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Watch Justin Bieber Get A Fan’s So-Called ‘Gift’ Thrown In His Face [Video]

By Page Mackinley
Published on: 02:59 PST, May 28, 2016

Contrary to reports, Justin Bieber was not “handed” a flag as a gift by an Argentinian fan before he flipped it out of his car window. In fact, the fan threw her flag at the singer, and it hit his face.

With the exception of balls and confetti, most reasonable people would not consider an object hurled at them as a “gift.” Especially in the face. Based on his reaction, Justin Bieber is no different.

The incident took place on Wednesday, May 4, in New York City during the same week that the pop prince played two Purpose World Tour concerts at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center and the first of his pop-up shops opened.

In newly-surfaced video footage, Bieber is seen being driven out of the garage of a NYC hotel with his passenger window open while looking directly at a group of fans waiting by the exit. This appears to indicate the 22-year-old intended to talk the fans and perhaps take selfies with them.

As the girls approached the singer’s car, one threw the Argentinian flag, hitting the Biebs’ face. The Canadian star visibly flinches from the impact of the flag and — understandably — looks irritated, before seemingly talking to the fan who threw it. After which, he tipped the flag back out and raised his window.

Watch a clip of the moment below.

While it’s obvious that Bieber was hit in the face by the fan’s flag, previous media reports used footage which did not show that part of the incident. Instead, outlets posted a video which only showed the Grammy-winning singer tossing the flag while claiming he had been “rude” for no reason.

Argentine media, U.S., and other outlets also reported Bieber was “disrespecting” the Argentinian flag. The reality that he may not have been aware the material was a flag and was clearly upset about being hit in the face, either wasn’t included in most reports or was minimized.

On May 6, Mail Online inaccurately reported that Bieber was “handed a folded up piece of fabric — reportedly the Argentinian flag — by an adoring fan, but he rejects the gift, tossing it out of the window.”

The tabloid also claimed the unnamed Argentinian teen fan wrote about the incident on Facebook, saying she had been in New York to celebrate her 15th birthday. However, there is no link to that alleged Facebook post. A recent Mashable report threw doubt on its existence.

Meanwhile, the repeatedly discredited gossip blog Hollywood Life accused Bieber of pulling “attitude on his fans” and acting “mean.” Naturally, the site posted a video which left out the flag-throwing and face-hitting parts.

Fast forward to May 23. Just as the story was fading, the Shady Music Fact fan Twitter account reignited things by tweeting the footage which didn’t show the key segments, alongside an inflammatory caption which reads, “Justin Bieber threw a fan’s gift out the window.” That post went viral and triggered more one-sided news reports.

Following similar, subsequent instances of fans and members of the public getting aggressive with the heartthrob during the Boston stop of his Purpose World Tour, Bieber announced he would no longer take impromptu photos with fans because he feels “like a zoo animal.”

However, it seems the singer is happy to hug and talk to fans provided they don’t film these interactions, as the girl pictured below explained in replies to fans on Twitter, following Bieber’s recent trip to Las Vegas for the 2016 Billboard Music Awards.

So, what is learned from Flag-Gate? At least two things. Despite multiple Justin Bieber Twitter accounts tweeting media outlets with the exculpatory video, few have since reported that the singer was hit by a fan’s flag, or posted the new footage. It is not a stretch to speculate that most media outlets believe the more damning version of this story draws more website traffic clicks.

Secondly, the inclusion of just a few seconds of footage produces radically different interpretations of Bieber’s reaction to the fans on May 4. As one Belieber noted, what a difference context makes.

[Images via universal Music Group/Def Jam Recordings]

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