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Madison Beer has opened up about the challenges she faced in the early years of her music career, revealing disturbing experiences of being sexualized as a minor and feeling discarded by the very people who were meant to support her.
The singer, who was discovered by Justin Bieber at just 13 and signed by manager Scooter Braun, recalled how "grown men" commented on her appearance when she was only 14 years old. In an interview published by Cosmopolitan on April 29, Madison said, "There was a conversation around me when I was 14. I remember people being like, 'She's too sexy' and 'We can't see the sex because she's so young, so we'd have to wait.' This was a real conversation, grown men talking about how I was too sexy."
This disturbing perception impacted how her team, including Braun, attempted to market her music. With no clear direction, her career began to falter. Nearly four years after signing with Island Records, the label dropped her. "Literally the same day my manager dropped me, my lawyer dropped me, and my label dropped me. Everything in my life went away within 12 hours," Madison recalled. "I was 16 and my label was like, 'Good luck.' And I'm like, 'You guys just stole years of my childhood that I'll never get back. And now it's just 'good luck' and 'have fun'?'"
She added, "I felt like I was a dollar sign to them and when I didn't bring in enough money, they didn't care about me anymore." Madison reflected that her label "shouldn't have signed a 12-year-old without thinking of the consequences of what that was going to do."
Despite the setback, Madison continued making music independently until signing with Epic Records in 2019. Now 26, she is focused on self-growth and well-being. "I prioritize my life and my mental health more than my career," she said.
