Justin Bieber appears to be in the clear. Tyler, The Creator has publicly stated on Twitter that he was driving the singer’s white Ferrari on Memorial Day.
The 22-year-old Odd Future rapper’s tweet was brief but blunt.
It read:
“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.”
By “people,” Tyler — whose full name is Tyler Gregory Okonma — is most likely referring to former NFL star Keyshawn Johnson who can currently be seen in a TMZ video repeatedly stating that he saw Bieber behind the wheel of his Ferrari on Monday, May 27.
Johnson is one of two witnesses [Note: some media reports say three] claiming to have seen the singer driving.
However, exactly when they saw the 19-year-old in the driver’s seat will be key in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department investigation into the alleged reckless driving incident.
Although Johnson and another resident claim they saw the white Ferrari speed by in the gated, Calabasas neighborhood, Bieber’s security team say Tyler, The Creator was driving it.
In addition, the security team have reportedly told police they have a video to prove that Tyler drove the car at the time in question. They say Bieber only got into the driver’s seat of his Ferrari on arriving at his Calabasas home in order to back it into his garage.
While Johnson maintains he knows “the difference between a black kid driving a car and a white kid driving a car,” if the Ferrari was going as fast as he claims it was there is room for reasonable doubt.
The ex-wide receiver, now ESPN commentator, who was with his three-year-old daughter when he saw the Ferrari, followed the supercar to Bieber’s nearby house in his Prius. Once there he attempted to speak to the teen but the singer went inside his home without speaking.
Johnson told TMZ : “I got a chance to see him driving the car, lets put it that way. He [Bieber] was sitting in the driver’s seat.”
But, the crucial questions will be when and how clearly .
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
Ironically, previous citations and accidents involving Bieber’s friends driving his cars are evidence of frequent loan outs by the Canadian. Rapper Lil Twist’s Wednesday warning for speeding while driving the said Ferrari, a case in point.
Reportedly, the video purporting to show Tyler driving has not yet been given to the police.
Meanwhile, Bieber is still being investigated by police over the alleged reckless driving incident. Sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore previously said of the two on record witnesses (including Johnson):
“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.”
Deputies intend to send a report to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office to consider filing misdemeanor charges within the next week or two, the Associated Press reports .
Bieber is also under investigation for battery after another Calabasas neighbor claimed the singer spat in his face and threatened him during an argument over his alleged reckless driving in March.
The quality of the evidence in that investigation has not yet been made public.