Justin Bieber Owns Mop Bucket Mistake, Apologizes To Clinton, Lets Move On

Justin Bieber had one of those days yesterday.

He’s had a few this year.

They probably start with a call from someone at management HQ leaving multiple messages telling the singer to stay off-line until told otherwise.

TMZ’s early Wednesday gift of a video of Bieber peeing into a mop bucket in the restaurant kitchen of a New York City nightclub before cursing at a picture of former president Bill Clinton, set the Internet on fire and undermined the teen star’s recent online postings about being “grateful” and trying to “be great.”

However, the 19-year-old has since owned the mop bucket calamity with a statement on Twitter, which read:

“in life u will make mistakes and people will try and tear u down… but u gotta stay positive. Stay strong… and learn to be better…”

“always live to serve others and The Lord #growingeveryday.”

Bieber also spoke to Clinton in a phone call the day the story broke and apologized for his disrespect.

The former leader of the free world accepted his apology and took the incident in jest, apparently responding with words the gist of which were: “If that is the worst thing you have ever done, all is well.”

After their talk, Bieber tweeted:

@billclinton thanks for taking the time to talk Mr. President. Your words meant alot. #greatguy

— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) July 10, 2013

The make-nice didn’t stop there.

Bieber reportedly told the 66-year-old that he would be up for getting involved with the Clinton Global Initiative, while the statesman told the heartthrob to focus on the good he can do for the world and to be mindful of the company he keeps — it’s rumored one of the singer’s friends leaked and/or sold the video to TMZ.

Wednesday also saw the Canadian endure a tsunami of Twitter rage after pictures of him with NHL’s Stanley Cup and standing on the Chicago Blackhawks logo in their locker room sent the team’s fans off the deep end.

But while the fans have issues, the Blackhawks — who benefited from the publicity — have no residual beef with Bieber, according to a statement released later by the team.

“As frequently happens with guests into our room, Justin inadvertently stepped on the team logo on the floor but moved off quickly once immediately reminded,” wrote Brandon Faber, senior director of Media & Community Relations.

“He was apologetic and understanding of the tradition but continued to take photos with the Cup and some young fans. He was extremely genuine and kind with his time. We appreciate his enthusiasm towards hockey and wish him well with the remainder of his tour,” the statement concluded.

For those who can’t stand Bieber, his apology to Clinton, ownership of said mop bucket mess and the Hawks statement won’t mean a thing — and that’s unfortunate.

While yesterday’s debacle appears to underline a theme underpinning all the incidents (the actual and alleged) that have plagued the singer this year — namely, what happens when a young person is given no limits — it also exposes the reality that Bieber lives in a world where every mistake, every stupid act is up for sale. Literally.

Despite the millions he’s earned and his legion of devoted fans, the singer seems to be susceptible to one circle of probably sycophantic friends who are often present when bad things happen, whether it’s grim scenes involving a mop bucket, car crashes in Bieber’s high performance cars, speeding in his Calabasas, CA neighborhood, or the death of a paparazzo.

TMZ, any hardcore gossip outlet in fact, is only as good as the material it obtains. And with Bieber, they got their hands on a doozy. But what does that say about a kid who not only has the world’s media and a rapacious paparazzi on his tail and apparently has to contend with betrayal within his camp?

Two words: Unimaginable pressure.

The same tabloid media that barely covers the sizeable charity/outreach work Bieber has put in over the years and continues to — and on several occasions has itself been caught out exaggerating or reporting spurious rumors — evidently prefers to allocate its manpower and considerable resources into scouting and paying for damaging video footage and information on the pop star. The reason? Commercial gain.

There were no heroes in yesterday’s firestorm, but there should be some sympathy for a teenager who undeniably did something unedifying, probably while drunk, months ago. Many have done the same or similar in their youth.

The only difference is, footage of it doesn’t make international headlines.

[Image via Huffington Post]