Court Rules in Favor of Justin Bieber Against Ex-Neighbors' Accusation of Hate Crime Speech
A U.S. court found Canadian singer Justin Bieber not guilty of hate crime speech after his former neighbors accused him of doing such an act towards them.
Bieber's former neighbors, the ones he was found guilty of egging their home three years ago, accused the singer of anti-Semitic hate crime for the words uttered by his bodyguard.
Couple Jeffrey and Suzanne Schwartz accused the "Sorry" singer of committing hate speech against them even though they admitted that it was Bieber's bodyguard, not Bieber himself, who threatened them.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
In documents gathered by TMZ, the couple's lawyer said, "Threatening a man with body harm while calling him a 'little Jew boy' and intimidating him with 'what are you going to do about it, Jew boy?' is a hate crime."
But lawyers of the Grammy Award-winner called the claim "preposterous." They argued that the Schwartzes cannot make the claim as they admitted that it was not Bieber who said the words but his bodyguard.
A court decision handed on Wednesday ruled in favor of Bieber. The judge's decision said the couple cannot hold the Canadian songwriter liable for the comments since he did not commit them, said an update from TMZ.
Bieber's lawyer called out his client's former neighbors for allegedly taking advantage of the situation.
"It is unfortunate that the Schwartzes were trying to exploit hate crime laws for personal gain," the lawyer said. "We are glad the judge denied their motion to plead these claims."
In 2014, a court found Bieber guilty of one act of misdemeanor vandalism against his ex-neighbors after he egged their house in the gated community of Calabasas, California. He was put on two years' probation following the incident and ordered to pay the Schwartzes $80,900 for damages.
Bieber also had to do five days of community service on top of the probation and fine and was tasked to attend an anger management program.
The court also told the singer to maintain his distance from his former neighbors for two years.
Bieber has since moved out from Calabasas, California following the incident.
