Drake Bell has been pretty vocal about his dislike for Justin Bieber, but at the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday, the former Nickelodeon star told Celebuzz that he has “nothing against” the pop star. This is despite Bell having publicly attacked Bieber over the past two years, most recently in an Instagram video he shot with Aaron Carter.
Depicted by the press as a “feud,” a closer look reveals that the dispute was a one-sided fight that Bell started in 2012 and to which Bieber only responded once.
It all started when the 27-year-old “Drake & Josh” alum’s Twitter account was allegedly hacked and offensive messages about Katy Perry were sent from there. Bell later tweeted an apology:
This was followed by a baseless attack on Biebs’ guitar skills – which of course made the Beliebers angry.
I haven’t heard much of Justin Bieber, but his songs must be full of hate and anger because that’s exactly what his fans are filled with.
— Drake Bell (@DrakeBell) July 23, 2012
I used to worry about being a good role model and not using foul language in my media, but when Bieber fans act like this, it’s obvious… — Drake Bell (@DrakeBell) July 24, 2012
Soon after, Bieber himself went to Twitter for his only reply to Bell:
“Drake and Josh” was my favorite show as a kid. Really.
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) July 24, 2012
(If Justin Bieber comes across as the more polite participant in your “feud,” you may want to rethink a few things.)
Bell was not disarmed for long. In May 2013, he reignited the anger of Beliebers by comparing their idol to Vanilla Ice:
He also compared the musician to Marky Mark, made fun of his height and accused Bieber of wearing makeup:
Justin Bieber is 5’6″ now I understand why you love him!! He’s the same height as you 12 year olds! Now I totally get it, sorry guys — Drake Bell (@DrakeBell) 7 April 2013
When Bieber’s fans responded in kind, Bell called them “terrible people,” tweeting, “I’ve never met a non-belligerent Belieber.”
He has tried to portray his problem with Bieber as a problem primarily with the Beliebers. In an April 1 interview with BuzzFeed, Bell accused Bieber of not taking responsibility for his “out-of-control” fans.
“Justin Bieber just tweets ‘Yeah Beliebers, make an effort’ when they attack someone,” Bell said, adding, “Artists like Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber don’t come out and say ‘I love having you as fans but you shouldn’t act like this.’ They just eat it all up and I find it disgusting.”
At the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday, Bell told Celebuzz that he had no complaints about Bieber’s work himself, although he said he was not a “fan” of the “Boyfriend” singer’s music.
“(There’s) no jealousy or anything. He’s a pop singer, I’m a rock’n’roll musician,” said Bell, who filed for bankruptcy in February. He added: “You have nothing to do with the art.”
But in January, Bell took aim at Bieber’s music in the wake of the graffiti controversy surrounding the Juno winner:
Also in January, Bell joined a number of people who petitioned the White House to expel Bieber from the United States:
Maybe Bieber should leave the USA after all – then at least he would get away from Bell.
