In the past few months, Justin Bieber has fashioned himself into an anti-bullying poster boy. Earlier this week while on tour in Australia he tried to bolster his anti-bullying credentials by meeting up with that kid who beat up his bully on YouTube.

It's a tricky proposition to hold up 15-year-old Casey Heynes as an anti-bullying icon, since he basically just picked up his minuscule tormenter and body-slammed him. But in a halting interview on Australian TV, Bieber went for it: "I want to ask you like, what was it like, like, just like, was your adrenaline just rushing when it happened?" Yeah, and what did it sound like when the kid's spine hit concrete?

Bieber tried to connect with Casey through stories of his own bullied childhood: "A lot of the times, you know, I would be really good at something, and so everyone wouldn't like me because I was good at it and they would, you know, make fun of me and call me a show-off and stuff. But you know, I was just, I liked playing sports and I was good at it." Sucks to be so talented.

Bullying is the perfect issue for the young pop star. (As opposed to, say, abortion.) Perfectly non-controversial, pleasing to parents with strong resonance among Bieber's drama-obsessed fan base. Plus, Bieber's got plenty of bullying experience: He just got egged while on stage in Australia. And remember the time he tweeted his enemy's phone number to millions of his followers? Kid's working both sides of the issue like a pro. [via Daily Caller]