In a recent Buzzfeed article, On The Marc Media’s Marc Silverstein was quoted when discussing the “11 Things Bieber is Doing Wrong”.
But after this weekend, it looks like we spoke too soon.
As if this list of 11 wasn’t enough, Bieber decided to go ahead and add spitting in a man’s face (according to TMZ.com) to the list.
TMZ.com reported on Tuesday that a DJ in Columbus, Ohio, accuses Bieber of confronting him inside a bar, eventually spitting in his face, all because Bieber thought the man was taking secret photos.
Once again, Bieber was present in a 21+ club, despite the fact that he is only 19.
Looks like the list has become 11+1…
“Here at On The Marc Media, we used to LOVE Justin Bieber. And we’re definitely not embarrassed to admit it.
Back in the day, way too many of our brainstorming sessions were fueled by blaring “Beauty and the Beat” or “Boyfriend”, but these days, we’re much more interested in Bieber’s cringe worthy behavior, especially from a reputation management perspective.
Justin Bieber isn’t a stranger to the Headlines, but these days, it seems like he’s making them for all the wrong reasons.
So here is our breakdown. The top ten plus one things Justin Bieber is doing wrong, as well as what we think he has, or could have, done for damage control.
11. Bieber started the year off on a, shall we say, “high” note, when TMZ published a series of photos of him smoking what the website suggested was marijuana.
10. …and he didn’t learn his lesson. During the European leg of his tour, Swedish Police say they found a small amount of marijuana, as well as a stun gun, on one of Bieber’s tour busses.
9. Bieber’s new Ferrari has given the paparazzi something fast and furious to chase after, but it is his driving that caused his big boy toy to make this list, especially when his neighbor, NFL player Keyshawn Johnson, publicly accused him of reckless driving through their neighborhood.
8. Being a Grammy-Diva. When Justin wasn’t nominated for a Grammy, his manager made an “oopsie” by furiously tweeting his displeasure.
7. But then Bieber got in on the action on the night of the event, first posting shirt-less photos for his fans, then creating a live-stream to detract viewers from the Grammys, and finally, feuding with Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney. Bieber even tweeted “the black keys drummer should be slapped around haha,” causing Beliebers to do their fair share of verbal slaps on Carney.
6. As previously mentioned, that European tour didn’t fare well for Bieber. Between arriving over two-hours late, vomiting, fainting, and outright cancelling some of his shows, his image definitely took a big hit as a result of this tour.
5. But that wasn’t all. During a visit to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, Bieber coined Anne Frank a “Belieber” in the museum guestbook, causing reporters and fans alike to deem his message as disrespectful, insensitive, and inappropriate.
4. That darn monkey.
Many of Bieber’s fans may have heard of Mally, the singer’s exotic pet, a capuchin monkey. Earlier this year, Bieber reportedly orphaned the little guy by abandoning him in Germany after failing to supply the necessary safety documents to customs. You don’t have to be a member of PETA to see the problem with this one…
3. Publicly breaking the law. The world has literally watched Justin Bieber grow up. He’s been in the spotlight since he was 16. So what makes him think he can go to clubs in Chicago, when he is underage and the whole world knows it? Chicago police cited the nightclub, Bodi, for allowing Bieber and his entourage into the club.
2. Caught on camera (again). Bieber continued to p*ss away his reputation by relieving himself in a restaurant mop bucket while exiting a New York City nightclub.. Keep this kind of behavior up, and Bieber may end up without a pot to pee in. Which brings us to…
1. Moments later, Bieber and his pack of sycophant Wild Boyz cursed a picture of former President Bill Clinton, dropping the “F-bomb” at the defenseless f ex-Commander in Chief. What did Bill Clinton ever do to the Biebs? In an instant the video went from gold to platinum status—not in records sold, but in the hits, views, tweets and worldwide headlines.
All right Bieber, we’ve had a lot of patience with you this past year. So why do you continue to test your fans? Post-urination, Bieber decided to continue his “Wild Boyz” spree by picking up a spray bottle, squirting a photo of Bill Clinton, and screaming “F*** Bill Clinton!” before making his great escape…all of which is on tape. Seriously?!
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The Good: Throughout his endeavors, Justin eventually learned to use social media to his advantage, as a public and widely-read forum for many of his much-needed apologies. When caught with marijuana (for the first time..) Bieber tweeted “Everyday growing and learning. Trying to be better. U get knocked down, u get up,” attempting to show growth from his actions.
Most notably, Bieber recently called, then tweeted at Bill Clinton when apologizing for the NYC incident. Talk about damage control. Post-phone conversation with Mr. ex-Prez himself, Bieber tweeted: “@billclinton thanks for taking the time to talk Mr. President. Your words mean a lot. #greatguy”. (Side note: this is Clinton’s first full fledged Twitter rescue, having just joined recently thanks to prodding by Stephen Colbert.)
The Bad: Conversely, social media has also gotten Bieber in trouble, way too many times to count. Our in-house Crisis Communications and Reputation Management Guru Marc Silverstein states that “the problem with social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, is that celebrities often get carried away with seeming down-to-earth, and real, and speak without a filter. Celebrities must remember that they’re subject to public scrutiny, and anything slightly off, or inappropriate that they say will probably be used against them.” From using Twitter to post shirtless photos, to getting into Twitter fights with other celebrities, Bieber should probably stick to the age-old saying “think before you tweet”.
The Ugly: When the team gets in on the action. Bieber should have a team dedicated to maintaining a positive image, not helping to destroy it, through Twitter musings of their own. Silverstein continues: “It is important for every public figure to have a team dedicated to maintain the image they want to publicize.” He also advises “celebrities, or any business, [to] be weary of social media accounts that could be connected to a person or business’s image.” In this case, Bieber should have apologized on behalf of his manager’s tweets, to prevent his anger over the Grammy nominees from reflecting poorly on Justin.
Alright, so far 2013 isn’t Bieber’s best. But as many are beginning to warn, he is heading down the path of his own career’s destruction if he continues this way.
So which celebrity-stereotype do we see in Bieber’s future? Can he pull through this phrase a la Demi Levato. Or will he get stuck in sweet-turned Salvia smoker Miley Cyrus territory, fighting off scandals in between new releases and new tattoos.? Or is he headed for the dreaded LiLo Land? Let’s just hope he produces at least one more jam-worthy single for us before he gets there.”