Stacey Betts, mother of a young Justin Bieber fan, is suing the pop star for US$9.23-million after a 2010 concert left her suffering tinnitus and hyperacusis. Bieber, recently in the news for winning both a Diamond Jubilee Medal from Prime Minister Stephen Harper and performing at Sunday’s sold-out Grey Cup football game, has vowed, through his lawyers, to fight the charge.
Representatives of the 18-year-old pop star have countered Betts’ suit, filed in Portland, Oregon, by claiming that it’s not the musician’s job to silence the crowd. Further, they claim that the lawsuit should be dropped due to a lack of facts.
Interestingly, when I interviewed Justin Bieber while he was promoting Believe back in June, his camp was dealing with the charge. The journalists came into the room at The Hazelton Hotel one after the other, but between Bieber’s appointments, one of his managers took a phone call while I sat across from Bieber in the room.
“What’s that?” asked the musician, although I paraphrase because it was so long ago.
“Oh, some lady suing you because your fans scream too loud,” the manager replied, and I’m almost certain he used those exact words.
At any rate, both Bieber and his manager seemed unimpressed by the lawsuit, and so their fighting the claims are no surprise. Still, it would have to be considered a rough week for the rapidly maturing heartthrob — his outfit at the Diamond Jubilee induction was seen as rather casual and his Grey Cup performance drew boos — and no doubt this suit adds to his grief.
Meanwhile, Justin Bieber continues to grow in both fame and stature, which means he should continue to shore up a good legal team.
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