Media Scrutiny and Legal Incidents
In March 2011, he was photographed making an obscene gesture at a photographer
outside his 17th birthday party; however he later released a public apology via
Twitter. He
was photographed performing the same gesture to photographers in November 2011
and November 2012. In
July 2012, he was pulled over on the Ventura Freeway in San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles Metro by California
Highway Patrol, where he was reportedly driving at a speed of
over 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) in a 65 mph (105 km/h) zone.
Bieber claimed he had been attempting to lose a team of photographers who were
following him. Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis
Zine called the incident a "very dangerous, chaotic situation",
and called Bieber's driving "careless" and "reckless". Bieber was ticketed for
the incident, and a photographer reportedly received four misdemeanor charges, two of which were later
dropped. On 1 January 2013, a photographer, Chris Guerra, was killed while attempting to cross
the street after he saw Bieber's car and pursued it on foot to take a picture of
him. Bieber was not in the car at the time.
In March 2013, Bieber was involved in an altercation with a photographer in
London which resulted in him being restrained by his own bodyguard. Bieber swore at the
photographer, threatening to "fucking beat the fuck" out of him. The
incident was captured on video and Bieber resorted to Twitter to blame the
incident on a 'rough week',
which had also seen him faint on stage and, the day before, arrive two hours
late for a show at the O2 Arena, leading to complaints from parents of
those in attendance.
Later that month, detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department were
investigating a complaint that Bieber spat on a neighbour during an alleged
altercation.
Bieber caused controversy in April 2013 during a visit to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. After learning
about the life and times of Anne Frank, who died in a concentration camp aged
15, Bieber wrote in the museum's guest book "Truly inspiring to be able to come
here. Anne was a great girl. Hopefully she would have been a belieber.
Following a media backlash, the Anne Frank Museum defended Bieber by saying "His
comments were quite innocent. He was here for more than an hour and [was]
interested in Anne Frank's life, and that for us is the most important
thing. About two weeks later, Swedish police found a "small amount of drugs" on board
his tour bus. Police reportedly acted "after smelling marijuana coming from
inside the bus". However, they said in a statement that they were unable to
connect the drugs to a "single person" and that charges would not be filed.
Bieber denied the reports on his Twitter account.
Bieber also received scrutiny throughout March and April 2013 for walking
shirtless through airport security in Poland and for posting a cartoon of himself in
bed with a young "belieber". On
May 2, 2013, Devin "the Dude" Copeland filed a lawsuit against
Bieber and Usher for alleged copyright infringement. The
lawsuit, which was filed in a Norfolk federal
court, stated that Bieber's 2010 single "Somebody to Love" copied a song of the same name
that was written by Copeland in 2008, with Bieber's song containing "several
lyrical and stylistic similarities" to Copeland's lyrics. Copeland is seeking
$10 million in damages.
outside his 17th birthday party; however he later released a public apology via
Twitter. He
was photographed performing the same gesture to photographers in November 2011
and November 2012. In
July 2012, he was pulled over on the Ventura Freeway in San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles Metro by California
Highway Patrol, where he was reportedly driving at a speed of
over 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) in a 65 mph (105 km/h) zone.
Bieber claimed he had been attempting to lose a team of photographers who were
following him. Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis
Zine called the incident a "very dangerous, chaotic situation",
and called Bieber's driving "careless" and "reckless". Bieber was ticketed for
the incident, and a photographer reportedly received four misdemeanor charges, two of which were later
dropped. On 1 January 2013, a photographer, Chris Guerra, was killed while attempting to cross
the street after he saw Bieber's car and pursued it on foot to take a picture of
him. Bieber was not in the car at the time.
In March 2013, Bieber was involved in an altercation with a photographer in
London which resulted in him being restrained by his own bodyguard. Bieber swore at the
photographer, threatening to "fucking beat the fuck" out of him. The
incident was captured on video and Bieber resorted to Twitter to blame the
incident on a 'rough week',
which had also seen him faint on stage and, the day before, arrive two hours
late for a show at the O2 Arena, leading to complaints from parents of
those in attendance.
Later that month, detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department were
investigating a complaint that Bieber spat on a neighbour during an alleged
altercation.
Bieber caused controversy in April 2013 during a visit to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. After learning
about the life and times of Anne Frank, who died in a concentration camp aged
15, Bieber wrote in the museum's guest book "Truly inspiring to be able to come
here. Anne was a great girl. Hopefully she would have been a belieber.
Following a media backlash, the Anne Frank Museum defended Bieber by saying "His
comments were quite innocent. He was here for more than an hour and [was]
interested in Anne Frank's life, and that for us is the most important
thing. About two weeks later, Swedish police found a "small amount of drugs" on board
his tour bus. Police reportedly acted "after smelling marijuana coming from
inside the bus". However, they said in a statement that they were unable to
connect the drugs to a "single person" and that charges would not be filed.
Bieber denied the reports on his Twitter account.
Bieber also received scrutiny throughout March and April 2013 for walking
shirtless through airport security in Poland and for posting a cartoon of himself in
bed with a young "belieber". On
May 2, 2013, Devin "the Dude" Copeland filed a lawsuit against
Bieber and Usher for alleged copyright infringement. The
lawsuit, which was filed in a Norfolk federal
court, stated that Bieber's 2010 single "Somebody to Love" copied a song of the same name
that was written by Copeland in 2008, with Bieber's song containing "several
lyrical and stylistic similarities" to Copeland's lyrics. Copeland is seeking
$10 million in damages.