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Demi Lovato Defends Justin Bieber’s VMAs Tears After Jimmy Kimmel’s ‘Fake’ Jibe

By Page Mackinley
Published on: 13:37 PST, Sep 1, 2015

Justin Bieber had Demi Lovato in his corner when the “Cool For The Summer” songstress defended him during her Monday appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, after the host asked whether she thought Bieber’s recent onstage tears at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards were “fake.”

Replying, Lovato offered her opinion that if people imagined Justin Bieber’s relief at being cheered at the VMAs, rather than booed as he has been for years, then his tears were understandable.

Bieber performed his Jack U-produced EDM/pop hit “Where Are U Now” and his brand, new single “What Do You Mean?” before dissolving into tears at the end of a two-song VMAs spot that included “flying” and an inspirational, pre-recorded speech.

The VMAs audience were on their feet by the end, and the visibly emotional singer appeared genuinely overcome at the reception.

Kimmel’s “fake” tears jibe has been slammed as “sexist” by some online users who believe the 47-year-old comic-host’s snark at Bieber is based on the erroneous belief that males are not allowed to cry in public — if at all.

Despite Kimmel’s, and others, doubts, to most observers it was more than evident that the singer’s tears were the real deal.

At one point during Lovato’s interview, Kimmel said to her, “Justin Bieber broke down in tears at the end of song, which was definitely fake, right?” He went on, “I mean there’s no way those were real tears.”

However, Lovato wasn’t having it. “Maybe not,” she replied evenly. “Because if you were Justin Bieber for that many years…”

Interjecting, Kimmel quipped, “You might cry too!”

To her credit, Lovato didn’t join in with Kimmel and the studio audience’s laughter. Instead, Demi cut in with a lightly reproving look on her face, and reasoned, “But, you would maybe celebrate if people booed you for so long and then they cheered.”

She added, “I would be happy.”

Lovato’s support of Bieber’s distress at the end of his VMAs spot, comes after watchdog website Gossip Cop recently revealed the reason for Bieber’s tears at MTV’s throwdown.

“He worked so hard not just on the performance but himself,” an insider close to Bieber told the website.

The source explained that the heartthrob “didn’t know how people would accept him,” and “when he saw them [the VMAs audience] on their feet cheering, he was overwhelmed.”

Referring to Bieber’s ill-fated attendance of the 2013 Billboard Music Awards, where he booed when he accepted inaugural Milestone award, the Bieber insider recalled, “Last time he was on an award show he was booed. This time he was cheered for. It meant a lot to him.”

While Bieber’s fans and many who watched the VMAs praised the singer online, the Biebs was brief when he took to Twitter shortly after the show wrapped, and shared a link to his new music video for “Do What You Mean?” which premiered on Vevo immediately after the event.

The singer had a little more to say on Monday. He tweeted, “Thanks for always making me smile.”

Then, after posting more messages about the music video, the Biebs wrote,”Last night was crazy. Love u guys.”

Meanwhile, Bieber’s return to the spotlight will see him appear and perform new single “What Do You Mean” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday, September 2, and kick off a week’s residency on the Today show.

“Mean” is the lead cut from Bieber’s upcoming, fourth studio album, which is set to arrive November 13. After topping the U.S. iTunes singles sales chart within minutes after premiering, the song broke a record by charting on 52 iTunes charts within two hours before taking the top spot in 87 countries in total.

The jam reportedly shifted 157,000 paid U.S. downloads within its first two days of release and has since sold 300,000 downloads in the U.S. Amid building radio play and streaming, the Biebs is reportedly right on track for his first No. 1 on the U.k’s Official single chart this week, and is expected to storm onto the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the top five, if not No. 1 next week, according to Billboard.

If you watched the VMAs, what was your reaction to seeing Bieber breakdown onstage? Let us know in comments below.

[Images via Getty Images / MTV]

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