There are a lot of people piling on Justin Bieber in light of his recent string of legal problems. But person who is definitely not turning his back on the Biebs is Dan Mathieson, the mayor of Justin’s Canadian hometown of Stratford, Ontario.
Stratford-On-Bieber
“No matter what happens, it doesn’t negate the fact that Justin is from Stratford,” Mayor Mathieson told the London Free Press on Thursday, one day after Bieber turned himself in to Toronto police in connection with an alleged assault
on a limo driver in December.
The trip back home to deal with that legal drama capped a hectic stretch for Bieber, who was arrested the previous week for suspicion of DUI and resisting arrest in Miami Beach after having his house raided by police in Calabasas, California, in connection with an alleged egging incident involving a neighbor.
“As far as I’m concerned, he is a 19-year-old person who has made some errors,” Mathieson added. “I don’t condone them, but I also understand that we all have made errors in our life. I hope for his sake that he can get a reset, and get back to music and doing what he loves.”
Just Like Scooter Said
Mathieson’s advice came just days after a new interview with Bieber’s manager, Scooter Braun, in which he said he offered his most famous client an ultimatum
in the pages of GQ magazine.
“I think to help him get through that I have to hold him to a higher standard. I can’t baby him, I can’t tell him, ‘You know what you deserve, to say f— everybody, this is unfair.’ I can say there is only one way around this, either we quit and let you try and find a normal life or you realize that this is what this is and we’ve got to keep fighting,” Braun said.
That’s exactly the kind of guidance Mathieson was thinking of, along with this suggestion: “Lie low for a bit.”
Justin Appreciates The Hometown Love
And don’t think Bieber doesn’t appreciate the kind words. “Never forget where you come from or those who supported you before anyone else,” he wrote, along with a link to the article.
Leave Justin Alone, Says His Former Principal
In that same Free Press story, the principal of Stratford’s Northwestern Secondary School said his former charge was just an average kid that she’s no prepared to judge, either.
“As a young person, I made mistakes. I’m glad no one put me under a microscope,” Martin Ritsma said. “This is still where Justin grew up and if he walked through the front door today, he’d be a welcome young man.” It seems like everyone is trying to give Justin advice these days, including fellow wild child Miley Cyrus, who offered proper partying tips on “The Tonight Show” on Thursday night. “Buy a house, and add a club to it,” she said.
Even The Crack Mayor Has Ideas
One person whose words Justin might not want to heed are those of Rob Ford, the notorious “crack mayor” of Toronto, who offered what amounted to his endorsement of the singer in a radio interview on Thursday.
“Canada’s worst export,” Ford, who has never met Bieber and is not a fan, told Washington, D.C.’s The Sports Junkies. “He’s a young guy … I wish I was as successful as he was.”
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