Justin Bieber Not At Fault: Tyler, The Creator Publicly Admits He Was Driving
A rapper and producer known as Tyler, The Creator, has publicly admitted he was driving Justin Bieber’s white Ferrari in the Calabasas, L.A. neighborhood on Memorial Day.
Tyler Gregory Okonma, 22, posted a statement on Twitter on Saturday, June 1.
“That Was Me Behind The Wheel Of Justins Vehicle. Don’t Blame Him. People Are Actually Evil Swearing Up And Down That it Was Who It Wasn’t.”
Tyler’s declaration was made on a public social media network and constitutes new evidence, but the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department will require a formal statement for their ongoing reckless driving investigation.
The admission supports a previous TMZ report that Bieber’s security team told police they have a video that proves Tyler was behind the wheel of the Ferrari at the time of the alleged reckless driving incident, not the teen singer.
The team say Bieber only got into the driver’s seat after arriving at his house in order to park the car in his garage.
The security video has not yet been handed over to the police.
Tyler’s statement directly contradicts two witness statements taken by police after the alleged reckless driving incident on Monday, May 27.
One of the witnesses, ex-NFL player Keyshawn Johnson, now an ESPN analyst, told police officers he and his three-year-old daughter were outside a Calabasas location when a white Ferrari sped past him and another witness. Infuriated, at what he considered the endangerment of his child, Johnson followed the car to Bieber’s nearby house to confront the driver.
In a TMZ video report posted Friday, Johnson said:
“Look man, I know the difference between a black kid driving a car and a white kid driving a car, I got bi-racial kids.” The 40-year-old added, “… I got a chance to see him driving the car, lets put it that way. He [Bieber] was sitting in the driver’s seat.”
Last week Sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore said two witnesses [including Johnson] claim they saw the 19-year-old driving the Ferrari.
“Their eyewitness testimony to our deputies was definitive — not only the speed, not only the vehicle, but Mr. Bieber was sitting and driving in the driver’s side seat,” Whitmore added.
However, key questions will be at what point in the journey the witnesses saw the pop star behind the wheel and how clearly, given the “freeway” speeds the vehicle was reportedly traveling at.
If the witnesses only got a good look at Bieber in the driveway of his home, it doesn’t negate the security team’s claim that the singer was in fact preparing to park his car.
Whitmore previously told the Los Angeles Times on May 29: “Mr. Bieber hurried into the home without talking to anybody.”
But on June 1, TMZ wrote:
“Keyshawn says he saw Justin behind the wheel of his Ferrari in the driveway of his gated community. We’re told 3 other witnesses also saw Justin behind the wheel.”
“Keyshawn tells TMZ… when he confronted Justin in his garage… Justin said he wasn’t driving during the wild ride and got into the driver’s seat in the driveway to park the car into the garage — which is a tricky maneuver in a low-riding vehicle.”
There is a clear conflict between TMZ’s report that Johnson and Bieber spoke — with the singer providing an explanation as to why he was in the driver’s seat — and the Los Angeles Times’ earlier Whitmore quote stating they did not talk.
Sheriff’s deputies plan to send a report to the L.A District Attorney’s Office to consider filing misdemeanor charges within the next two weeks, the Associated Press reports.
That Was Me Behind The Wheel Of Justins Vehicle. Don’t Blame Him. People Are Actually Evil Swearing Up And Down That It Was Who It Wasnt.
— Tyler, The Creator (@fucktyler) June 1, 2013
Justin Bieber’s Twitter response:
@fucktyler all good buddy. i deal with this everyday. thanks though. the baby aint mine either.
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) June 3, 2013
[Images via AceShowbiz & BET]
