Justin Bieber played ultra A-list Montecito party, with AI defense execs in the crowd

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Shortly after his successful performance at Coachella, Justin Bieber performed at a private event attended by leaders in the tech, entertainment, and defense industries. Representatives from companies with questionable reputations, including the surveillance technology firm Palantir, were also present.

Justin Bieber performed as a main attraction at WNDR, a private event hosted by entertainment executive Jeffrey Katzenberg at the Rosewood Miramar in Montecito last week. Puck was the first to report details about the event’s schedule.

The event attracted a remarkable group of high-profile guests, including director James Cameron, former Disney CEO Bob Iger, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, FIFA president Gianni Infantino, Oprah Winfrey, Julia Roberts, comedians Chris Rock and Trevor Noah, and artist Jeff Koons. Jeff Koons joined a panel discussion led by Michael Govan, the director of LACMA.

Justin Bieber played a show by the pool at the Rosewood hotel on Wednesday. He recently became the highest-paid headliner ever at Coachella, and also sold more merchandise there than any other artist.

Representatives for Bieber did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Music

The 32-year-old pop star reframed the idea of a headlining Coachella performance.

Okay, so the festival wasn’t all serious stuff – there was fun stuff like a karaoke night with StarGate and even a chat about snacks with this famous chef, Nancy Silverton. But honestly, it was a little weird because alongside all that, they also had presentations and appearances from some really big companies that make weapons and surveillance tech. And these weren’t just any companies – they’re well-known for being big supporters of, or heavily involved with, the Trump administration. It felt…off, you know?

A recent event highlighted Anduril Industries, with CEO Palmer Luckey hosting Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the company’s Southern California facility. Following the visit, Hegseth stated that Anduril is helping to strengthen America’s defense capabilities.

Palantir CEO Alex Karp recently gave a presentation. The company’s AI software, used for defense and surveillance, has come under criticism regarding potential use in targeting civilians during conflicts, such as the war in Iran, through systems like Maven.

In his recent book, “The Technological Republic,” Karp argues against the idea of prioritizing inclusivity without first defining a shared national identity. He suggests that for the past fifty years, America and the West have avoided clearly defining their cultures in the pursuit of inclusivity, but questions what people are being included into if there’s no underlying cultural framework.

Jeff Bezos, Eric Schmidt, and other CEOs have been hosting exclusive conferences that bring together leaders from various fields. One such event is WNDR, organized by Jeffrey Katzenberg, who launched his investment company, WndrCo, in 2017.

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2026-05-09 21:31