Respect to the Biebs: Not Even a $5 Million Paycheck Could Sway an RNC Performance
Props are due to Justin Bieber, who despite being offered the biggest single payday of his career, decided to turn down the offer to perform at the Republican National Convention.
While the Canadian singer obviously can’t vote in the upcoming presidential election in the U.S., he still stuck to his guns (with a little advice from LeBron James) to keep his name far, far away from that of Republican candidate Donald Trump.
As reported, Bieber was offered a hefty $5 million to showcase his music talents during a 45-minute set in Cleveland in association with the RNC. According to TMZ, if he took the deal, he personally wasn’t allowed to say anything disrespectful about Trump or the GOP and it’s no surprise JB didn’t like being told what he could and couldn’t say.
Sources also reported that the ever-wise LeBron James helped steer the singer away from taking the shiny deal, which JB was entertaining originally for obvious financial reasons.
The Biebs’ manager, Scooter Braun, said that he pushed against the move, due to it being “100 percent political” (well, duh), and was happy to turn the offer down on behalf of his superstar artist.
While the singer didn’t give a detailed reason why he turned down the money or the opportunity, one can assume the payout wasn’t worth risking his reputation among his fan base and the music industry at large.
Who knows, maybe Biebs will be the next to join the ranks of YG, Nipsey Hussle, G-Eazy, 2 Chainz and countless other artists creating some music protesting Trump. Either way, much respect to Bieber for admirably proving, at least in this instance, he can’t be bought.