There are times when we think Justin Bieber is frankly a bit of a dickhead, and other times when he seems like he could be alright, and this story is (mostly) of the second variety.
This weekend, it was reported that the Canadian singer turned down an offer of $US 5 million, potentially the largest single payday of his career so far, to perform a 45-minute show in Cleveland, as part of the Republican National Convention.
The deal, for which payment was “up front” from donor funds, reportedly came with a few conditions, chief among them that Bieber was forbidden from badmouthing the Republican party or its nominee Donald Trump while on stage.
The singer’s camp had asked if they could display ‘Black Lives Matter‘ banners during the concert, and we’re forbidden from doing so, but told they could instead put up ‘All Lives Matter‘ banners.
Ultimately, Bieber’s manager Scooter Braun was the one who scuppered the deal. A Hillary Clinton supporter, who has previously held fundraising events for the Democratic candidate, he was reportedly worried about the political implications of the RNC gig.
Gossip monsters TMZ – whose sources are usually pretty spot-on – claim that Braun gave Bieber an ultimatum: the singer could take the gig, but he would need to find new representation if he did so.
TMZ’s sources say that LeBron James had also planned to attend an event in Cleveland during the convention, in a non-political capacity, but that he was not going to attend after all, and urged Justin not to do any gigs affiliated with the convention.
In the end, Bieber turned down the fat stacks of cash on offer, and opted not to perform. He saved himself a lot of bad press, although with reported annual earnings of $US 56 million, he’s probably not hurting too badly from this either way.
Source: The Verge.
Photo: Kevin Mazur / Getty.
