Today Show host grills Justin Bieber’s mom for backing “anti-abortion” film
Guthrie: It’s a movie with a decidedly pro-life/anti-abortion purpose. But [do] you feel like people, as I understand it, are getting the wrong message about what you are trying to say by your participation?
Mallette: Yeah, I don’t feel that it is a pro-life message. I mean, people are going to get from it what they want to. It’s s a true story, it’s a historical piece. And the reason I wanted to get involved with this film was because, you know, I lived in a pregnancy home my whole pregnancy with Justin, and so this is going to be used as a tool to raise money for pregnancy centers. So regardless of your stance, pro-life, you know, or whatever it is, I just think that anybody would want to help girls in need if they need a place to stay.
Guthrie: Do you feel misled at all by the producers of the film? I mean, if the film has this message and its goal is to – is an anti-abortion message, I mean, are you okay with that? I guess I’m confused about what your position is.
~ Pattie Mallette, mother of singer Justin Bieber, defending her involvement in the film Crescendo during an interview with Savannah Guthrie of NBC’s Today Show, via Newsbusters, February 7. Video of the interview available at link link.
UPDATE 2/9, 8:20a: Here’s more in the San Francisco Chronicle on Mallette’s participation in the movie Crescendo.
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
This was well said. She focused on her message and didn’t let the interviewer bully her. Justin’s Mom is obviously a quiet but strong woman.
Too bad she’s not willing to take a stand for life and say so. Being pro-life, anti-abortion isn’t a “political stance” at all. It’s a moral and human rights issue, period.
Pattie Mallette is a friend to babies and their moms: “I’m here just to help the girls find a place to stay when they’re pregnant and, you know, it really helped me. It saved my life.”
We are each called to different roles.
Hey, the Today show had guests today lauding the healthy use of pornography in relationships. Great stuff.
Last year I predicted that we would see such a shift in attitude, once the pro-life movement had reached ‘critical mass’, that people would be heard to say,
“I’m not a pro-lifer, but…”
Because a lot of people do value human life, but they aren’t following any pro-life websites, tweets, or showing up at any events. These are the people who will help us nail the abortion coffin shut once and for all. Not everyone wants to be a political leader, but most of us can see the value in human life. And she really understands that compassion for girls is to help them. Abortion doesn’t help anyone.
Do you remember how long and effective the abortion industry’s message was, with their coat hangers and their chants that “pro-lifers want women to die”? As recently as a few years ago, Nancy Pelosi was telling in Congress that we’ll “let women die on the floor.”
This lie must be answered, and we must keep repeating the truth:
We help women!
We help women!
We help women!
We save lives!
We save lives!
We save lives!
And we need to enlist that majority army who are willing to say, “I’m not protesting abortion. I just want to help women.”
How DARE Patti be associated with a movie that tells the life-affirming story of an actual historical figure who added something to the world. I mean, the audacity. Pfffft.
There is a lot I wish Pattie would have said to the obviously pro-abortion line of questioning. So I do appreciate Barb’s reminder.
There is nothing to be ashamed of in saying you are PRO LIFE! If more people would be willing to do so, maybe abortion, in this country would be abolished! I am tired of all the “politically correct” people. When we stand before God on judgement day we better be ready to say we did ALL we could do and SAY to speak for the pre born. I am not knocking Pattie but I wish she would have a back bone against the “establishment” mentality in this God forsaken country we live in. You can help and love women and not be ashamed to say so!
“How DARE Patti be associated with a movie that tells the life-affirming story of an actual historical figure who added something to the world. “
Yep. And as long as life-affirming stories are seen as anti-abortion stories, pro-choicers can’t claim to be pro-life. The flack that Patti is getting for her participation with this film just highlights the utter hypocrisy of abortion proponents.
There is nothing to be ashamed of in saying you are PRO LIFE! If more people would be willing to do so, maybe abortion, in this country would be abolished!
Abortion isn’t going to be abolished by more people saying they’re pro-life. Abortion will be abolished when more people are pro-life. Clearly Patti is pro-life, even if she doesn’t want to get into the political labeling game. God bless her.
And as long as life-affirming stories are seen as anti-abortion stories, pro-choicers can’t claim to be pro-life.
Very true.
I’m seeing more and more that conservatives tend to care about actual people, while liberals tend to care about abstract ideals.
The Guthrie-Mallette exchange is a good illustration of this. The real girls who might be given hope by the film are less important to Guthrie than the principle of “choice.”
This mentality seems to be everywhere. Rising premiums and increasing layoffs are less important to liberals than the principle of public health care. Children trapped in terrible schools are less important to liberals than the principle of public education. And the list goes on: gun control, energy policy, capitalism in general…
The steel backbone will come. At first, it is hard to be hated by so many. Pattie is making huge strides and she has my full support and prayers.
Del says it best:
We help women!
We save lives!
Pattie didn’t let the interviewer drag her into a silly fight. She dusted her feet off, and walked away. The interviewer was about to smash Pattie over the head with the charge that she is anti-woman. If the interviewer was allowed to make the argument Pattie’s point about the excellent work of PCCs would have been lost. I don’t know Pattie’s motives for avoiding this fight, and I don’t really care. They were right. She stayed on point. Kudos to her. She is prolife and pro-woman. She is anti-idiot interviewers who try to destroy the good.
Obviously she want’s to protect Justin’s career, and it’s so important to him. But she’s willing to give to other women what pregnancy centers gave to her; life. There are those who don’t want to jeopordise their kids position on a little league team, or their kids favor in a particular social group or and in her case Justin Beiber.. but the time to act is drawing near.
As the Last Poet’s said, “The revolution will not be televised.”
Or as it is said in Ecclesiastes 12:6
Remember him–before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, or the wheel broken at the well
Say your against it torturing a baby to death. 55 million have died in that fashion. Most of their mother’s need a voice like Patti’s because they were talked out of their own Justin Biebers.
It’s gruesomely sad. I am anti-that!
You must be reading a different interview, Tyler. I think she came off pretty wishy-washy.
” and like Justin I’m not trying to get involved in that stuff”.
I think Justin himself took a stronger stand than that. He came right out and said he thinks abortion is WRONG because it’s “killing a baby”.
Maybe she’s just not used to being “cornered” by the media on any given subject
but, if you’re AGAINST something…SAY so.
Being wishy-washy doesn’t save lives.
My initial reaction was wishing she had said a lot more and felt comfortable being called pro-life.
But then, deferring the label along with what some would call the political aspect may be useful in getting some people to think more critically about it. I mean, it has always baffled me that pro-choice people are interested in solving pregnant women’s problems in one (horrifying, ineffective) way.
If women so “choose” to let their baby live, why wouldn’t they want to support the work of pregnancy homes and centers? I do know some of the ugly answers to that, but not framing everything in us/them terms may be strategic at times.
Really makes a delightful mess of the “your choice – your problem” mentality!
Obviously she want’s to protect Justin’s career, and it’s so important to him.
I agree with Pamela in that she was wishy-washy, but Justin came out as prolife awhile ago, and he’s more popular than ever. I think she was intimidated. I wish she would have been more forceful but sometimes its hard when everyone around you is pro-abortion. I told you about difficult it is to speak out at school. I can’t imagine how it would be like grilled by an ex-treme bort in front of millions in the Abortion Capital of the Galaxy.
But we know where her heart it is, and that’s what is most important.
“Obviously she want’s to protect Justin’s career, and it’s so important to him.”
Lol I had to laugh at this. His career doesn’t need protecting. He’s got a net worth of over 100 million and a literal army of tween girl Beliebers who would agree with anything he says, no matter what it is. I am much more concerned that one of his fans will try to kill him when he gets a serious girlfriend than I am about his political and moral views messing up his career. His mom must know this too, she must know that her son (and to a lesser extent her) have a lot of fame they can cash in on to advance any views that are important to them. In my opinion she did sound wishy-washy, like Pamela said. I am glad that she’s bringing attention to CPCs for sure though.
I think she realised that if she went all anti-choice about it it would alienate too many people and harm the message of the film.
She feels how she feels.
I think lots of young girls and women would cheer to hear something like,
“you know, it was scary and tough being pregnant so young, and under those circumstances. I know that, at least by law, I could have aborted Justin. But I’m so glad I was supported by people who believed that I could do it, and that he should live. I can’t imagine life without my son. And the world would never have known Justin Bieber if I had chosen abortion.”
Pattie was not wishy-washy. She was smart. Why did the interviewer ask the question she did? The only reason she asked that question was to sabotage Pattie’s message. This was a gross abuse of an interviewer’s role. The interviewer tried to raise an irrelevant topic. PCCs have nothing to do with abortion – they have everything to do with LIFE. Pattie’s answer didn’t let the interviewer mischaracterize or slander PCCs which the interviewer wanted to do.
Pattie was twenty steps ahead of this lame interviewer. I think everyone here should be more outraged with the interviewer’s behaviour than Pattie’s answer. Pattie was obviously up-to-date: she called the “pro-choice” side the “whatever it is” position. Personally, I thought she was brilliant and that she handled the interview perfectly. I swear I thought she was channelling one of our commentators.
Let’s see…
The producers of the film are adamantly pro-life.
The director of the film is also pro-life.
One of the stated goals of the film is to help CPCs, which are a manifestation of the pro-life movement.
So if it looks pro-life, smells pro-life, talks pro-life, then maybe it’s PRO-LIFE! Just say so.
I was a teenage mother at 15 years old. My daughter is now 14 and I am 30. My mother’s doctor tried to convince me to abort my baby even though I wanted her. I wound up moving in with my boyfriends family at 15 years old and pregnant which was a huge mistake because of their drinking problems. I wish I had the option of a home for pregnant teens when I was 15. My life might have turned out differently if I had been given the option. We need more options out there like Patti was given during her teen pregnancy.
If I had the money I would open one of these centers myself. My life has been extremely hard, but I wouldnt go back on my decision to give birth to my daughter at 15. I missed out on a lot of school and lost most of my high school friends, but in the end I went to college and got a degree and having a healthy baby girl to share my life with means more to me than everything else I lost out on combined.