Justin Bieber's facing a global surge of criticism for remarks following a visit to the Anne Frank House museum in Amsterdam.

"Truly inspiring to be able to come here," the teen heartthrob wrote in the guest book following his tour. "Anne was a great girl. Hopefully she would have been a Belieber."

The product placement has struck many as crass.

"I truly hope his fan base dwindles to NOTHING! He's an IDIOT," a commenter posted on this AP story about the controversy.

It's the latest in a semi-regular string of missteps by the teen entertainer. He was ticketed for speeding and blamed the paparazzi. He was seen cavorting shirtless down the streets of London. He had to be restrained by a bodyguard when he got into a shouting match with a photographer.

And now this.

The Anne Frank House was gracious about the Biebs' visit and ill-chosen words following the visit, posting this message on its Facebook page:

"The Anne Frank House was pleased to welcome Justin Bieber to the Anne Frank House last Friday. We think it is very positive that he took the time and effort to visit our museum. He was very interested in the story of Anne Frank and stayed for over an hour. We hope that his visit will inspire his fans to learn more about her life and hopefully read the diary."

Presumably young Bieber can take a lesson from all this. On grace, humility, and taking a less Bieb-centric view of the world. But his comment struck me as more naive than venal, the product of a kid who became internationally famous before he was old enough to drive.

If you read Biebers' Twitter feed he frequently posts effusive messages to his beloved "Beliebers" out there. He often retweets and occasionally follows his Beliebing fans, which may not seem like a big deal to adults. To his 'tween core audience it's huge. Spend a little time on Twitter and it seems half the handles are some permutation of Justin's name.

So in saying he wishes Anne Frank could have been a Belieber, I wonder if what the pop star meant (and should have said) was something along the lines of, "I wish this brilliant girl had been given the chance to grow up in a safer, happier world."

What do you think? Does the Biebs deserve a break?