Justin Bieber Rants, Gets Booed at Billboard Music Awards
At last night's Billboard Music Awards, Justin Bieber snatched Top Male Artist, Top Social Artist and the Milestone Award. But after winning that final trophy for "musical ingenuity and innovation," it seemed to irk quite a few audience members who booed the Biebs as he accepted the award.
And then it got worse.
In a Kanye West-esque rant, Bieber used the acceptance speech as a platform to talk about his artistry. At first, he used facts. "I'm 19 years old, I think I'm doing a pretty good job," he said. No question there. He's the only artist under 19 to have five No. 1 albums.
But then it got cringeworthy: "I just want to say it should really be about the music; it should be about the craft that I'm making. This is not a gimmick. I'm an artist. I should be taken seriously and all this other bull should not be spoken of," he added.
The "bull" he's likely speaking of include threatening paparazzi, showing up hours late for concerts, sharing questionable fan art, making absurd comments about Anne Frank, abandoning a pet monkey and, oh, just so much more.
We feel bad for the star that his moment was outshone from some upset audience members, but was that was spurred the rant? Did he know his Beliebers would outvote his competition Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars and had this speech panned all along? Was the sight of ex-girlfriend/probably-not-ex-girlfriend Selena Gomez in the front row too much??
The world may never know, but it sure was a top moment of the night.
Psst! Just in case you're (understandably) confused what differentiates the Billboard Music Awards from other industry back-patting awards show, check out our explanation of the night's significance here.
23m
4m
21m
21m
20m
2m
20m
20m
2m
20m
5m
14m
2m
1m
21m
23m
1h 14m
1m
1m
2m
2m
1m
1m
6m
1m
1m
1m
3m
4m
8m
8m
8m
3m
3m
9m
21m
1m
2m
1m
2m
2m
24m
24m
1m
3644s
1m
20m
39s
21m
1m
5m
2m
2m
1m
3m
1m
1m
3m
3m
1m
3m
3m
4m
3m
1m
3m
9m
2m
2m
2m
36s
6m
1m
1h 37m
21m
2m
2m
21m
46m
2m
22m
44m
41m
2m
19m
20m
20m
20m
9m
1m
20m
20m
21m
20m
40m
22m
21m
3m
2m