Justin Bieber made headlines last week when his controversial quotes about abortion appeared in the March issue of Rolling Stone, but a source close to the singer says faulty punctuation led to a massive misunderstanding.
When questioned about his thoughts on abortion by Rolling Stone's Vanessa Grigoriadis, a source close to the 16-year-old pop star says he asked, "Like killing a baby?"
But, the source told the Daily News, the magazine exchanged his question mark for a period, making it sound as though the singer was comparing abortion to murder.
"He was asking a question about the matter not stating an opinion," the source said. "He clearly says after that question he isn't one to judge."
As for Bieber's other headline-making comment, that rape "happens for a reason," Rolling Stone blamed an "editing error" for shortening his response in the online version of the article.
"Well, I think that's really sad, but everything happens for a reason," he was quoted as saying in response to Grigoriadis' question about rape victims who end up pregnant.
The magazine later confirmed that Bieber actually followed his response with the sentence, "I don't know how that would be a reason." The phrase was included in the extended print version of the interview, but was cut from the piece made available on the Internet.
The 16-year-old pop star was vilified for his remarks on "The View" Thursday morning, but some members of the media have suggested Rolling Stone should apologize for its treatment of the Bieb.
In a recent blog post, Perez Hilton questioned the responsibility of the journalist who asked the teen pop star such hot-button questions.
"He's still a kid - a kid in the music industry, not politics," Hilton wrote. "Obviously, someone was more interested in getting a shocking story than really getting to know Justin. Shame."
Even "The View" creator Barbara Walters suggested that Grigoriadis was asking questions "that may or may not be appropriate."
"I think it may be a bit of a stretch," she said.
Rolling Stone's publicity department could not be reached for comment.
While super stars often shy away from the public eye after fallouts like this, Bieber shook off the controversy to attend the highly publicized Paris premiere of his new movie, "Never Say Never," on Thursday night.
He then flew 13 hours to attend the NBA All-Star celebrity game Friday night in Los Angeles, where he won the MVP award.
"13 hours on a plane...we land...go straight to the court...yeah we go hard!!" he tweeted.
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