Justin Bieber once said he ‘didn’t know if he’d be alive now’ in a heartbreaking old interview from 2020.
The 30-year-old father-of-one, who has yet to speak out about his former mentor Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’s arrest and subsequent incarceration following sex trafficking charges against the rapper, shot to fame as a teenager. He became an overnight success but struggled with the limelight over the years.
In an interview in 2020 with Zane Lowe for Apple Music, the Peaches singer broke down as he opened up about the realities of the music industry and wanting to protect a then 18-year-old Billie Eilish. Zane asked Justin: “Do you think you then were on a path of self-destruction? Do you feel like you were self-destructing?”
Justin said he ‘for sure’ was and added: “100% yeah. It would have been no bueno. It was bad. I don’t know if I’d be alive, for sure. If you think about how young I was and so impressionable, you have everybody telling me how awesome I am at all times. It was just insane, how do you…”
During the same chat, the Baby star was in tears talking about his experiences as a 15-year-old pop star, saying he wanted to protect Billie as she started out on her journey. With his head bowed and his voice breaking, he said: “It was hard for me being the music industry and being that young and not knowing where to turn and everyone, you know, telling me they loved me, and, you know, just turn your back on you in a second.”
He continued: “If she [Billie] ever needs me I’m going to be here for her… but, yeah, just protecting those moments because people take for granted… encounters…and…I just want to protect her. I don’t want her to go through anything I went through. I don’t wish that upon anybody.”
He said he ‘doesn’t know if he’d still be alive’ if he continued on his path of self-destruction ( Image: Apple Music)
The interview is a difficult watch, with seasoned interviewer, Zane, looking visibly upset as he listens to Justin’s recollection of troubling events. A source close to the singer, who recently welcomed son Jack Blues into the world with his wife Hailey, told People the new dad has been “in a happy bubble” since Jack was born and “just wants to focus on being a great dad and husband.”
Justin and Hailey are parents to son Jack Blues Bieber, with the singer announcing his birth in June. Insiders claimed that he was over the moon about becoming a dad and that he and his model wife were “overjoyed” with the arrival. A source told People: “They’re doing well. They’re both overjoyed. The baby is such a miracle. He’s adorable and doing well! Hailey’s doing well, too. The pregnancy was something that they very much wished and prayed for.”
