Is the Marilyn Manson / Justin Bieber bromance back on? In March, the pop star posted a selfie with the legendary shock rocker, sparking a new friendship. It was a part of a greater metal phase for Justin Bieber, who had been spotted wearing Metallica shirts a lot, rocking Iron Maiden tees, lipsyncing Ozzy Osbourne tunes, and even hanging out with Anthrax's Frankie Bello.
Last week, Manson revealed the duo did have a falling out after Bieber teamed up with high-end fashion retailer Barney's New York to release a $195 shirt which was literally a vintage Marilyn Manson design with a Bieber logo slapped on it. Apparently, they never asked Manson for permission, and afterwards, Manson ran into Bieber, who Manson claims said "I made you relevant again" which did not sit well with Manson. Manson then claimed that he told Bieber that he would show up to Bieber's show the next day to perform "The Beautiful People" and never actually showed up. Now, in a new interview, Manson said that Biebs apologized.
Speaking on The Howard Stern Show today, Manson handed Stern his phone (which Manson referred to as a burner), which showed alleged text messages from Justin Bieber, which read:
“Bro, it’s Bieber what’s up with that article? I thought we had a pretty pleasant interaction. Also, if anything wasn’t squared away with the T-shirts, I’m so sorry. Anyway, regardless, it kind of stung seeing that if I came off as an asshole or was just an asshole, I’m sorry. ?”
Manson noted that he responded "Words." to Bieber, elaborating “That’s what I say to girls when they talk.” Manson claimed he texted back “[The interview] was exaggerated. You were just you being you. No beef here.” When Stern asked for clarification, Manson said “I just said ‘you were just being you,’ which could mean you’re just being an asshole, or whatever.”
Again, Bieber would allegedly apologize:
“Honestly, I totally thought we hit it off. Again, my bad, if I was an asshole — that wasn’t my intention. Just want you to know that.”
At that point Manson tried to diffuse the situation by walking back some of his words:
“We are cool. People just made that shirt stuff into a fake feud. Let’s turn it upside-down and fuck the press and do something together. It will be the best. And don’t apologize, you weren’t an asshole. They asked if you were and I sort of agreed. I wasn’t out to get you.”
Manson wrapped up the convo by promising not to talk shit about Biebs on Stern to which Bieber responded “Well thanks, LOL.”
So it looks like these two are friends again? Or maybe they were never not friends, and Marilyn Manson is just a smart businessman and knew how to get a bunch of headlines a month before he releases a new album.
Manson has a new album, Heaven Upside Down, due October 6th. Listen to the first single here.
