One of Justin Bieber’s bodyguards has been caught on film allegedly knifing a paparazzo’s car tires during a row in Sydney late Thursday night.
The 19-year-old is in Australia for the last leg of his Believe tour. He flew into the capital after his sold-out show in Brisbane on Wednesday night.
The incident was filmed as it happened by the paparazzo after Bieber’s convoy pulled over on the road in an attempt to stop the lensman from following the teen star, Australian news site Nine MSN reports.
In the footage, Bieber’s bodyguard — Hugo Hesny , who has previously been named in an alleged assault on a photographer — is seen advancing towards the man’s car before kicking it numerous times.
The paparazzo claims the bodyguard then used a knife to slash his car tire.
However, this alleged slashing is not shown on camera and is not confirmed.
The bodyguard is seen attempting to remove the paparazzo’s pushbike from the back of the car.
At the one point, the photog seems to talk to a passenger in the car as he describes the attack.
“He just kicked the door,” the man says, before addressing the bodyguard from his car. “Mate, it’s on camera, it’s on camera buddy. It’s on camera, it’s on camera buddy.”
At no point is Bieber seen in the video, either directing or witnessing the incident.
After being told to leave the vicinity by the bodyguard, the paparazzo yelled, “I don’t have to go nowhere mate. This is Australia!”
The photographer added, “Keep going. Mate, you turned into a good story, keep going.”
Justin and his crew allegedly first partied at the Bada Bing strip club in Kings Cross before moving on to John Ibrahim’s Kings Cross club, The Back Room, on Thursday night where the Believe tour DJ Tay James performed a set.
This alleged knife incident comes amid a current row over the superstar’s spray-painting of graffiti at a Gold Coast hotel he stayed at in Queensland.
Bieber tagged a series of colorful images on an external wall in the grounds of the QT Hotel in the early hours of Wednesday post-concert.
He has since been slammed by Gold Coast City Mayor Tom Tate and the Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie, despite being given explicit permission by the hotel to graffiti.
The mayor has publicly asked Justin to clean up his “mess” or perform at a Christmas Carol show in Queensland on December 7.
Meanwhile, the Gold Coast city council has ordered the QT Hotel to either remove or paint over the artwork despite it being on private property, claiming it is in “prominent public view.”
The Surfers Paradise hotel says it wants to preserve Bieber’s graffiti and has made several public statements praising the tableau, while describing the singer as “a lovely, young guy.”
In an email to Reuters , the QT Hotel wrote, “The piece of artwork will be left for fans to enjoy. We believe it is a wonderful addition to the colorful Gold Coast arts scene.”
The Canadian star will perform at Sydney’s Allphones Arena on Friday and Saturday.
Concert dates in Melbourne and Adelaide follow before his Believe tour odyssey wraps in Perth on December 8.
We will update with news on Bieber’s bodyguard as the story develops.