Justin Bieber had deemed it his “new hobby” and his “escape,” but police have declared his recent graffiti session in Rio de Janeiro grounds for vandalism charges.
According to Rio police, the singer, who has been touring all over South America for his worldwide Believe Tour, will be fined with “tagging or otherwise defiling a building or urban monument” after paparazzi captured him tagging the former Hotel Nacional.
Police had been speaking to witnesses and paparazzi for three days before hitting Bieber with the charges on Friday (November 8). Before Friday, Bieber was hardly shy about his endeavors, flooding his Instagram with photos of his late-night session and even pondered framing the “great pap shot” that started making the rounds on Wednesday.
“Every place I have tagged has been approved I do not suggest tagging private property,” he wrote on Wednesday, accompanied by a photo of him in front of his artwork. “I still suck but i have fun doing it ;)”
We’ll leave the “I still suck” part up to you, but that first claim isn’t exactly true — which is exactly why police are charging him. The city of Rio had indeed given Bieber permission to graffiti the Morro do Vidigal, located in the city’s Olympic Village, but his camp decided the area was unsafe. That’s when Bieber took his spray paint elsewhere, but he had not received permission to tag the Hotel Nacional.
The fine has not yet been set in the case, and Bieber’s reps had yet to respond to MTV News’ request for comment by press time. Meanwhile, the singer will continue on with his Believe Tour with a stop in Cordoba, Argentina, Friday night (November 8).
No Comments