Justin Bieber Asks Screaming Front-Row Fans To Be Less Obnoxious

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Justin Bieber Asks Screaming Front-Row Fans To Be Less Obnoxious

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

If you’ve ever seen a teen idol perform live — and I have; ask me about Bow Wow and Omarion in 2005 — then you already know about the screaming. It’s incredible. It’s louder than you could ever expect, and it just never relents. It’s just a constant barrage of preteen ecstasy, and you could easily imagine how it could get under a performer’s skin. But the performer isn’t supposed to tell the crowd not to scream. That’s breaking the social contract. Justin Bieber doesn’t care about your social contracts.

In recent months, Bieber has seemed to be in a passive-aggressive cold war against his own fanbase; a couple of months ago, he deleted his Instagram in the wake of public criticism. And now he’s telling his fans not to scream. On Monday night, Bieber performed in the British city of Birmingham and told the crowd that their screaming was “just so obnoxious” and “frustrating.” He begged the crowd to “try to show me you love me in a different way” and to “take a chill pill.” Really, he just wanted them to wait until the end of a song, or until his preplanned applause lines, to scream. But you can’t say that! Watch a fan-made video below.

Personally, I sort of love the sullen, nihilistic, fuck-you version of Bieber. He’s so vulnerable!

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