justin bieberBieber backlash was bound to happen. No matter how perfectly poised the teenage phenomenon tried to be, the young man underneath that mop-top hair was inevitably going to stick his foot in his mouth. And now, after a controversial Rolling Stone interview, Justin Bieber has found himself at the center of public criticism for his polarizing opinions on some touchy topics.

It's certainly no secret that the 16-year-old superstar has an extensive team surrounding him to keep his image in check. But when the Biebs drove contributing editor Vanessa Grigoriadis around Atlanta in his Range Rover, the impulsive teen didn't have his handlers reminding him when to stop talking. So when he was asked his opinions on premarital sex, abortion and abortion in the case of rape, he wasn't as PC as we might expect a pop star to be. He even inadvertently threw himself onto the hot seat by comparing the healthcare system in the United States to the one in his native Canada.

"I really don't believe in abortion," the teen idol said. "It's like killing a baby?" When asked if he was still adamantly pro-life in cases of rape, his stance didn't really change. "Um. Well, I think that's really sad, but everything happens for a reason," he said. "I don't know how that would be a reason. I guess I haven't been in that position, so I wouldn't be able to judge that."

This seemingly innocent opinion led to many headlines and jeers at Bieber's expense, ridiculing him for implying something as traumatic as rape "happens for a reason." But Grigoriadis, the interviewer, has a different opinion of what Bieber was trying to convey. "I think he meant that God has a plan," she told PopEater. "Even for the most die-hard Christian, it's hard to justify rape as part of God's plan, and harder to justify rape that leads to pregnancy and abortion. I think he was wrestling with that in his answer, which I found to be solid and logical. I think it is being widely misunderstood. He did not say that rape was part of God's plan."