And Finally Beef Of The Week

CMU Beef Of The Week #12: Team Bieber v The Filth

By | Published on Saturday 27 March 2010

I’m sure lots of you think several people should be locked up for unleashing the Justin Bieber phenomenon on the world, but probably not for failing to fulfil what is seemingly a new constitutional duty in America: sending out a tweet when told to do so by the police.

Yes, Bieber’s manager, Scott ‘Scooter’ Braun, has been charged in relation to a shopping mall event that was due to feature the squeaky-voiced hair cut that is Justin B last November, where 3000 teenage fans went a bit crazy as they awaited the popster’s arrival.

So much so that police tried to cancel the event, but struggled to clear the Bieber fans who weren’t convinced the pop teen wouldn’t soon be in the house, partly because he’d sent out a tweet – picked up by fans on their mobiles – announcing “on my way to Roosevelt Field Mall in Long Island, NY to sign and meet fans! I’m pumped, see u there”.

Police then demanded that the still-to-arrive popster send out a new tweet confirming to his fans that the mall appearance had, indeed, been cancelled. They asked a rep from his label Island Def Jam to send the tweet, but he didn’t have access to the Bieber Twitter account. They then called Braun to tell him to send the tweet, but he said he wasn’t near a computer. Presumably Bieber himself wasn’t contactable.

The police claim neither Island Def Jam man James Roppo nor Braun seemed to take the mall issue seriously. Officers seemingly threatened to put out an arrest warrant for Braun if he didn’t get tweeting to Bieber’s fans. The manager allegedly responded to the effect that he’d appreciate it if they spell his name right on the warrant. This presumably angered police, who promptly arrested Roppo instead. When Roppo called Braun from his police cell, the manager managed to get to a PC to tweet to the Bieber massive that the mall event was definitely off.

Roppo has been charged with a series of misdemeanours, including endangering the welfare of children and obstructing governmental administration, and his case is pending. Now Braun has been formally charged also, and reportedly faces a year in jail if convicted, which seems rather extreme for failing to tweet, but there you have it. His lawyer said yesterday that Braun responded to the police’s tweet demands as quickly as he could, and should therefore not be held liable for anything that happened back at the mall.

As news of the charges against his manager reached the media this week Bieber tweeted his support for Braun, and was then seen wearing a t-shirt bearing the words ‘Free Scooter’.

This Beef Of The Week comes from this edition of the CMU Weekly. Subscribe to the CMU Weekly here.



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