Justin Bieber is being sued by a clubgoer who claims he was assaulted by the singer, his friends, and his security team during a brawl at a nightclub on Sunday, August 4.
The 19-year-old pop star arrived at the South Pointe club in Southampton, New York around 2:42 am with a group of between 12-14 people including his security team.
Wayne Rennalls, a 22-year-old actor and model, has filed a personal injury lawsuit against Bieber in addition to a police report .
Rennalls and his lawyer, Mark Rudner, announced the lawsuit at a Friday press conference in Bay Shore , where he showed up with bruises on his face.
The father of one says hostilities arose when he he tried to get back a bow-tie he had loaned to a waitress working at the club, after she turned her attentions to the “Baby” star and his camp became jealous.
“One of his [Bieber’s] friends escalated [the situation] and got disappointed ’cause I was talking to the girl, that she was around me all night,” Rennalls said at the press conference .
He was later treated at Peconic Bay Medical Center that Sunday and appears ( from photographs ) to have sustained a black eye. He also says he suffered facial cuts and could lose a tooth.
Rennalls claims he was kicked by Bieber in the club parking lot while he was being attacked by the singer’s bodyguards.
Previously a source told The New York Post that the fight, “was all over a little white H&M bow tie.”
“One of the bottle girls liked it, so Wayne let her put it on. Justin was flashing all these girls with his flashlight. The girl with the bow tie went over to Justin and Wayne followed because he wanted his tie back. Then Bieber’s people got in his face,” said the source.
Video footage of what appear to be clashes between Bieber’s security team and friends and other clubgoers was recorded in the club’s parking lot.
Two separate incidents of Bieber’s security interacting with clubbers are shown in the video.
But the alleged assault of Rennalls — in the clip he is seen shirtless and shouting while gesturing aggressively at Bieber’s bodyguards and one of the singer’s friends — is not seen on camera.
In the video Bieber is seen running along his SUV bonnet before jumping down on the ground. At one point, he is seen being forcibly pushed back by one of his friends.
However, what allegedly happened next is not on camera.
The Post quoted a source who claims Bieber screamed “Punk b***h!” in Wayne’s direction, prompting Rennalls to respond by throwing a rock at the singer’s SUV as it left with waitresses from the club.
South Pointe club management told E! News that Bieber’s “security confronted the individual after their car was struck with a rock,” but — crucially — did not say the singer was involved in that.
Claims that Bieber “went nuts” inside the club appear to be far less substantiated than accounts of tension and recorded instances of a brawl outside the club premises, reportedly at around 4 am.
Waitresses Diana Bhokasub, 24, and Sophia Rayo, 32 , left the club with Bieber and his entourage for another location and were later contacted by New York Daily News Confidenti@l and possibly other outlets.
Rayo has since released a statement through her attorney Anthony R. Caruso, saying :
“Justin and his staff were perfect gentlemen for the hour or so we all spent as his guests.There is nothing more to it and I am sure the many other guests there would say the same.”
The waitress also spoke to Celebuzz and says Justin was not involved in any wrongdoing.
“Everyone was involved, we almost got out [of the car],” she recalled. “It was just some silly thing about a bow tie. It was a dumb thing. Guys just have testosterone.”
“I personally think the guy was starting with Justin and was aggressive because he wanted to get him involved because it’s Justin Bieber and he’s a celebrity,” Rayo went on. “I think that people start with people sometimes because they want to get hit and look like the big guy in the crew.”
Rayo insists she didn’t see the “Beauty and a Beat” star give his bodyguards any direction about the alleged victim.
She also says the footage doesn’t show guys in the parking lot calling Justin names “anything that would get a normal person worked up. And one thing led to another and his friends got knocked to the floor.”
“This isn’t what Justin’s friends were looking for,” Rayo adds.”It was the other side that was looking to start something. Justin and his friends were just trying to leave as seamlessly as possible to go to [in] the after hours.”
“This story is getting out of hand.”
Bieber’s rep has said Justin was “not involved” in any altercation, while a South Pointe club rep has denied any incident involving the singer took place inside the venue.
Police are investigating the assault claim and are reportedly trying to determine whether or not the teen star directed his bodyguards’ [and/or friends’] actions in the alleged attack.