Alert – Inside claims Justin Bieber protegee Madison Beer was treated inappropriately at just 14 by his management

Former Justin Bieber protegee Madison Beer has claimed she was dumped by her management and record label for being ‘too sexy’ aged 14.

The singer, 26, shot to fame at just 13 when her YouTube covers attracted the attention of Justin Bieber, who then posted a link to one of her covers and led to her signing with Island Records and under the wing of his-then manager Scooter Braun.

However, Beer was released by Island Records some years later – with the star claiming her management didn’t know how to market her due to her being ‘too sexy’ while still a minor in a recent interview.

An industry insider has now hit back at her claims in an exclusive statement to Dailymail.com – claiming Bieber and Braun stepped away from managing Beer over fears she was being overtly sexualized at a young age.

They said: ‘There was a team in place that brought her to the label and to Justin Bieber and his then management team.

‘As time went on, it became very clear how her team wanted to promote Madison in an overtly sexual manner which went against everything Justin and his management were against. Due to her age and respect towards women, they felt uncomfortable so parted ways with her.’

DailyMail.com has contacted representatives for Madison Beer, Scooter Braun and Island Records for comment.   

Former Justin Bieber protegee Madison Beer has claimed she was dumped by her management and record label for being ‘too sexy’ aged 14 – pictured March 2025 aged 26

The singer, 26, shot to fame at just 13 when her YouTube covers attracted the attention of Justin Bieber, who then posted a link to one of her covers and led to her signing with Island Records and under the wing of his-then manager Scooter Braun – pictured with Bieber in 2013

Beer had claimed to Cosmopolitan:  I hadn’t been successful enough. There was a conversation around me when I was 14, I remember people being like, ‘She’s too sexy’ and ‘We can’t sell the sex because she’s so young, so we’d have to wait.’ This was a real conversation, grown men talking about how I was too sexy. I was 14.’

‘Literally the same day my manager dropped me, my lawyer dropped me, and my label dropped me. Everything in my life went away within 12 hours. I was 16 and my label was like, “Good luck.” 

‘And I’m like, “You guys just stole years of my childhood that I’ll never get back. And now it’s just ‘good luck’ and ‘have fun”’? I can’t go to college because I’ve been homeschooled. I have a high school degree and nothing else because of my career. My whole family uprooted and moved to Los Angeles with no connections. I have no friends. Are you guys kidding me?’

Beer said she struggled to adapt after losing her entire team, saying: ‘Honestly, the hardest part was having these people that I thought really loved me never speak to me again. I went from being kissed on the forehead like, ‘You’re family to us—come to our house for Thanksgiving,’ and ‘We all love you, you’re going to be the female Justin Bieber, give it a year’ to being dropped on my head. 

‘I felt like I was a dollar sign to them and when I didn’t bring in enough money, they didn’t care about me anymore. Maybe they shouldn’t have signed a 12-year-old without thinking of the consequences of what that was going to do.’ 

However, Beer was released by Island Records some years later – with the star claiming her management didn’t know how to market her due to her being ‘sexy’ while still a minor – Braun pictured with protegee Bieber in 2013

An industry insider has now hit back at her claims in an exclusive statement to Dailymail.com – claiming Bieber and Braun stepped away from managing Beer over fears she was being overtly sexualized at a young age – pictured aged 14 in 2013

Earlier this month Beer opened up about the trauma she went through after being dropped by her record label. 

The singer confessed it was the ‘worst time of her life’ and she was left ‘suicidal’ after her mental health took a huge hit. 

Opening up about that time in her life in an interview with ELLE magazine she said: ‘When I first started diving into all of this mental health stuff, I was just in the worst place you could be.

‘I was probably 19, and I had pushed everything down and ignored and ignored and moved forward, and then one day, it felt like it all just came up. I was suicidal. 

‘I couldn’t do it anymore. I’m not in that dark place anymore. At the time, I was bitter. I was like, “Look at what you all have done to me. How dare you take someone who just wanted to f**king sing and perform and be a person, and you ruined me?”

‘I was honestly spiteful and angry at the world for a while.’

Speaking about how Chappell Roan’s speech at this year’s Grammy’s resonated with her she explained: ‘Watching her speech, as an artist who was dropped when I was 16 years old and had no f**king clue what to do with myself…I had uprooted my entire life from Long Island to L.A., I had no friends, I was getting homeschooled. 

‘When I was dropped, I felt like these people that had sat me down and were like, “We’re family, and we love you, and we are going to take care of you forever,” suddenly couldn’t give less of a s**t about me. 

‘At the time, I didn’t have the hindsight to know how f**ked up that really was, so hearing [Roan] say that was validating.’ 

Madison, who was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder in August 2019, also discussed the toll of fame as she confessed: ‘I don’t feel like anyone was cut out to do this.

‘[Fame] has unfortunately impacted my mental health and my self-view, because I’ve been on camera since I was so young. That gives you an opportunity to notice every flaw and overanalyse yourself.’

Yet her experience has changed how she views others as she explained: ‘When you go through traumatic things that cause PTSD or BPD—or I’ve been diagnosed with pretty gnarly OCD—when you go through these really intense, difficult things, especially early in your life, you look at people and the world very differently. 

Madison, who was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder in August 2019, also discussed the toll of fame as she confessed: ‘I don’t feel like anyone was cut out to do this’

‘I look at every single person like they could be me; I have so much love and empathy and care for everybody. Maybe it’s not always a good thing, but I love that part of me.’ 

After being discovered at such a young age, Madison also spoke about growing up in the spotlight as she admitted it felt like she was being ‘tried as an adult’, despite being 14. 

She explained: ‘I was trying to navigate how to be a person, and I’d have the whole internet to report to.’

Revealing whether she thinks young stars could still break into the industry without the traditional backing of a record label, she added: ‘I don’t think my story would happen, in the sense of how I was mistreated. 

‘But in 2012, things were different. I didn’t feel protected, and I didn’t feel like people approached judging me like they were judging a 14-year-old.’

‘I’m really proud of where I am, if my younger self met me right now, she’d be like, ‘You’re the coolest girl on earth. I get to be you one day? That’s so sick.’