Justin Bieber has been accused of spitting in a deejay’s face in an Ohio bar and lounge club.
The claim has since been categorically denied by the teen singer’s representative and a firsthand witness.
The alleged incident supposedly took place between Saturday, July 12, and Sunday, July 13, after Bieber’s concert at Columbus’ Nationwide Arena.
The deejay — who played a set at The Social Room club in Columbus — called in to the “Dave and Jimmy Show” at a local radio station Tuesday and alleged Bieber’s bodyguards approached him in the venue and accused him of “secretly taking” photos of the singer. Audio here .
The man said he thought the 19-year-old singer was worried because it was an over-21 club.
It’s alleged that Bieber’s security grabbed the deejay’s phone and scrolled through it for photos but did not find any.
However, the man claims the security team then told Bieber that he was trying to take pictures.
It’s at this point — allegedly — that the pop star supposedly confronted the man then spit in his face.
“He called my mom something, called my dad something, called me something… and spit in my face,” said the man, according to TMZ .
The gossip website reports the deejay intends to file charges and that he later tested for Hepatitis, but the results came back negative.
Initially, a source close to Bieber denied the alleged incident happened, saying : “Everything’s been going well on tour and it’s just really sad that someone would copycat others’ baseless claims just to try and get attention for themselves.”
Bieber’s rep later issued an even more declarative statement.
The rep told Gossip Cop the claim is a “lie” and that the incident “never happened.”
The spokesperson slammed the story, describing it as: “Another person looking for a paycheck in the witch hunt which at this point is just out of control.”
The denials appear to be corroborated by a woman called Heather who says she attended The Social Room on the night in question. She identifies herself as @HeatherBelieves on her Twitter account.
In two of several, somewhat colorful messages she posted on Tuesday, July 16, the woman wrote:
Just to let you know, Justin didn’t spit in anyone’s face. That TMZ article is bullshit, first hand experience.
— Heather (@HeatherBelieves) July 16, 2013
She added:
Justin was no where near ANYONE not even that DJ. He was chill the whole time and that shit pisses me off. People lying for fame.
— Heather (@HeatherBelieves) July 16, 2013
It is very possible that Bieber’s latest accuser is aware of the ongoing battery allegation against the singer — in which a neighbor in his Calabasas, Calif., neighborhood claims the pop star spat at and threatened him during an argument in March — and is now trying to exploit that alleged trope .
Either way, the effect of this new claim is the attention siphoned away from Bieber’s “Heartbreaker” single teaser and latest fragrance launch by throwing the singer into a speculative, ugly story that has been adamantly denied by the singer’s rep and a witness.