tweet which included a link to an Instagram message, in which he clarified that the Canadian singer is “a homie and i respect him immensely.”
He continued, “It’s a shame that publications twist our words to turn it into click bait… if you want to read the full article head over to rollingstone.com. its all about the context…”
https://instagram.com/p/5LqTHeqMk4/
J14‘s report was based on comments Diplo made about Bieber in a recent interview with Rolling Stone magazine. In that profile, in which Diplo and Jack Ü partner Skrillex’s banger “Where Are Ü Now” collaboration with Bieber is referred to, Rolling Stone asked the Major Lazer founder “Is Justin Bieber officially cool now?”
The Mad Decent label head replied, “He’d been stuck in a rut where he has to do a certain thing because of his fan base.”
Diplo went on, recalling, “Guy from Disclosure texted me, ‘Yo, man, that Bieber record is amazing,’ and I’m like, ‘Man, you would’ve never written that a year ago,’ and he’s like, ‘I know, this is very difficult for me to text right now.’ ”
He continued, “Bieber’s personal life is whatever it is. He’s a rich kid and he’s pretty much gonna have to be a jerk.” He then added, “But he’s respectful to me, and he has that weird gene where he’s good at everything: better at basketball than me, better at drums. For us it’s more like an art project where you utilize his voice.”
Based on the furious tweets Diplo directed to J14, he seems to be saying his description of Bieber as “a jerk” is not his personal view, but an observation of typical assumptions about the superstar. Notably, Diplo has always spoken affectionately about the 21-year-old in the past, and previously said that he and Bieber have been pals for years. He produced songs on the singer’s last two albums.
Jack Ü first platinum record — congrats my brothers @justinbieber and @Skrillex = squad for life pic.twitter.com/zTSXVkyU52
— diplo (@diplo) July 15, 2015
However, J14’s interpretation of the EDM titan’s words is reasonable, given that the site quoted Diplo’s use of the word “jerk,” although evidently without the producer’s intended nuance — whatever that is.
J14 wrote: “Diplo’s worked with Justin Bieber, but he still called the pop star a bit of a jerk! The DJ told Rolling Stone that he’s ‘respectful’ and makes good music, but he’s [the Biebs] not immune to some jerky tendencies.”
For his part, Bieber later tweeted, “It’s all love @diplo. Family,” and included the link to the producer-DJ’s Instagram explanation.
It’s all love @diplo. Family https://t.co/zy5qpLsRm9
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) July 16, 2015
The singer also tweeted the following.
@diplo let’s just keep giving them hits
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) July 16, 2015
It’s worth noting Diplo has a reputation as a provocateur, who has previously called out Zedd, Selena Gomez, and Taylor Swift on social media and in interviews.
With those examples in mind, perhaps the takeaway for Diplo from this latest snafu is to be more careful about words he puts into the public domain, so that they are not open to negative interpretation by those only too willing to do so.
[Images via Getty Images / Shots / Instagram]
