Posted on 06/02/2012 4:06:05 AM PDT by Kaslin
In this corner, weighing 110 pounds and standing 5-feet 7-inches tall, 18-year-old pop star Justin Bieber. In the other corner, some guy who was aggressively taking his picture in a California shopping mall.
Los Angeles County police are investigating accusations that Justin struck a photographer, which, if true, would violate California Penal Code 242 even if the striking blow was, well, glancing. Detectives want you to call them if you saw the brawl or if Justin attacked you, as well.
So far Bieber is not talking.
Apparently, the photographer called the Malibu-Lost Hills Sheriff's department last Sunday afternoon. The victim says he was "battered" by the singer, who was accompanied by his girlfriend, Selena Gomez. The victim complained of "pain" and was transported to a local hospital where he was treated and released into the custody of a lawyer who immediately contacted the media.
Now, I am certain being attacked by Justin Bieber is no laughing matter. If the guy ever got a haircut and a neck tattoo, he could look menacing. Perhaps Justin knows kung fu.
But the odds are that this is yet another shakedown generated by a loser and his sleazy attorney who will game the system hoping Bieber will throw some money at them in order to make the annoyance go away.
There are now legions of lawyers who will file lawsuits against famous and rich people for just about anything. Lawsuits cost money to defend, and the media are overjoyed to publicize any and all alleged "transgressions." No evidence has to be provided to the press; a lurid accusation is enough. This is now an industry: Fleecing the Rich and Famous. In fact, it could be a reality show. Paging Robin Leach.
But if you really look at what's happening, it's despicable. Legalized extortion and blackmail are now epidemics in America. Famous people are routinely slandered, libeled, followed and menaced in public. And there's little they can do about it. If you are a public figure and/or have money, you are a huge target and will get little sympathy from the court or from the court of public opinion.
Recently, I took three young teenagers to see the play "Jesus Christ Superstar." Upon leaving the theater, a guy who identified himself as an "Occupy protester" was waiting for me with a camera and recorder. He began screaming nonsense. I told the guy to knock it off because he was scaring the kids. He actually yelled louder and even chased my car down the street. The girls were unnerved.
I truly wish Bieber had been with me that night so he could have smacked down that guy. I guess I could have done it, but the line of attorneys responding would have stretched from Broadway to Michigan.
We absolutely need tort reform in this country, and we need to adopt a brand-new slogan, as well: "Free Justin Bieber."
He contracted Bieber Fever.
(...just once, mind you....)
Leni
He’s definitely right in that
The photogs are below the level of scum.But they wouldn’t exist if lots of people weren’t buying idiotic magazines.
Therein lies the rub. Too many people have nothing better in their lives than to hang on every word and photo of some celebrity.
You hit the nail on the head. It’s pitiful what passes for art or entertainment these days. We have a right to a free press, but all many want is the Weekly World News.
Absolutely spot on! This celebrity “culture” is despicable. What have we come to? How can a contemptible no talent teen make millions of dollars? What’s happened to taste, discernment, and recognition of merit. There’s seems to nothing but tramps, sluts, and boorish males in the forefront of every TV show and newspaper. Our whole way of life has been reduced to the lowest common denominator. It’s dreadful to think that vacuums with nipples like the Kardashians can make millions while admirable people strive to get by emptying bedpans at a hospital. Ane the President actually engenders this nonsense. I never thought a President would attend a fund raiser where an “artist” shoots the finger and hurls f-bombs.
btt
FMCDH(BITS)
Beat me to it- stuned BY a Beiber, that's a first!
The article doesn’t mention that the photographer was blocking the door to Justin’s vehicle and refused to move. It would seem to me that the photographer’s actions could be considered aggressive. I was told by a cop in AZ, when a crazy neighbor blocked our gate and wouldn’t let me drive in, that the neighbor actually committed kidnapping because he restrained me against my will. If the law is similar in CA, then Justin was acting in self defense.
(for the record, I am not a Justin Bieber fan. In fact, I barely know who he is. I’ve been home in bed with a back injury this week and have had plenty of time to catch up on pop culture).
Bill O'Reilly mentioned this on his program though and showed the video, because I watch it.
There needs to be a service for pop celebrities that provides a “degrees of separation” security service. That is, the celebrity gets surrounded at a distance by plain clothes security types, whose purpose it is to attack those that assail the celebrity.
When the police show up, it is a simple matter of the annoying person and the security guy having at each other, the celebrity is not at issue. This is where the separation matters, since the security guy is not paid directly by the celebrity, and they don’t even know each other, other than by a picture, “this is the guy you protect”.
There just wouldn’t be enough settlement money around to get me to publicly admit it if I had been assaulted by Bieber. You’d never be able to buy your pride back.
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