Senin, 13 Juni 2016

Why Is Zayn Malik's 'Anxiety' Rightly Supported Yet Justin Bieber's 'Depression' Is Dismissed?

Zayn Malik and Justin Bieber have both publicly revealed they are living with mental health issues. Respectively: Malik's severe anxiety, and Bieber's mental, emotional exhaustion, anxiety, and depression.

Both artists opened up about their conditions as reasons for pulling out of contractual obligations they had taken on. Yet, the reactions each received from their own fans and in the media after sharing personal information has been so vastly different, it's impossible to deny the double standards in play.

On Saturday (June 12), Zayn tweeted a last minute announcement that he canceling his scheduled performance at Capital's Summertime Ball at Wembley Arena because of the "worst anxiety of my career."

In a lengthy message, the former One Direction band member explained that, "my anxiety that has haunted me throughout the last few months around live performances has gotten the better of me," and "with the magnitude of the event, I have suffered the worst anxiety of my career."

After apologizing, Zayn wrote, "I know those who suffer anxiety will understand and I hope those who don't can empathise with my situation."

While footage of the Summertime Ball showed many in the crowd booed when organizers said the "Pillow Talk" singer wasn't coming, Malik's model girlfriend Gigi Hadid, his fans, and other stars flocked to Twitter to express support, concern, and praise for the Brit's candid admission. As did every media outlet, mostly describing Zayn as "brave."

Which is great. The widespread acknowledgement of the validity of Malik's mental health issues is what should happen in most circumstances when someone honestly talks about their well-being. However, we can only really call it progress if that acceptance applies to everyone.

To their fans, Justin Bieber and Zayn Malik are chalk and cheese. But, music industry come ups aside, they're both solo, male heartthrobs who put out great music, have passionate fanbases, and make headlines simply for taking their shirts off. Other than race, the only major difference between them is Bieber's overly-documented, turbulent history. As a result, he is criticized much more than other artists, and people generally.

There is a pattern of the Biebs being slammed for the same things that others are praised for. The most obvious example of this was the almost universally damning media and fans' response to the 22-year-old canceling pre-scheduled meet-and-greets with fans in March, just a couple of weeks after his Purpose World Tour kicked off.

In an Instagram statement, Justin revealed mental health issues were behind his decision. He confessed these sessions left him "feeling so drained and filled with so much of other people's spiritual energy that I end up so drained and unhappy." He added, "I want to make people smile and happy but not at my expense. I always leave feeling mentally and emotionally exhausted to the point of depression."

Within hours of the post, TMZ reported that a security risk during a meet-and-greet at one of Bieber's shows in Los Angeles caused by a potentially dangerous female fan, was part of the singer's decision to cancel the M&G's. That's a solid combination of reasons: Depression and a security incident.

Despite this, all hell broke loose as numerous Bieber fans (even those who hadn't booked M&G's) gnashed online about losing the chance to meet their idol. Typical rants went along the lines of "You signed up for this" and "How hard can it be?" However, some fans were understanding and applauded the singer for sharing his mental health struggles and attempting to minimize them.

Meanwhile, the media backlash was intense. In fact, it effectively ended the four month honeymoon period that resulted from the release of the Biebs' acclaimed Purpose album. Countless articles distorted Bieber's explanation and ran headlines such as "Justin Bieber won't meet paying fans as they make him depressed," which, as i-D noted ignored "the reality that the star genuinely could find the experiences intense and overwhelming. Remember, this is a fanbase that has previously threatened to maim themselves if Justin doesn't respond to them on Twitter."

The magazine wrote that, "Rather than respecting Justin's mental health, the deluge of articles pointed to the price of his concert tickets, and called him spoiled and obnoxious."

The whole thing got more complicated when fans who wanted refunds were frustrated by a delayed refunding process. The upshot, saw Bieber's anxiety and depression dismissed as excuses amid the outcry. Incidentally, all refunds have now been processed and returned.

However, the singer's mental health history is long-standing. During Bieber's mother, Pattie Mallette's, interview in the 2013 concert-documentary Believe, Mallette described her son as "anxious". In early 2014, after the pop star's first arrest in Miami, toxicology revealed the presence of marijuana and Xanax. The latter it typically prescribed for anxiety. When asked, Bieber told police he took Xanax when he felt "closed in," the Associated Press reported.

Fast forward to 2015, the Biebs initially talked about dealing with depression during an On Air With Ryan Seacrest appearance to discuss his then forthcoming new music. Months later, he shared more about his depression in an detailed interview with the NME, saying, "I just want people to know I'm human. I'm struggling just to get through the days. I think a lot of people are."

"You get lonely, you know, when you're on the road," Justin told the music magazine."People see the glam and the amazing stuff, but they don't know the other side. This life can rip you apart," before admitting that he deals with depression "all the time" and feels "isolated" by fame. In his cover story interview with Billboard, he said he came "close to letting fame destroy me."

Roll to this year, after more than a few dissociative Purpose shows, and the Biebs telling fans (via Instagram) that he would no longer take pics because frequently aggressive fans make him "feel like a zoo animal," Entertainment Tonight recently reported that Bieber's inner circle are concerned he may be heading for a breakdown.

Into the mix of all this, the recent tragic and fatal shooting of The Voice singer, Christina Grimmie, has sent shock waves through the industry. People are now re-evaluating fans and artists interactions and security issues, amid canceled meet-and-greets. Criticisms of meet-and-greets as a whole have also been raised by others in the past.

But, it's Bieber who is the most prominent of this generation's artists to buck the norms of the superstar/fandom system, to set necessary boundaries for his own health and safety, which has created a path for other artists. That path envisions a future in which idols like Zayn, Justin, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, and those still to come, don't have to behave like show-ponies 24/7 in their own careers.

Clearly, then, it is unfair that Bieber receives flak for doing exactly the same thing as Malik, for the same reasons. Both artists' mental health issues are real, and they were both brave for publicly owning their vulnerabilities and making hard choices for their best interests, knowing that their rabid fans would be disappointed. Bottom line? Acknowledging and respecting an individual's health condition shouldn't depend on whether or not we like them.

[Images via Kevin Winter; Getty Images / Larry Marano; Getty Images]

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