Justin Bieber was previously accused of calling a female “fan” a “b—h” at a stables, despite TMZ not referring to the woman as such in their original report. Now, another rider at the stables has revealed the woman was not a Bieber fan and allegedly sold footage of the singer after hurling verbal abuse at him.
Justin Bieber caught a tide of flak earlier this month when he was seen on video referring to a woman saying, “That b—h right there,” after she filmed him without his consent at a horse riding stables in Burbank, California.
The incident took place at the Circle K stables on May 12. The woman who filmed Bieber is called Melinda Giel-Murray.
Resulting media coverage of Bieber’s “b—h” comment was uniformly critical. That intensified after some reports claimed Giel-Murray was a fan , despite no reference to her being a fan in TMZ” s original report.
In the footage of Bieber shot by Melinda, she continues filming after being asked to stop by Iama Amin, another rider at the stables of 10-years standing who invited the singer horse riding as a guest.
Amin — who lists herself on Twitter as a “licensed expert” in therapeutic massage — posted a YouTube video last week titled “The Truth Behind Justin Bieber Horse Stable Incident.”
During the clip, Amin challenges Giel-Murray over her filming of Bieber while accusing her of selling the footage to TMZ.
In the YouTube clip description, Iama alleges Melinda started filming Bieber’s group before they had a chance to go on the riding trail and claims Giel-Murray and others yelled verbal abuse at the 20-year-old.
The abusive statements to Bieber allegedly included: “You’ll never be like Michael Jackson… that’s if he stays alive long enough.”
It’s apparent from Amin’s video that Giel-Murray isn’t a Bieber fan. It’s also apparent that she disliked being filmed without consent as she is seen complaining about Amin in the clip to a staffer.
However, Melinda was evidently content to do the same to Bieber and allegedly profit from it.
Video filmed by Murray was seen for the first time when TMZ posted the video on May 15.
In that report, it was claimed Melinda alleged “4 security goons surrounded her and tried to intimidate her.”
Amin disputes that claim.
The original video shows Amin and one bodyguard approaching Giel-Murray with requests to stop filming right after Bieber is heard and seen saying “That b—h right there.”
Iama then tells Melinda: “No! You know what, you guys just ruined everything. Can you stop taking a picture?”
After a “no” response from Melinda, Amin is heard saying, “No?” then added, “He’s leaving now,” as if Bieber’s departure from the stables was because of Murray’s unwelcome filming.
To give you an idea of the kind of budgets big media outlets work with, The Wire previously reported TMZ paid out $250,000 to a — now — former hotel employee at The Standard NYC who filmed the Solange-Jay Z elevator fight earlier this month.
Invading the privacy of the famous is a win for the outlet as spiked traffic draws advertisers and a win for the seller who gets the fee.
Hours after Bieber’s horse ride, a woman alleged he committed an act of attempted robbery by taking her cellphone from her purse, before wrestling with and speaking harshly to her in front of her 13-year-old daughter at the Castle Park miniature golf and batting cage complex in Sherman Oaks at around 10:30 pm.
The woman claims Bieber was attempting to check her cellphone for photos of his crew in an alleged altercation.
The singer’s attorney Howard Weitzman and an employee/witness from the complex say the accuser was aggressively taking photos. Both deny the attempted robbery claim took place, with the employee additionally claiming Bieber “never touched” the woman.
The LAPD’s Robbery/ Homicide Division and Robbery Special Section are investigating and have appealed to the public for information.
In both cases — the stables, and the arcade — it’s possible Bieber’s fame was a temptation to some to behave like paparazzi or make claims to later convert into lawsuits.
It is hard to defend myself and my privacy every moment of the day. Then to see rumors. The truth will set u free pic.twitter.com/tYFzKYlcrF
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) May 15, 2014