12 Years Ago, Justin Bieber Sparked Controversy by Wishing Anne Frank Would Have Been a ‘Belieber’

We all said and did some controversial stuff as teenagers. We just weren’t all as unlucky as Justin Bieber was to have those cringy moments play out on a global stage. Like that time in 2014 when he publicly wished Anne Frank “would have been a Belieber.”

On April 14, 2014, a then-19-year-old Justin Bieber stopped by the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He’d been in the country on tour. When signing the museum guestbook, Bieber wrote a note that sparked massive outrage.

“Truly inspiring to be able to come here,” Bieber penned. “Anne was a great girl. Hopefully, she would have been a belieber.”

Shortly after the message went viral, the BBC noted that people began criticizing Bieber. His comments were perceived as being insensitive to the reality of Frank’s life as a Holocaust victim.

“Just saw what Justin Bieber wrote in the Anne Frank Museum guestbook. Absolutely disgusted,” read one online comment shared by the BBC. Someone else added, “Way to turn an inspiring moment into something about yourself.”

The news outlet went on to note that the museum was not offended by Bieber’s words. At the time, spokeswoman Maatje Mostart defended the singer. “He’s 19. It’s a crazy life he’s living, he didn’t mean bad,” she said. “And also it’s nice that he made the effort, he didn’t have to come.”

In a separate comment, shared by the CBC, the museum reiterated Mostart’s sentiment. “We think it is very positive that he took the time and effort to visit our museum. He was very interested in the story of Anne Frank and stayed for over an hour,” the statement read. “We hope that his visit will inspire his fans to learn more about her life and hopefully read the diary.”

The Biebs is still creating controversy today, as evidenced by his recent Coachella performance

More than a decade later, Bieber is still generating criticism. Most recently, it’s been because of his 2026 Coachella performance. The 32-year-old pulled up to the festival, played some songs, and also spent a chunk of his stage time scrolling through YouTube. He scrolled around and showed some of his favorite videos.

Entertainment Weekly called the performance “sleepy,” while noting that “his voice was unmistakable” still. Business Insider reported that he was “paid $10 million to do the bare minimum” during his Coachella set.

Ultimately, one thing you can say about Biebs is that the man still has people talking.

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