Justin Bieber is an expert at throwing necessary shade, and we’ve got the footage to prove it.
A 2009 interview with the singer that recently resurfaced online shows Bieber, then only 15 and at the height of his meteoric rise to teen pop superstardom, politely defending his fame to W5 documentary host Sandie Rinaldo.
Posted by TikTok user @bieber.fever1, the video is a clip from the 14-year-old Leave It to Bieber documentary that originally aired on Canada’s CTV.
In the clip, Rinaldo pushes the idea that Bieber’s success is the product of good marketing and YouTube hype.
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Bieber pushes back politely, telling the host that he believes his career took off “organically” due to his talent and that it “wasn’t something that the record label was pushing.”
The “Baby” singer adds that him coming from Stratford, Ontario, “gave others hope” since “nothing really comes from there,” but Rinaldo refutes him by listing national CTV news anchor Lloyd Robertson as an example of another Stratford success story.
Smiling, Bieber says “there hasn’t been somebody to come out and be known worldwide. Do you agree on that point?”
“It’s hard to say,” Rinaldo responds.
“Do you think Lloyd Robertson is known in a little town in Germany?” Bieber, still smiling, presses.
“Probably not … So you’re saying you’ve got international appeal. That’s the point you’re making?” Rinaldo asks.
“Yes ma’am,” Bieber replies.
Watch the viral clip below:
After the resurfaced interview went viral on TikTok, fans praised Bieber for not folding to the interviewer’s seemingly patronizing remarks.
“He politely ate her up,” one TikTok user quipped.
“Left no crumbs,” another wrote.
“He’s always been so unintentionally savage and funny,” someone else shared.
“Bro always had that dawg in him,” another joked.
“Why was she hating on bro?” someone else wondered.
As of publishing, the TikTok has been viewed over 858,000 times.