Justin Bieber was failed time and again – he deserves more than an apology

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Resurfaced footage of Bieber’s treatment over the years, that has been doing the rounds on social media ever since Sean “Diddy” Combs was arrested in New York on Monday, proves as much. While appearing on the chat show The Talk, Bieber was asked: “Would you rather be naked on stage during one full song or drink a cup of blended worms?” When he was barely 18, Katy Perry, then 27 years old, was filmed grabbing his bum at the Capital Summertime Ball; and that same year, at the 2012 American Music Awards, then-39-year-old Jenny McCarthy held onto Bieber while he was collecting his award on stage. McCarthy herself suggested as much, as she told reporters backstage at the event: “It was a little cougar scary, but I took the opportunity in the window, considering I’ll never get to do it again, and kind of molested him.” What’s worse still is that those who should have been protecting him seemingly looked the other way, time and again, providing such “opportunity”. It’s not even as though Bieber is an isolated case; we have seen similar patterns with child stars like Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish, Charlotte Church and the Olsen twins.