And then something dangerous happened: when the world decides someone is a joke… it stops seeing them as a person.
In 2015, the Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber became a symbol of that era.
It was framed as comedy.
But it also felt like public punishment—broadcast as a spectacle.
The public said they were reacting to his behavior.
But the media cycle was reacting to something else: profit.
Because outrage sells.
And a fallen idol is one of the most profitable storylines of all.