While speaking with host Yann Barthès, Hailey discussed everything she loves about France. “I love the fashion in Paris; I feel like there’s such a good energy to this city,” she said. “France is a beautiful country.”
She then added, “My husband is French, so I love that as well!”
For context, while Justin Bieber has French-Canadian and Acadian roots on his mother’s side of the family, with his grandmother being raised in the largely Francophone community of Hearst, Ontario, he has long described himself as Canadian. (He was born and raised in Stratford, Ontario, and speaks a small amount of French.)
It’s also worth noting that French and French-Canadian are widely regarded as distinct in terms of language, dialect, and even culture.
A visibly stunned Yann then asked Hailey to confirm that her husband was French, to which she insisted, “He is French, yes.”
In response, Yann questioned if Justin was Canadian, prompting Hailey to reply, “He is from Canada, but he’s also French.” Yann said he wasn’t aware, to which Hailey replied, “You learned something new!”
Yann then asked Hailey where exactly Justin was from. She answered, “I’m not totally sure.”
Reacting to the viral moment, which has racked up almost 2 million views on TikTok alone, several internet users admitted that they felt “secondhand embarrassment” over Hailey’s remarks.
“Saying this while in FRANCE is so embarrassing,” one person wrote. “As a French person, this is giving me so much secondhand embarrassment,” someone echoed.
“French heritage is not the same as being French... in my opinion,” one person said. “As a Canadian...he's what now? He may have some French ancestry but, culturally? No,” another user agreed.
“The way the interviewer has to be like isn’t he Canadian?…Like girl you know what you’re doing calling your husband French. Like girl pls we know JB he ain’t French,” someone wrote.
“It’s like the most American thing an American could say while abroad,” one person suggested, while others described Hailey’s comments as reflective of a “very American mindset.”
“It’s the American thing of saying ‘I’m Irish’ because your 5th great grandmother is Irish,” someone said, while another person echoed, “this is so american of her.”
Yikes. Let us know what you think in the comments.
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