Justin Bieber got raw and real with his fans in a video message he shared on Wednesday night, during which he apologized for his past behavior and fear of being judged.
The singer posted the vulnerable video hours after taping his surprise appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show , and after tweeting that he had been “nervous” on the program.
In the video, which he shared to Fahlo, Justin talked about why he was nervous and a lot more. It quickly set the Internet, with fans powering “#WeDontJudgeYouJustin” to trend on Twitter worldwide.
“I just wanted to make a video to express how I feel right now,” Bieber began, adding that DeGeneres was “amazing.”
The 20-year-old went on, “I was really nervous. I think I was nervous because I was afraid of what people are thinking about me right now.”
He added, “It’s been a minute since I’ve been in a public appearance, and I didn’t want to come off arrogant or conceited or basically how I’ve been acting the past year and a half.”
After that apology , the Biebs stripped back the layers further and admitted, “I’m not who I was pretending to be. Why I say I was ‘pretending,’ is often we pretend to be something we’re not as a cover up of what we’re truly feeling inside. And there were a lot of feelings going on in there.”
“Just being young and growing up in this business is hard. Just growing up in general is hard,” he continued “I just felt awkward up there,” the singer said, still referring to his turn on Ellen .
Explaining, Justin continued, “I felt like people were judging me, and I really want people to know how much I care, how much I care about people, and how I’m not that person to say, ‘I don’t give a f*ck,’ you know? I’m not that kid.”
Instead, he confessed, “I’m a person who genuinely cares. And although what’s happened in the past has happened, I just want to make the best impression on people and be kind and loving and gentle and soft. And, although people can call me a ‘softie,’ that’s how my mom raised me.”
Justin also posted a second message to his fans on Fahlo, writing,
“I like talking to you guys on here. It’s our own spot. Thanks for always being there for me. I know I haven’t always made it easy. I love you all,” he went on to say. “I appreciate u so much. We are growing together and I will always try to be better. Thank you.”
Shortly after, longtime manager Scooter Braun tweeted the singer, saying, “Very proud of u. Real courage comes when owning your own mistakes. Proud.”
This Inquisitr writer adds this: Amidst nearly two years of hyper-critical media reporting — and, at times — click bait fabrication , a young man has owned his part in the firestorm.
As TMZ and this site previously reported , the singer has been working on himself in recent months after reaching out to two pastors he has known for years. Bieber appears to have turned an authentic corner if he can publicly and humbly acknowledge he went off-track.
Being a role model to the young doesn’t always mean being unattainably perfect. It is just as powerful to watch someone come back from a fall — stronger and wiser than they were before, because of that fall.
Convenient cynicism aside, it is time for some quarters in the news cycle to step off their ante-raising Bieber narrative and let a youngster step beyond his missteps, and move on to the rest of his life.
I can’t believe the surprise I got for my birthday show. Then I saw his face. Now I’m a Belieber. pic.twitter.com/bQOV3YOCyE
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) January 29, 2015
Good seeing u today @TheEllenShow . Happy birthday! Sorry I was so nervous
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) January 29, 2015
[Images via Instagram]