Does Justin Bieber Regret Being An Asshole? Eh…

Earlier this year, Justin Bieber embarked on his Apology Tour, where he basically hit up Ellen 16 times to say that he’s back on the straight and narrow and wants everyone to know what a sweet and genuinely good guy he is. Of course, he’s still the same prick who got into so much trouble over the past few years, but you know, that’s life! Now, in a new interview with Elvis Duran airing on Friday, Justin basically says, you know, you live and you learn and he basically had to experience being an asshole for himself rather than listen to anyone else telling him NOT to be an asshole.

From US Weekly:

“I just want to be around people who I feel are supporting me, uplifting me, and making sure I’m the best version of myself because there are so many people in this industry who just want to keep seeing me fall,” he told Duran.

Building a good support system is easier said than done, though. “It has to be on you. You have to make the conscious effort, because for me, so many times it was good people coming in my life and tugging at me, but I wasn’t ready,” he explained. “They’re like, ‘Justin, come on.’ But I wasn’t ready to take that leap and be like, ‘Okay, this is what I want to change, this is who I am, and this is not who I am.’ It takes moments of clarity to be like, ‘Oh, that’s why I’m not like this. That’s why I shouldn’t do this.'”

Bieber says those moments of clarity only come from experience, and from being allowed to make your own mistakes. “I mean, maybe I’m a bad influence, but for me I was like, no, I’m going to do this until I feel like I shouldn’t be doing this. Maybe I was wrong, but that’s how I learn, and I feel like I’m much better for it,” he explained.

Looking back on his past controversies, he quipped, “Would I do anything different? I would probably stay away from Miami.” (Miami is where the pop star was arrested in January 2014 for careless driving and resisting arrest.)

I mean, I hate to say it, but in a way, Bieber is making sense. ALL teenagers go through making shitty choices, and it’s even worse for him because he’s in the public eye. That being said, many of Bieber’s “mistakes” were actually him actively being a dickhead to other people, which isn’t necessarily something we all go through, because we’re taught from a young age to treat people with kindness and respect, but whatever. Maybe he really is going to grow out of it and become a good guy. I’ll try and give him the benefit of the doubt.

Good to see that whole “pre-recording all interviews” thing is working out for him, though! This is living proof that the joy of editing is a wonderful thing.