Report: Alleged Justin Bieber Assault Victim Called Bieber ‘Faggot’

by Tommy Christopher | 10:16 am, October 18th, 2010

» 25 comments

In an incident that’s being widely reported on the internet, 16 year-old pop superstar Justin Bieber was accused of assaulting a 12 year-old boy during a game of Laser Tag on Friday. Most news accounts of the incident indicate that, according to the Laser Tag facility’s staff, Bieber was singled out and cornered by a group of players, and that Bieber accidentally struck the boy in an attempt to get away. However, TMZ is reporting that the 12 year old who made the assault accusation called Bieber “faggot,” and that Bieber did not strike him.

According to Canadian gossip blogger Zack Taylor, an anonymous friend of the alleged victim’s father disputes this account, but here’s what TMZ is reporting:

We’re told that during the game of laser tag, one kid went out of his way to target Justin repeatedly (a violation of the code of honor of laser tag, if there is such a thing).

Sources say that Bieber became frustrated when the kid cornered him and wouldn’t stop shooting and when Bieber told him, “That’s enough” … the kid responded, “What are you gonna do about it, faggot?”

We’re told a shocked Bieber replied, “Excuse me?” Sources say the other kid responded, “You’re a faggot” and then put his hand out toward Bieber and Bieber pushed it away as he left.

Contrary to several news reports, we’re told Bieber never struck the other boy.

Coming on the heels of a rash of suicides related to anti-gay bullying, this report underscores an oft-ignored facet of anti-gay bullying: you don’t have to be gay to become a target.

While the recent suicide of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi has thrust the issue of homophobic bullying into the national media spotlight, this is not a new thing. Last year, we reported on a rash of suicides by much younger children who (like Justin Bieber) did not identify as gay, but who were targeted with anti-gay slurs, and the efforts of Obama “Safe Schools Czar” Kevin Jennings to combat the trend.

As anyone who has ever attended grade school can tell you, being called “faggot” has nothing to do with your actual sexual orientation, and as The Edge notes, “a good deal of gay bashing comes from personal gay panic.”

This fact shouldn’t make a difference, but there are obviously many parents who are unmoved by the plight of LGBT youth who might feel differently if they realized that their own children, gay or not, are also at risk. Organizations like the Gay/Straight Alliance Network aren’t about “recruiting” or “brainwashing” young people into homosexuality, but about removing the stigma of being gay. While bullies will always find something to taunt their victims with, there hasn’t been an epidemic of “nerd” or “dork”-related suicides.

That is not to say that gay teens aren’t at increased risk, as their quadruple suicide rate attests. The sexual orientation of the victim shouldn’t make any difference in taking the measure of these tragedies. However, the power of anti-gay slurs to drive children to suicide shows the true cost of homophobia.

While relatively minor, the Justin Bieber incident is likely to receive outsize attention due to his celebrity status. Hopefully, it will also help to start a few conversations about how anti-gay bullying is everyone’s problem.

anit-gay bullying, Bullying, Gay Bullying, Justin Bieber, Kevin Jennings, Laser Tag, TMZ, Tyler Clementi, Zack Taylor

tatboy

Tommy… do you have ANY facts to back up your/TMZ’s alligation??? Because that would be a really good way for this Justin person to get out of some VERY bad press by claiming the 12 year old he hit called him “faggot”. He’s 16, the kid getting hit 12… looks bad. How to get out of it??? “He called me faggot”! Your buying this???
sarainitaly

Sounds like the evidence is kind of weak…
http://www.queerty.com/some-twerp-called-justin-bieber-a-faggot-at-laser-tag-and-got-shoved-for-it-20101017/

Picture of the kid, and more:
http://www.zacktaylor.ca/blog/2010/10/justin-bieber-allegedly-punches-a-12-year-old-in-the-face.html
http://www.zacktaylor.ca/blog/2010/10/justin-bieber-is-not-a-victim-of-homophobic-bullying.html

That said, it kind of sounds like the 12 year old kid’s dad is going to jump at the chance to make a buck.

No doubt famous people can benefit immensely from their fame, but they are also at risk from loons and people looking to capitalize on their riches.
Harry Flashman

Tommy,

Not to be the skunk in the garden party bemoaning the plight of gay suicidal teens, but I have to ask this….

Can it be that the increase in gay suicides has as much to do with the fact that many of these kids are disturbed already as much as by the fact that they’re gay? Many are the victims of abuse both sexual and psychological. Is it the bullying that causes that final, fatal choice, or a combination of many factors, with the bullying either the last straw – or a convenient straw man? Most people out there really don’t care if someone is gay these days.

The disproportionate media coverage doesn’t help the situation, either.

As far as this incident goes – the kid was 12. So what if he used a slur that he probably doesn’t really understand the implications of himself. For him, girls still had cooties just a short time ago. He just knows it’s a hurtful thing to say. Kids do that. If he got smacked for saying it, then maybe he learned a lesson.

Another thing…people get insluted from time to time. Too short, too tall, too skinny, too fat. It happens. Does being gay automatically give someone a protected status?

Doesn’t make it right…it just IS. Welcome to life. Get used to it.
paulmdoro

We all know how the media tends to go into overdrive with the “Issue of the Day/Week/Month.” Right now, thanks to the Rutgers suicide/Bronx hate crimes/The Dilemma trailer, etc., gay bullying is a hot topic. Throw in Justin Bieber and of course the media will go crazy.
http://Race4Congress.com Magister

tatboy said:
Tommy… do you have ANY facts to back up your/TMZ’s alligation??? Because that would be a really good way for this Justin person to get out of some VERY bad press by claiming the 12 year old he hit called him “faggot”. He’s 16, the kid getting hit 12… looks bad. How to get out of it??? “He called me faggot”! Your buying this???

Reacting to being called a name or a verbal response isn’t a valid legal defense. From the pertinent links along with those highlighted by SaraInItaly, I’d guess that the police haven’t pressed charges because it appears that an assault likely didn’t occur or has not been proven and/or the victim had been acting aggressively.
TfT

A much more fair headline would have been:

Report: Alleged Justin Bieber Assault Victim ALLEDGEDLY Called Bieber ‘Faggot’

Funny how that works here. Tommy accepts TMZ allegation as fact, but not the assault victim’s allegation.

Fairness (or not)
Tommy Christopher

TfT said:
A much more fair headline would have been:

Report: Alleged Justin Bieber Assault Victim ALLEDGEDLY Called Bieber ‘Faggot’

Funny how that works here. Tommy accepts TMZ allegation as fact, but not the assault victim’s allegation.

Fairness (or not)

The headline is preceded by the qualifier “report.” A construction that used the word “allegedly” twice would have been awkward, but the headline we used means the same thing.
Tommy Christopher

sarainitaly said:
Sounds like the evidence is kind of weak…
http://www.queerty.com/some-twerp-called-justin-bieber-a-faggot-at-laser-tag-and-got-shoved-for-it-20101017/

Picture of the kid, and more:
http://www.zacktaylor.ca/blog/2010/10/justin-bieber-allegedly-punches-a-12-year-old-in-the-face.html
http://www.zacktaylor.ca/blog/2010/10/justin-bieber-is-not-a-victim-of-homophobic-bullying.html

That said, it kind of sounds like the 12 year old kid’s dad is going to jump at the chance to make a buck.

No doubt famous people can benefit immensely from their fame, but they are also at risk from loons and people looking to capitalize on their riches.

I linked Zack Taylor in the article.
http://Race4Congress.com Magister

ETA) tatboy – …and it wouldn’t be a defense against bad publicity unless the reader/audience thought that violence was an acceptable response to being called a name.
sarainitaly

Tommy Christopher said:
I linked Zack Taylor in the article.

Oops, sorry! I just noticed the TMZ link.
Anne 1

Magister said:
Reacting to being called a name or a verbal response isn’t a valid legal defense. From the pertinent links along with those highlighted by SaraInItaly, I’d guess that the police haven’t pressed charges because it appears that an assault likely didn’t occur or has not been proven and/or the victim had been acting aggressively.

Canadian law regarding speech and expression is very different than in the States. Canadian citizens are only granted the right of freedom of expression under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, not freedom of speech . A subtle and important point. By leveling the claim that he was called a “faggot” , Team Bieber has taken a very proactive position in this matter.
The word “faggot ” in Canada is considered hate speech and can be prosecuted or pusused in one of three ways . In Canada, advocating genocide or inciting hatred against any ‘identifiable group’ is an indictable offense under the Criminal Code of Canada with maximum terms of two to fourteen years.
The Canadian Human Rights Commision can file charges on its own with or without a complainant. The Commision is made up of appointees who can determine, what is and is not hate speech , independent of the Judiciary. They have the authority level harsh financial penalties against those brought before them.
Finally , Team Bieber could file a civil case against the 12 year-old boy and seek compensatory damages.
What they have done ,is said , pursue this matter and you wil be tied up in court for years and broken financially.
Z_man723

Bieber was surprised someone called him a faggot?
http://twitter.com/SailRabbits Magister

@Anne1: I don’t know Canadian law, but based upon your description, perhaps Bieber could countersue if the young man seeks damages, but I don’t believe that he’d have a freedom to strike, no matter what he was called.
lazzzlo

As an ex-Canadian with a cousin who works with the Inuits.
The following frightens me…

Canadian law regarding speech and expression is very different than in the States. Canadian citizens are only granted the right of freedom of expression under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, not freedom of speech .
lazzzlo

Canadian citizens are only granted the right of freedom of expression under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, not freedom of speech . A subtle and important point.

Something perhaps everyone should recognize and remember.
Florenzo

If the account as per TMZ is factual, Bieber did no wrong. Matter of fact, as far as I am concerned he really exercised restraint . But, watch…. dear old dad of the 12 year old…he is going to go for the gold. Thats right asswipe dad show your son how American you are…sue. Oh dad, got news for you…your going to get your ass handed to you if the eye report like TMZ is true.
Corvax

Z_man723 said:
Bieber was surprised someone called him a faggot?

He will go the way of a male Brittney Spears, except gay.
Anne 1

@ Magister and lazzzlo Here is an interesting case study in the diference between the freedom of expression and the freedom of speech brought by the Canadian Human Rights Commision against Maclean’s magazine regarding a series of articles that it published.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_complaints_against_Maclean's_magazine

( Wiki… I know. It is the most condensed version though )
philipjames

And who is saying this kid called him a faggot? Justin? The one accused of assaulting the kid?
Ok, now I understand how this all works. If you get caught doing something bad, then all you have to do is accuse the other person of either being a racist or a homophobe. Accuse them of calling you the “n” word or as Beieber did, a faggot.
Now, if the kid had called him a girlieboy, that would have been acceptable, since it would be true. But Justin isn’t a faggot, so that would have been inappropriate. Not that he did, but just saying.
http://twitter.com/SailRabbits Magister

@philipjames: From the way it’s written, it’s an unidentified random who talked to TMZ. It may have simply been someone who emailed them from god knows where. After all, it’s TMZ.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Dronetek-Bulk-Vanderhuge/100000918732763 Dronetek

So Timothy, are you condoning violence in response to words? Most of us were taught as kids that, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me”.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Dronetek-Bulk-Vanderhuge/100000918732763 Dronetek

Tommy Christopher said:
The headline is preceded by the qualifier “report.” A construction that used the word “allegedly” twice would have been awkward, but the headline we used means the same thing.

Yes, we’re all very aware of the tricks and tactics you propagandists posing as journalists use to lie and mislead people.
sarainitaly

F*ggot claims highly skeptical

http://www.zacktaylor.ca/blog/2010/10/zack-taylor-on-access-hollywood.html
Jballaviator

well if the kid’s would stop dressing like girls, acting like girls, and hitting on other guys maybe the gay bashing would end… Men are supposed to be MEN…
http://twitter.com/BVB_Bride Brittany Lesondak

The media will drop this in a few days and it won’t even be remembered. At least the Bieber incident. Homophobia is another issue though. Every day more gay teens commit suicide and it seems like no one does anything to make it stop. It’s really sad and it hurts to see. I wish we could finally do something about it. The way I see it is that we’re all accepted equally in the eyes of God. No matter what some Christian says, or what the Bible says. I don’t think being homosexual is a sin and you won’t go to Hell because of it. It’s not hurting anyone.