TORONTO — Justin Bieber has sparked a firestorm of criticism over a comment about Anne Frank.
The Canadian pop star visited Anne Frank House on Friday night and wrote in the guestbook: “Truly inspiring to be able to come here. Anne was a great girl. Hopefully she would have been a belieber.”
Reaction on social media was immediate.
“People hate on him because of his fame? No, people hate on him because he does stupid crap like this,” wrote Kayleigh Septer on the official Facebook page of Anne Frank House.
“The last sentence is VERY self serving,” wrote Anastasia Finnigan-De Graeve. “He missed the lessons of Anne totally.”
Added Kevin Garvia Leon: “She’s an important historical figure so show some respect.”
On Twitter, reactions were similar. “You f**kin kidding bro?,” wrote Stefan Alvarado.
Opined James Farmer: “That is insane.”
Sean Hartnett wrote: “My level of hate for Justin Bieber is at an all-time high today. Somebody needs to put this kid in his place.”
Frank is one of the most famous victims of the Holocaust thanks to the publication in 1947 of her diary, which she kept while hiding during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II. Frank died of typhus in 1945 at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
Not everyone took issue with Bieber’s message.
“I applaud Justin Bieber for bringing focus to a new generation of Anne Frank and our world history,” wrote Louise Painchaud on Facebook. “I believe she would have liked many things, music, movies, plays, theatre, etc.”
Bieber and his entourage reportedly spent an hour in the museum in Amsterdam during a break from his European tour.
Other celebrities who have signed the guestbook include Sharon Stone (“With honor for those in whose memory I visit”), Steven Spielberg (“Never forget! In life and even more in death Anne Frank has held the world in the innocent spell of her truth and wisdom”), and Jamie Foxx (“A day I will not soon forget”).
Singer Lenny Kravitz made a reference to one of his hits when he signed the museum’s guestbook. “Let love rule. It’s an honour to be here. Anne lives on.”
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