Justin Bieber’s testimony in an impending video deposition will be made public, a judge has ruled.
The deposition is due to take place on Thursday, January 23, and will see the teen superstar grilled by Russell S. Adler, the lawyer of a Miami paparazzo Jeffrey Binion, who is suing the singer in a battery and negligence lawsuit.
It’s a major blow for Bieber and his legal eagles just two days before the 19-year-old faces questions in what’s expected to be an eight-hour video deposition .
The website adds that Circuit Court Judge Sarah Zabel denied Bieber’s lawyers’ request to seal – keep private – the transcript of the Q & A, as well as their request to ensure the video of the questioning was never made public.
Zabel reportedly agreed with suing paparazzo Binion’s argument that Bieber does not have a right to keep his potentially self-damaging replies to a lawyer’s questions secret, “even if it hurts his brand.’”
“Bieber’s celebrity status gives him no greater legal right to seal his deposition than anyone else,” Binion’s objection to the seal attempt read, Gossip Extra reports.
As a result, what takes place in Thursday’s 10 am deposition in Santa Monica, California, at the law offices of Kinsella Weitzman, will become available for everyone and anyone to see, hear and read once it’s filed with the court just hours later, the website notes.
Binion’s lawsuit is based on his allegation that one of Bieber’s bodyguards and a friend of the singer threatened, assaulted, and forced him to delete images from his camera during an alleged confrontation.
The paparazzo alleges he was choked and, further, that his memory card and camera were forcibly taken from him after he was spotted taking photographs of Justin outside Miami’s Hit Factory Recording studio on June 5, 2013.
In his complaint [which can be viewed here], Binion claims Bieber ordered the alleged attack and was negligent in how it was allegedly carried out by his bodyguards.
The video deposition blow follows another earlier this month when a judge ruled Justin could be probed about previous incidents allegedly involving him, his security, and photographers. According to TMZ , five past incidents were allowed in.
These are:
1:) An alleged run-in with another Miami paparazzo hours before Binion’s alleged encounter.
2:) An alleged attack on an Argentinian photog as Bieber left Buenos Aires’ Ink nightclub on November 9, 2013.
3:) An alleged beat down of a photographer in Hawaii on November 20.
4:) An alleged attack on an Australian lensman during the last leg of the singer’s Believe world tour.
5:) And an alleged beating of a paparazzo by a security team member at an IHOP eatery in Encino, CA on December 18.
Adler intends to prove Bieber and his security habitually deal with paparazzi using illegal and/or beyond reasonable methods.
Now, his attempt to do so will become public.
Meanwhile, Justin appears to be having some fun before his deposition date.
Following a police raid on his Calabasas, California, home on Tuesday, January 14, the star spent the weekend snowboarding with pals in Aspen, Colorado with an interesting pit stop.
From there Bieber flew to Miami Beach and reportedly enjoyed an evening out at Mansion nightclub, before allegedly dropping $75,000 in the King of Diamonds strip club, E! News reports.
(Photo: Instagram, captioned “I’m in Cuba I love Cubans”)