‘The X Factor’ USA: Justin Bieber lashes out with ‘ratings’ comment

Was Justin Bieber really just a tool in a much larger ratings ploy for “The X Factor” this week? If you are to listen to what the 18-year old singer is saying now about the subject, it certainly does feel that way.

While he has still sent out a bevy of messages on Twitter as a means to better promote the show’s round of judges’ houses (which, as TMZ noted earlier today, are not actually their real houses in some cases), Bieber did also post the following statement after getting so many fans excited about him being on the show Wednesday night, only for to really be limited to just a minute or two introducing himself to Team L.A. Reid:

“Heard we got used for ratings according to twitter and we arent even on until tomorrow? @xfactorusa could of just told us.”

Does Bieber have a point here? Definitely, but at the same time this is just the sort of thing that happens when you have a big-name guest on your show; it’s not the first time a guest star / mentor has been introduced only to be later pushed back, and it certainly will not be the last time. Plus, you could also really make the argument here that Bieber’s appearance did not help the show’s ratings at all; with a 3.4 in the 18-49 demographic and close to ten million viewers, it was at the same sort of level that the show was for its two-hour episode last week. Nothing really changed; but then again, Bieber’s presence may have kept the ratings from dropping.

What do you think about Justin’s comment, and do you think it’s fair for the show to pull the ol’ bait-and-switch like they did?