Justin Bieber's manager insists 'retirement' will be short-lived

Dec. 19 (UPI) -- After a year of disastrous public relations missteps, including supposed liaisons with prostitutes, Justin Bieber claimed Wednesday that he would retire when his album, Journals, drops next week. But Bieber's management team, including longtime manager Scooter Braun, has walked back the 19-year-old's remarks and explaining his seemingly wild behavior.

“This is the fun thing about these Vines [videos] people post," Braun said Wednesday of the interview clips hitting social media. "They’re only a certain amount of time, so they cut off before the rest of the statement when he says ‘just kidding.’”

But Braun did say that Bieber needed a break.

“He hasn’t taken time off since he was 12… he knows he wants it, and wants to spend time with this family," Braun said. "His younger brother and sister are starting to grow up and he doesn’t want to miss their childhood. I think for his wellbeing at 19, 20 years old, [it’s good for him] to take time for himself, to figure out who he wants to be.

“I think he’s going through normal teenage stuff and he’s trying to fight this idea of wanting to be normal, but then the responsibility that comes with being who he is. We address all that in the film,” Scooter said of Bieber's documentary, Believe, which opens everywhere Christmas Day.

At the Wednesday night premiere in Los Angeles, Bieber remained coy about his "retirement."

"I don't know if that's a joke," he told MTV News. "I don't know. I don't know."

[Access Hollywood, MTV]