Justin Bieber Sued for Assaulting and Mistreating Bodyguard?
Justin Bieber allegedly assaulted his bodyguard, according to a lawsuit filed by the 18-year-old singer's former employee who also claims the entertainer owes him money.
Moshe Benabou, Bieber's former personal bodyguard, filed a lawsuit in a Los Angeles Superior Court against the singer for assault and battery. According to the lawsuit documents obtained by E! Online, the licensed bodyguard who worked for Bieber from March 2011 to Oct. 2012 is also taking legal action because of an unlawful failure to pay money owed for overtime hours and the violation of labor codes.
In the court documents, Benabou alleges that he worked for Bieber at all times of the day and regularly worked seven days a week from 14 to 18 hours each day. While Benabou is seeking $421,261 in unpaid wages, damages and court costs, he also alleges that a physical altercation took place at the hands of the 18-year-old pop star.
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The court document states that Bieber assaulted his former security guard while backstage at a concert last October.
"Justin Bieber, egged on by a small group of his 'companions' launched an abusive tirade against Moshe Benabou. The tirade was apparently triggered by what Justin Bieber perceived as an attempt by Moshe Benabou to keep one member of Mr. Bieber's entourage physically away from Justin Bieber," the court document alleges. "As part of the tirade Justin Bieber repeatedly punched Moshe Benabou in the chest and upper body area. Mr. Benabou did not retaliate or attempt to protect himself out of his concern for Justin Bieber's physical well being."
According to the court document filed by Benabou, Bieber terminated his employment soon after the altercation took place.
"Moshe Benabou simply turned around to walk away, at which time Justin Bieber exclaimed, 'you are fired,'" the court document states.
After hearing about the story, various people took to Twitter and reacted to the news of Bieber's alleged assault against his bodyguard. Some people found irony in the situation.
"What kind of bodyguard openly admits to being beat up by Justin Bieber," one person questioned on the social networking website.
However, some of Bieber's fans felt sorry for their pop star icon.
"Wow just WOWWW. Everyone betraying Justin," a fan tweeted. "Everyone (is) making him look bad. Even his own crew."
Still, another fan empathized with the singer, noting that he has been going through a lot of negativity in the media.
"Omg he is going through too much, first Mariah yeater, then this and then his so called 'drug addiction,'" the person wrote. "Why are they doing this to him?"
At press time, Bieber's camp had yet to respond to the allegations made by his former personal bodyguard.
