Justin Bieber appears in an undated photo from his official website, JustinBieberMusic.com. / A poster from the 2012 documentary Bully. - Provided courtesy of JustinBieberMusic.com / FilmDistrict

Justin Bieber lends song to 'Bully' documentary, talks about being bullied

04/12/2012 by Olivia Allin

Justin Bieber lent his song "Born To Be Somebody" to the documentary "Bully" and admitted that he was bullied when he was younger.

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"I was bullied," Bieber told Showbiz Tonight. "Most people in their lifetime have been bullied at some point. I think that it's about time that people start making a change. I think a lot of times principals just let it go, teachers let it go and other students just let it go, but I think this movie is really powerful and can help change a lot of lives."

It was announced in March that "Bully" would be released unrated on March 30, despite a push from the distributor The Weinstein Company and celebrities like Johnny Depp, Meryl Streep, Ellen DeGeneres and Bieber to lower the rating from R to PG-13.

"Just watched the #BULLY movie. really intense. really powerful. we need to stand up for each other," Bieber Tweeted on March 9.

The Lee Hirsch documentary depicts the troubling trend of bullying in schools across America and garnered the restricted rating due to the depiction of real-life language used by bullies. On April 5, it was announced that the movie would receive a PG-13 rating after being edited to remove a few instances of swear words.

"The small amount of language in the film that's responsible for the R rating is there because it's real," Hirsch said in a statement. "It's what the children who are victims of bullying face on most days. All of our supporters see that, and we're grateful for the support we've received across the board. I know the kids will come, so it's up to the theaters to let them in."

Michigan high school student and bullying victim Katy Butler started a petition on Change.org to get the MPAA to lower the rating to PG-13, so that more teens can see the film. At press time, the petition had been signed by nearly half a million supporters, including 26 Congress members.

"Bully" had a limited theater release on March 30. Watch then new trailer featuring Justin Bieber's "Born To Be Somebody" below.