Justin Bieber: Video Vindicates Singer After Misplaced Blame
Video footage has revealed Justin Bieber did not drive his Ferrari through his gated Calabasas, Calif., neighborhood on Memorial Day.
Despite ex-NFL star Keyshawn Johnson’s emphatic claims that he saw the 19-year-old behind the wheel while speeding through the exclusive community, a security video shows Tyler, The creator, (real name, Tyler Gregory Okonma) was driving.
Law enforcement sources told TMZ that L.A. County Sheriff’s Deputies secured video footage which recorded outside of Bieber’s home on the day in question.
The 5-minute clip shows the white Ferrari pulling into the teen star’s driveway with Tyler, The Creator, clearly seen in the driver’s seat.
In the video, Bieber is seen closely following the vehicle on his motorcycle.
Johnson, one of two witnesses who claimed to have seen the Canadian driving his Ferrari at speeds of up to 100 mph, is then seen arriving at the singer’s mansion about 30 seconds later.
At that point in the clip, Tyler is seen getting out of the car while Bieber gets into the driver’s seat to maneuver the luxury vehicle into his garage.
Johnson, who had followed the Ferrari to Bieber’s home to confront the singer over his alleged speeding, raged about the incident days later in a video posted on TMZ.
Johnson accused Bieber of switching seats, blasted the singer as “entitled,” and described his security guards as “goons,” before referring to an ongoing battery investigation involving the pop star.
While Johnson’s insistence that he knew the “difference between a black kid driving car and a white kid driving a car” still stands, it appears he only saw Bieber behind the wheel of his Ferrari when he was preparing to park it.
Tyler publicly admitted that he drove Bieber’s Ferrari in a statement posted to his Twitter account on June 1. The 22-year-old producer-rapper spoke to TMZ the day before news of the security video broke. He told the website he was not driving recklessly.
The case is being sent to the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office for review.
According to reports, it is “highly unlikely” criminal charges will be filed.
L.A. Sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore has confirmed that the video exists.
He also confirmed TMZ’s report that Bieber was following behind the Ferrari driven by Tyler, on his motorcycle.
Whitmore has since stepped back from previous statements about “definitive” witnesses, telling ABC News that, “regardless of who was behind the wheel, the reckless driving needs to stop.”
As IQ previously noted, the crucial questions in this investigation were always at what point in the journey the witnesses claimed to have seen Bieber driving and how clearly, given the speed they themselves claimed the Ferrari had been traveling at.
Despite the de facto conviction of Bieber by a court of public opinion without access to all the information in the case and apparently incited by Johnson’s comments, the reality of what took place on May 27 was captured on video.
But what if there hadn’t been a video?
It remains to be seen whether other investigations that involve Bieber and/or his security team, when measured on the facts rather than breathless coverage, will also vindicate a teenager who’s just received his first breather after an unprecedentedly, bruising three months.
@fucktyler all good buddy. i deal with this everyday. thanks though. the baby aint mine either.
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) June 3, 2013
