Having admiration for certain celebrities is understandable. It’s easy to see traits that one might wish they possessed while watching a celebrity perform at a concert or in a movie — for example, flawless skin, teeth and hair; not to mention gorgeous costars like Ryan Gosling.
Don’t worry. It’s perfectly normal to feel a slight moment of wistfulness before abandoning the insecurities and continuing with life. However, as always, some people feel the need to take a harmful thing and make it creepy.
Toby Sheldon, a 33-year-old songwriter from Los Angeles, has slowly undergone multiple plastic surgeries to make himself look like Canadian pop singer Justin Bieber. Sheldon has spent $100,000 throughout the last five years in an attempt to look as youthful as Bieber. Sheldon has undergone a hair transplant surgery to bring forward his receding hairline, Botox and Aquamid — which is illegal in the US — to alter his face and lips, eyelid surgery to achieve that “sultry” Bieber look and a three-part smile surgery.
During this three-part smile surgery, Sheldon’s lip corners were turned up and his bottom lip was plumped to achieve the ultimate “Bieber pout.” This strange transformation stems from Sheldon’s fear of aging, which actually has a medical name — gerascophobia.
Now, I’ve heard of “Beliebers,” but this is way too excessive. When hearing about this, it makes one wonder what was going through the person’s mind. Whoever said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery didn’t see this creepy guy’s Grinch-like baby face. I understand how this idea could stem from fans wanting to gain the success and worship their hero, but it’s still insane to idolize someone that much.
Interestingly enough, according to the Daily Mail, Sheldon is actually not even a huge fan of Bieber’s music.
“I didn’t necessarily listen to his music or fawn over him as a celebrity, but his face was just so flawless, every change I made was modeled after him,” he said.
Unfortunately for Sheldon and his wallet, I do not believe that he resembles the star at all. Perhaps this is because of the major age difference between the 19-year-old Bieber and the 33-year-old wannabe man-child. Sheldon, however, is reportedly thrilled with his physical changes.
“Between our similar hairstyles, baby-face smile and overall youthful appearance, I finally look like Justin Bieber, and I couldn’t be happier about it,” he said.
Sheldon also recognizes that there is a lot of work to be done before he becomes a Bieber doppelganger.
OK, so I don’t want to anger any Beliebers out there — just kidding; I couldn’t care less — but I don’t personally understand why anyone would choose to look like Justin Bieber. His petite frame, wispy hair, androgynous features and blatant flashing of “swag” are not appealing to me. A 33-year-old should not attempt to look like a pre-pubescent teen. If you are insane enough to attempt to physically emulate a star, at least pick one within the same age range, you crazy kook.
Opinion columnist Kelly Schafler is a print journalism junior and may be reached at [email protected]
