Justin Bieber reportedly banned from China
Justin Bieber won't be bringing his Purpose World Tour to Shanghai this autumn after the Chinese authorities deemed him to have caused 'discontent among the public'.
'Justin Bieber is a gifted singer, but he is also a controversial young foreign singer,' Beijing's Municipal Bureau of culture is reported to have stated in response to a fan question about JB not returning to China this year, as had been widely expected. 'He has engaged in a series of bad behaviours, both in his personal life and during previous performances in China.'
What do you mean? Well, maybe they mean getting carried up the Great Wall on the shoulders of your bodyguards, or rolling around Sanlitun on your skateboard? Bieber was snapped doing both when he was in China back in 2013. Some users on Weibo have also speculated that his cause wasn't helped by a visit he paid to a controversial Japanese shrine in 2014, something he subsequently apologised for.
And to think, back in 2013 Biebs told us that 'I’m not perfect, and I do make mistakes [...] but I also want to be a good role model through my music and interviews.’ (Click 'read more' below for the full interview).
Predictably, the announcement has also sparked a deluge of snarky comments about how this ought to be treated as 'good news', but those people need to give Purpose a proper listen.
As far as the powers that be are concerned however, it seems it's too late now to say sorry, and when Bieber performs in the region in September and October he won't be allowed onto the Chinese mainland (Hong Kong are apparently going to run the risk of his antics causing public discontent by hosting a show on September 27).
In a sign of the times, Bieber is the latest big name star to be refused a performance permit here, with this year apparently proving especially difficult on that front for international artists. Of course, you should never say never, but for now it seems as if mainland China's Beliebers had better start looking into travel to Hong Kong for September.