Justin Bieber Fight Over ‘Autograph’ Story Is A Hoax, Cleveland Man Admits Lying


Justin Bieber and a guy three times his size got into a fist fight which saw the superstar slapped and pushed to the ground outside his hotel in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, on Wednesday night. However, contrary to reports, the still unidentified man in the video was not Lamont Richmond, who has admitted he lied about being involved. More on that below.

Bieber was in town with pals including singer Khalil Sharieff and F1 champ Lewis Hamilton to watch Game 3 of the NBA Finals on June 8.

While video footage obtained by TMZ clearly shows Bieber didn’t strike the first blow, Entertainment Tonight reports the Canadian’s inner circle are worried that he may be headed for a breakdown.

One source allegedly told ET that Justin has been having a hard time on his Purpose World Tour and not getting on with some team members while on the road.

A second source claims the 22-year-old feels dehumanized from the constant stress of being publicly scrutinized. “People around Justin are nervous about him and worry that he could have a breakdown.” The insider added, “He feels like people forget that he is a human being and needs privacy.”

The source explained, “The situation is serious and no one is taking it lightly. Justin is extremely burnt out and just needs a break.”

Referring to the Biebs’ cancelling of tour meet-and greets back in March and last month’s “no photos” policy, which followed encounters with unpleasant fans and members of the public, the confidante allegedly said “those social posts about the ‘no photos etc…,” was all about Justin “being overwhelmed” and “wasn’t intended to make people think he is a snotty pop star, but it’s definitely reflective of what he is going through right now. During his time off, he has been trying to be as normal as possible and trying to be super low-key about everything.”

As for reasons for the fist fight, ET! alleges that an eyewitness at the hotel during the fracas claimed, “[Bieber] was apparently talking to the girl the guy was with, and when the guy stepped in — Biebs told him he would f**k him up.”

The eyewitness also said bystanders taunted the singer and that he was getting bombarded with requests for pics. “Bieber was hanging out outside the hotel and had been getting harassed by people walking by (mostly guys making fun of him) and hounded for pictures so he was a bit on edge.”

They added, “He had a friend about his size with him, and there was a bodyguard or two, but he was kind of on his own, wandering around.”

Page Six tells a totally different genesis story. The website reports an insider alleged, “Some guy was filming him with his phone and [the Biebs] was like, ‘Hey, stop filming with the phone.’ And the guy shoved him and Justin tried to hit him.”

The alleged source went on to say, “He will stick up for himself. He does not back down if he feels like he’s being disrespected.”

Page Six also had no time for ET!’s “breakdown” story. The site claims a source close to Justin revealed, “There’s no concern.?.?. It’s hard for him to be 22 and he still wants to go out and just be normal.”

TMZ’s video, which was originally filmed on Snapchat and captioned “Justin Beiber getting his a** kicked!!,” reveals a 6’5? man (previously thought to be Cleveland local Lamont Richmond, who has now admitted he lied) kicked off the brawl by slapping Bieber’s head. The singer swung back with a right punch to the man’s face, before falling to the ground under the force of the unidentified man’s weight and blows. Other guys attempted to pull the man off Bieber.

During the scuffle, which took place shortly after 11 p.m., a few Golden State Warriors fans watched Bieber and the unidentified man go at it.

In a second video that surfaced showing part of the fight aftermath, one male Golden State Warriors fan is seen restraining Justin from going after his out-of-shot adversary for another round. A female Warriors fan then talked to the Biebs to calm him down.

Meanwhile, Richmond posted a now deleted, ludicrous video at his Facebook account on Thursday, in which he claimed the confrontation sparked after he asked Bieber for an autograph for his “daughters.”

“The fool ran up on me. I was with the girls. We just asked the d*ck for an autograph,” a hoodie-wearing Lamont blagged in the clip seen below.

Lamont’s tapestry of lies included telling TMZ that he and the two women he was with hung out with the Biebs for a short time on Wednesday night. He claimed that when he asked the singer if the women could get an autograph and a selfie with him, Bieber replied, “No autographs tonight, motherf*****.”

Elaborating, Lamont claimed Justin reeked of alcohol and took a swing at him. This is despite a video showing the bigger guy hit the singer first. Vamping up his story for drama, he told TMZ that he could have “killed” Bieber. The site also reported Richmond has contacted a lawyer and planned to sue. TMZ has now updated their story. Given how wide the story went, the site should report the update afresh.

On Friday, Black Sports Online, Gossip Cop, and other outlets reported that Richmond admitted to lying about being punched by Bieber and has been fired from his job over his deception. Lamont also claims he has received death threats from angry Beliebers. Whether all, part, or none of his statement is true remains to be seen. But Lamont is no longer publicly claiming he fought with Bieber.

Considering that one of the women seen in video footage walking next to the unnamed guy who did fight Bieber was the model Jordan Ozuna, who was once romantically linked with Bieber, it’s seems Richmond was unaware of her identity and how little reason she would have for an “autograph.”

A further hole in Lamont’s story — should his admission of lying not be sufficient for some — is a pic which surfaced clearly showing Justin Bieber taking a snap with one of the unidentified man’s female friends. Obviously, this doesn’t support Lamont’s claim that Bieber refused to take selfies and sign autographs.

Justin Bieber

For his part, Bieber posted two selfies on Thursday (later deleting one), to show he was unscathed after the fight. Alongside the first selfie he wrote, “Not a scratch on this pretty boy.” After that post, Bieber shared another photo which he captioned, “No hesitation.”

Bieber’s team has yet to comment on the incident. But while it’s undeniable that a fight took place in Cleveland, it is now known that Lamont Richmond admits he lied about his “autograph” story.

Justin Bieber

[Images via Kevin Winter / Getty Images]

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