Justin Bieber has riled the left. Bieber, who happens to be a Christian, was asked in a Rolling Stone interview to express his views on abortion. Not only did he equate abortion with murder, he suggested that it is wrong even in cases of rape and incest.
“I really don't believe in abortion . . . It's like killing a baby,” the teen icon told Rolling Stone.
The interviewer followed up with a question about cases in which pregnancy was the result of rape. Bieber replied that it was his belief that “everything happens for a reason.” He then added, “I haven't been in that position, so I wouldn't be able to judge that.”
Some in the media flipped out and immediately became diss-Beliebers. The liberal panelists on ABC’s “The View” provide a prime example.
Guest co-host KaDee Strickland said, “He [Bieber] won't be in that position because he cannot give birth.” She added that “he doesn't have a choice like that.”
Joy Behar fumed over Bieber's “everything happens for a reason” comment regarding a rape induced pregnancy, saying that it was “really insulting to people who have been raped or victims of incest. There is no 'reason' for that.”
Both co-hosts had trepidation about whether Bieber’s views might influence his fans.
Beleaguered “View” host Elisabeth Hasselbeck was left to defend the pop star on her own, saying, “I don't think we can discount somebody's opinion because they happen to be 16.”
Barbara Walters fretted that the reporter had been “asking questions that may or may not be appropriate. You think they are; I think it may be a bit of a stretch.”
Curiously, Rolling Stone took the unprecedented step of amending Bieber's comments on abortion, claiming that the magazine had made an editing error that included an incomplete quote from the teen star.
On its website, the magazine republished the revised quote as follows: “Um. Well, I think that's really sad, but everything happens for a reason. I don't know how that would be a reason. I guess I haven't been in that position, so I wouldn't be able to judge that.”
The New York Times responded with a navel gazing critique titled “Twilight of the Teen Idol.” The Times suggested Bieber had overstepped his bounds, stating, “By taking a stand against abortion, Mr. Bieber risks finding out how frail and tenuous that bond might be.”
The CNN website touted an article with the headline: “Backlash over Bieber's view on abortion.”
A Boston Herald blog titled its analysis of the singer’s position as “Justin Bieber Sounds Like an Idiot.”
On her Twitter account, Rolling Stone reporter Vanessa Grigoriadis defended herself on the issue of whether the subject matter was appropriate.
“A 16-year-old kid, to be 17 in a couple weeks, who has control over a large population should be asked all questions,” Grigoriadis wrote.
The reporter also explained Bieber's remark that “everything happens for a reason.”
“I think he meant that God has a plan,” Grigoriadis told PopEater. “Even for the most die-hard Christian, it's hard to justify rape as part of God's plan, and harder to justify rape that leads to pregnancy and abortion. I think he [Bieber] was wrestling with that in his answer, which I found to be solid and logical.”
She added, “I think it is being widely misunderstood. He did not say that rape was part of God's plan.”
James Hirsen, J.D., M.A. in media psychology, is a New York Times best-selling author, media analyst, and law professor. He is admitted to practice in the U.S. Supreme Court and has made several appearances there on landmark decisions. Hirsen is the co-founder and chief legal counsel for InternationalEsq.com. Visit Newsmax TV Hollywood: www.youtube.com/user/NMHollywood
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