WHAT’S UP WITH BIEBS?
Superstar bails on Purpose
March 22, 2016: Justin Bieber cancels fan meet-and-greets because they leave him “drained and unhappy.” Bieber made the announcement via Instagram, writing that he enjoys “meeting such incredible people but I end up feeling so drained and filled with so much of other people’s spiritual energy that I end up so drained and unhappy ... Want to make people smile and happy but not at my expense and I always leave feeling mentally and emotionally exhausted to the point of depression.”
April 21, 2016: A Prince dis, attributed to Bieber, goes viral. Shortly after Prince died, California Breed’s Andrew Watt posted a tribute on Instagram and called Prince “the last of the greatest living performers.” One comment in response received plenty of attention: “Well not the last greatest living performer,” it read, and at first blush, it appeared to come from Bieber. The singer received a wave of backlash and loads of negative headlines. But apparently the comment was “fake” and not made by the singer, Bieber’s reps went on to say.
May 2, 2016: Tiger-gate. Bieber posted a photo of himself petting a chained tiger at his father’s Toronto engagement party, and animal rights activists were not pleased. PETA alleged that the tiger came from Bowmanville Zoo, whose owner resigned after being charged with five counts of animal cruelty.
May 7, 2016: Bieber gets a face tattoo. “He came in on Friday night and decided on a small cross near the corner of his eye,” tattoo artist JonBoy told Complex. “(The tattoo) represents his faith and purpose in God.” JonBoy added he knows Bieber because they attend the same church, Hillsong NYC.
June 9, 2016: Video surfaces of Bieber in a Cleveland fist fight. TMZ publishes a video of a man who slaps at Bieber’s head, with the singer throwing fists back. A year later, the man filed a police report, alleging that Bieber punched him several times in a dispute over cameras, which left him with an “acute head injury.”
Oct. 17, 2016: The screaming fans really start to bug him. “Can you guys do me a favour? Can you guys just relax for about two seconds?” Bieber asked the crowd during a concert in Birmingham, England. A few days later, Bieber made a similar plea to a Manchester audience. When they don’t stop screaming, he drops his mike and walks away. Bieber eventually returned, explaining: “I’m not going to talk the rest of the night. We’re just going to do the music. Obviously Manchester just can’t handle it so let’s do the music.”
Nov. 22, 2016: Bieber’s accused of punching a fan in Spain. TMZ once again publishes a video purportedly showing Bieber throwing punches, this time in Barcelona. A group of screaming fans crowded around a car in which Bieber was riding. The video shows a man sticking his arm through the window, then Bieber punching out. A fan was later shown with a bloody mouth.
Feb. 11, 2017: The star is accused of head-butting a guy. The incident took place in the West Hollywood restaurant Serafina Sunset. The Los Angeles Sheriff ’s Department said it responded to a “battery report call” at about 2 a.m. and was told by a witness “that he saw Justin Bieber get into two separate altercations with two bartenders.” A witness claimed that Bieber refused to leave, and “a few minutes later, he saw Mr. Bieber arguing with a patron, when Mr. Bieber suddenly head-butted the patron,” the sheriff’s department said.
May 22, 2017: “My left eye has conjunctivitis,” Bieber wrote, again and again, in a series of photos that showed the allegedly infected eye.
May 2017: Bieber doesn’t know the words to his own song. Bieber is featured on a hugely popular remix of Despacito, the hit song from Puerto Rico’s Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee. And in May, video of Bieber botching his part while at 1 OAK in New York goes viral. “I don’t know the words, so I say Dorito,” he croons along. People were not pleased.
June 10, 2017: Almost gets hit by a bottle for not knowing Despacito. Bieber tells the crowd at Summerburst Festival 2017 in Stockholm that he “can’t do Despacito. I don’t even know it.” Someone in the audience throws a beer bottle at his head, which he ducks.
July 21, 2017: Bieber banned by China for “bad behaviour.” Beijing’s culture bureau explained Bieber was banned from performing in the country because of his antics. “Justin Bieber is a gifted singer, but he is also a controversial young foreign singer,” the bureau said in a statement. “As far as we are concerned, he has engaged in a series of bad behaviours, both in his social life and during a previous performance in China, which caused discontent among the public.”
July 24, 2017: The Purpose tour is cancelled, with 15 shows to go. “Justin loves his fans and hates to disappoint them,” a statement from a tour rep read. “However, after careful consideration he has decided he will not be performing any further dates. Tickets will be refunded at point of purchase.”
July 26, 2017: Bieber hit a paparazzo with his truck as he pulled out of a driveway following a church event in Beverly Hills, local police told CNN. The pop singer stayed on the scene during the investigation, and a 57-yearold man was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injures, Beverly Hills Lt. Scott Dowling told CNN.