Vanilla Ice Says Justin Bieber Will Be ‘Forgotten’ in a Few Years

Vanilla Ice, of all people, said he thinks that Justin Bieber will be "forgotten" within a few years -- but the 'Ice Ice Baby' rapper is now backing down from his controversial comments, saying he was just trying to give the teen pop star advice.

Ice told the Huffington Post he understands Bieber because of his own experience dealing with fame. "I did 'Ice Ice Baby' when I was 16. So I can kind of relate a bit," Ice said. "Sold over a hundred million records. And I had a weekend that lasted about three years, and I didn’t know who I was, what’s my purpose in life."

Then, he offered the bold forecast for the Biebs. "So my prediction about Bieber is that he’s going to go through one of those weekends that lasts a few years because he’s had such success as a child act. You know, then something else new will come along and he’ll be forgotten and he can try to put all the pieces back together, so it’s going to be entertaining to watch."

This is where we have to point out that if there's one person who knows all about being forgotten, it's Vanilla Ice. Since the story first broke, Ice has been busy doing damage control. First, he responded on Twitter by claiming that the quotes attributed to him were fabricated.

Later, Vanilla Ice spoke with the website again to clarify his remarks. "What you guys might have picked up on is that I was giving him advice -- when you're a child star, it's hard to figure out your purpose in life. Not just with me, but if you follow other child stars, like Britney Spears, who's now doing great," he clarified. "There's a transitional period after such tremendous success that you have to figure out your life. There's a real life after all this entertainment."

He added, "I wasn't trying to say anything bad about anybody. I never badmouth him at all. It's been twisted into something bad, and once that's out there it takes on a life of its own. I don't have any reason to hate anybody; I believe in good karma and spreading good energy."

Watch Justin Bieber's 2011 Grammy Awards Performance