Who Is That.

The satirical article “Justin Bieber Forgets his Wife's Name” uses exaggeration, irony, and word choice to highlight how idolized celebrities, who are seen as role models, do not experience deep, meaningful love typically seen online.

The writer begins the story creating a sense of urgency, like a life or death situation, but is quickly dulled down with Bieber’s lack of intense fear. To treat the situation in a minimalistic manner, he turns to the reporters as his peers when he realizes the slight significance of forgetting his wife's name. Bieber avoids the accountability and superficiality of his relationship, as he repeats “babe” and hopes the name comes to mind eventually.

However, this plan backfires when he realizes she is starting to “catch on”, adding comedic tension because the situation is less humorous, but his obliviousness is starting to backfire and could lead to consequences. The surprises did not end there; even after six years' worth of devotion to this woman, he still struggles to get her confused with other celebrities, emphasizing the negative effect fame can have on a relationship. 

To make matters worse, he confirms the rumors about himself. He sarcastically brings the reader back to the place that he got married to the mystery woman, who is also a mystery to him, and exaggerates how the “vows go out the window,” which is exaggerated but also accurate as the vows were most likely meaningless if he can't remember who he felt “so intensely” for, once upon a time. 

Bieber finally realizes the severity of the situation and exerts all his mental effort by brainstorming possible names that could belong to this “27 year old [coincidentally] sitting across from him”. Bieber mistakes his mom’s name for his wife, adding the the humor irony of the situation, but emphasizes the superficiality of the relationship. Bieber, like most people, undoubtedly has a strong connection to his mom, rationalizing why he remembers her name. Although the connection is sweet, it proves Bieber lacks connection with his wife. To take the situation off his shoulders, he sacrifices his manager to ask for Bieber’s wife’s name, making him seem forgetful, showing how easy it is for celebrities to hide.