Last month’s Republican National Convention was headline heavy, but celebrity-light. While the Democratic National Convention attracted a crown of stars including Lena Dunham, Katy Perry, and Chloë Grace Moretz (there were even celebrities outside protesting the event) the Republicans made do with Scott Baio. But it turns out the GOP originally had considerably bigger A-list plans; it wanted Justin Bieber.
Ahead of the RNC, the star’s booking agency received a $5 million dollar offer for him to perform for 45 minutes. The deal included assurances that the performance was not political, and he wouldn’t need to have any contact with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump or endorse any GOP policies.
The money, that would have been provided by donors, would also have covered all production expenses. If he had accepted, it would have been the most Justin Bieber had ever received for a single performance. While he reportedly briefly considered the offer, he was eventually talked out of it by his long time manager Scooter Braun and NBA star Lebron James. The basketballer was also invited along, but declined.
Scooter, who has previously hosted fundraisers for Trump’s opponent Hillary Clinton, reportedly said he would consider quitting if Justin took the job. Apparently Bieber’s team did workshop the idea of accepting the offer and performing in front of Black Lives Matter banners, but when organizers told them they would have to be All Lives Matter posters, they finally passed.
Credits
Text Wendy Syfret
Photography Alasdair McLellan
Grooming Florido Basallo at 901 Salon using Tarte Cosmetics
Photography assistance Lex Kembery, Matthew Healy, Simon Mackinlay
Production Nina Qayyum at Art Partner
Retouching Output