Demi Lovato filled in for Ellen DeGeneres on Friday’s (March 6) episode of Ellen, and she had a very special guest come on the show – Justin Bieber!
Demi and Justin share more than just the same manager (they’re both managed by Scooter Braun, btw). They also share a similar journey – starting out as child stars, growing up in the public eye, and going through some dark times.
“We both had similar stories being in the industry really young and then we both had our struggles,” Demi said. She then asked Justin if he ever considered pursuing a different career.
“I think for a while I tried to run away from some stuff. I tried to run away from the industry, tried to run away from what I felt like God wanted me to do,” Justin replied. “But I feel like this is what you and I are meant to do. You’re meant to entertain and sing, and I think same as me. So when we run away from that, we become less happy. We feel like there’s all these responsibilities and all these sort of things that become heavy for us. I think sometimes we’ve gotta run towards the pain rather than run away from it.”
She also pointed out another thing they have in common – they both released documentaries. And she wanted to know if there was anything that Justin didn’t want to go open up about in his.
The Biebs opened up about some fears he’s had about “showing vulnerability,” but he hopes that sharing his experiences will help inspire others.
“I think the more mature you become, the more you understand that there’s power in your weakness,” Justin shared. “When you’re able to show that, it gives other people the confidence to say, you know what I’m going through similar things myself. It might not be the exact same thing, but I’m going through something too and I’ve been hiding it. So just having the confidence and being able to instill that confidence in young people that it’s OK to have problems, you don’t have to hide that.”
Apparently, Justin didn’t have to look far to find someone he’s inspired. Demi shared that she actually looked to the “Changes” singer as inspiration after her 2018 overdose.
“When I struggled last year, I know I looked at you as an inspiration because you’ve been through this and you’ve come out of the other side and I really just admire the man that you are today,” she told him.
“Thank you for saying that,” Justin replies.
Aww…
