Justin Bieber encounters Israeli paparazzi

April 12, 2011 - 6:35 PM by

Justin Bieber takes a motorcycle ride with fans hanging on. (Yoni Tuvali)

Israeli paparazzi are infamous for their tenacity. In the past Jim Carrey went so far as to hire a double to hang out at his hotel while he snuck out the back to go sightseeing. And the bodyguards of Leo DiCaprio, who was visiting the Kotel with his Israeli girlfriend Bar Rafaeli, got into a scuffle with overeager photographers jostling to snap the famous couple.

Now it’s Justin Bieber’s turn to be justifiably annoyed. The teen singing sensation arrived in Israel on Sunday night ahead of his show Thursday night in Tel Aviv’s Hayarkon Park. And the paparazzi haven’t left him alone.

On Tuesday, after evidently having an experience similar to DiCaprio’s at the Kotel, he took to Twitter to call out the paparazzi for trying to snap photos of him while he was in Israel taking in the sights, MTV reported.

“You would think paparazzi would have some respect in holy places,” he lamented. “All I wanted was the chance to walk where Jesus did here in Israel.”

“Staying in the hotel for the rest of the week u happy?” he wrote. “People wait their whole lives for opportunities like this, why would they want to take that experience away from someone. They should be ashamed of themselves. Take pictures of me eating but not in a place of prayer, ridiculous.”

Bieber’s post prompted the latest Twitter trend, #papsleavebiebsalone

A day earlier on Monday, Bieber tweeted about his excitement over being in Israel.
After spending the morning in his hotel room, the singer visited a Tel Aviv beach with his parents and crew members, played the traditional “matkot” (paddleball) game, rode a motorcycle and had a late lunch. In the evening he put on a white jacket, a tie and a pair of jeans and went out with his family for dinner at a restaurant near the beach.

“Just amazing place…not a bad day. just wish got a little more space and privacy from the paps to enjoy this time with my family. Thanks,” he wrote. “I’m in the holy land and i am grateful for that. I just want to have the same personal experience that others have here.”

Media reports have his itinerary including visiting the Sea of Galilee, Nazareth and Bethlehem, and on Wednesday even meeting Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. The PR firm of the show’s promoter has been putting out daily updates summarizing Bieber’s whereabouts as if he was a head of state instead of a 17-year-old teen idol.

After DiCaprio’s incident a few years ago, PR pros advised that the way to stop paparazzi from stalking you is to hold one event for the press, let them photograph you to their hearts content, and then they’ll leave you alone. Bieber’s people didn’t take that advice and have kept the visit totally private and shrouded in secrecy. Knowing the veracity of our local lensmen, however, I’m not sure a press conference would help anyway. They’d be staking him out everywhere along his journey anyway.

It’s almost as if we didn’t have real issues to deal with. How refreshing.

Tags: • Category: A New Reality, Entertainment, General, Israeliness, Life, Music, Pop Culture 

Comments

2 Comments on Justin Bieber encounters Israeli paparazzi

  1. Rachel on Wed, Apr 13th 2011 4:12 PM

    2. OMG! I remember Arnold Schwartzenegger at the opening of the now-defunct Planet Hollywood in Tel Aviv telling the press, “Your photographers are really aggressive!” Typically, the Israeli media took it as a point of pride: Tee hee, we made The Terminator flinch.

  2. The Bieber, Bibi and Sderot | ISRAELITY on Thu, Apr 14th 2011 8:10 PM

    3. [...] Bieb on the beachHe’s been bugged by the Israeli paparazzi, invited to seders and now snubbed by the prime minister because he refused to meet with kids from [...]

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