Debbie Gibson knows from teen pop superstardom. And now she's ready to share some of her hard-earned wisdom with Justin Bieber.
"It's too much too soon," she tells E! News. "People have to remember even though a kid can be wise beyond their years professionally and can handle showbiz, emotionally you're not developed."
"Somebody has got to remember that Justin is 16," she says, questioning why Bieber was acting a little too mature and frolicking on a yacht with Selena Gomez.
She says if he doesn't stay grounded, he will "lose his sanity" later.
The '80s teen queen, who, ironically, is promoting her new Syfy movie, Mega Python vs. Gatoroid, which turns her against her old rival pop star Tiffany (whipped cream on boobs! swamp wrestles!), knows firsthand the pitfalls of early fame.
Gibson, whose own mom was always around for support but had no desire to be a stage mom, was the main reason she never landed herself in rehab, she says.
"It's very hard for a parent and employees to say no to someone who is writing the paychecks, and he is a kid," she says of the Biebs. "Somebody has to teach the kids to respect the chain of command. I went to my prom, I went through all the milestones."
Still, Gibson says she didn't escape childhood stardom totally unscathed.
"You go through things when you experience that kind of success young," she tells us. "If I could get all these kids in a room, I'd tell them you're not superhuman. If you need to take a week off, take a week off. Everybody makes you think the world will end and it won't. If you say no, you save your sanity later."
Source: eonline.com