LOS ANGELES — Justin Bieber chose an interesting way to start a new chapter in his life. Or at least try.
At the end of a massive celebrity beat-down at the Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber on Saturday night, Bieber apologized to the world from the stage for his prolonged spree of embarrassing tabloid headlines.
"I've turned a lot of people off in the last few years," Bieber said, turning serious. "But I know I can still put out good music and turn everything all around."
"There was really no preparing me for this life. I was thrown into this at 12 years old," Bieber added. "I didn't know what I was getting myself into. There were moments I am proud of. And there are moments I am disappointed with myself for. But the things I have done don't define who I am. I am kind-hearted person who loves people. And through it all, I have lost some of my best qualities. For that, I'm sorry."
Bieber called the celebrity roast, which comes just after his 21st birthday, "a turning point" in his life.
"I am looking forward to being someone you can all be proud of," he said. "Someone close to me once said, 'It's how you rise from a fall that truly defines you as a man.' I'm excited for that challenge. And I want to say thank you for taking this journey with me."
The sentiments came after an outpouring of abuse from roast master Kevin Hart and roasters such as Ludacris, Shaquille O'Neal, Snoop Dogg, Jeffrey Ross and even Martha Stewart.
As Hart said at the beginning of the night: "Tonight we're going to give what his parents and the legal system should have done years ago, we're going to give this boy an ass-whoopin.'"
Bieber was so tentative when he took the stage that Hart laughingly pointed it out to Snoop Dog during a commercial break. "He's looking so nervous. Snoop look at him. He's so pale. He's so f----- pale," Hart could be heard saying onstage.
The cutdowns were uncompromising, covering Bieber's many run-ins with the law, his pop music and his bratty behavior. Even "Baby" collaborator Ludacris stuck the knife in.
"He may have turned 21, but Justin will always be a baby to me. Since babies (urinate) everywhere and never know when to shut up," Ludacris said.
Ludacris added: "Justin Bieber wants to be black so bad, he's actually seen Kevin Hart's movies in theaters."
Stewart gave Bieber advice for prison, a destination she called "inevitable." Jeffrey Ross called Bieber the "King Joffrey of Pop" after the evil Game of Thrones character. Comedian Hannibal Buress called the roast "an extremely transparent attempt to be more likable in the public eye. I hope it doesn't work."
Bieber, apparently unaware that his microphone was still on, said from the stage at the end of the night: apparently unaware that his microphone was still on: "It's crazy man, they go hard."
Backstage, he Bieber sighed, "there were a lot of offensive jokes tonight." Yet, he added, "I don't know why I was so worried, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."
Then a little of Bieber's pop-star brattiness flashed back as he explained his next plans.
"I'm going to Vegas. On my jet, b----," he said with a smile.
