Justin Bieber Banned From the Philippines After Mocking Manny Pacquiao?
Justin Bieber should be banned from the Philippines after mocking boxer Manny Pacquiao's most recent knockout defeat, according to a Filipino lawmaker.
After Pacquiao was knocked out by Juan Manuel Marquez on Dec 8, the 18-year-old crooner and supporter of pugilist Floyd Mayweather posted two photoshopped images of the Filipino congressman on his Instagram account. In one image, a photoshopped image of the Disney character Simba is leaning over Pacquiao who was knocked out of consciousness.
In another image, Pacquiao's body is captured before hitting the floor and photoshopped next to the late singer Michael Jackson who is pictured in his notorious leaning pose alongside the boxer. Bieber, who accompanied Mayweather during a ringside fight last May, then tweeted why he believed Pacquiao was not worthy to fight the boxer that he supports.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"He has nothing to gain fighting Pacquiao, Floyd has never in his professional career lost a fight and Pacquiao lost his last two fights," Bieber tweeted following Pacquiao's loss, after years of fans anticipating a fight between the two boxers. "If Floyd wins it's not that big of a deal Cuz it would be his third loss in a row, and if he loses he's gonna ruin his legacy either way there's no big win for Mayweather.. Mayweather is boxing."
However, Bieber's comments and images seemed to upset Filipino fans and lawmakers. According to Abs-cbnnews.com, Yacap party-list Rep. Carol Jane Lopez has been urging her congress to ban the Canadian crooner. While Lopez has asked Filipino youth to forgo listening to Bieber's music, the 18-year-old has reportedly been declared "persona non grata."
Bieber became the subject of a Twitter trend on Wednesday called, "#banjustinbieber" following the Abs-cbnnews.com reports. Multiple people took to Twitter to express their opinion about the ban.
One person tweeted that the matter was about Bieber learning to respect Pacquiao.
"Next time Justin, try to learn how to respect others #BanJustinBieber," one person tweeted.
Another person thought those trying to ban Bieber might be taking things too far.
"I'm not a belieber or anything but don't you think #BanJustinBieber is a little over the top," the person questioned on Twitter.
Still, Bieber seemed unfazed by the criticism on his Instagram account.
"If they were beliebers I know they wouldn't leave my side over [a] Boxing opinion I have," the singer wrote on his social media account.
