Justin Bieber On His 2014 DUI Arrest: ‘Thank God I’m Not Where I Used To Be’
Singer Justin Bieber took a moment on Sunday to look back at the chaos surrounding his life following his 2014 arrest on DUI charges, the Daily Mail is reporting.
In an Instagram collage featuring the “Company” vocalist’s infamous mugshot taken immediately after his arrest on a residential Florida street that year and a more-current, smiling selfie, the 23-year-old pop star praised his own self-growth and promised fans that he would never let them down in such a way again.
“I love this because it reminds me I’m not exactly where I want to be,” Bieber shared, “but thank God I’m not where I used to be. The best is yet to come!”
Justin was busted for speed racing in his yellow Lamborghini on January 23, 2014, and ultimately hit with DUI and resisting arrest charges after he reportedly cursed out on-scene officers who administered a sobriety test on him — which he failed.
“Subsequent tests confirmed the presence of marijuana and [the anti-anxiety medicine] Xanax in his system,” the publication goes on to say; the latter of which, Justin purportedly blamed on his own mother, Pattie Mallette, during his interrogation by police, according to a TMZ post from January 2014.
“Bieber confirmed [Mallette gave him] the anti-anxiety pills,” the site wrote, “but he wasn’t sure exactly what kind [they were] because he just [took] whatever Pattie [gave] him.”
Justin’s mother was never officially hit with any crimes, but he went on to plead both of his DUI-related charges down to careless driving and resisting arrest, respectively. He was made to pay a $500 fine, ordered to complete anger management and anti-drunken driving classes, and as part of the plea deal, forced to make a $50,000 donation to Our Kids, a Florida-based children’s charity.
At a latter court hearing related to the DUI arrest, Judge William Altfield relayed to Bieber’s representatives that their client had a duty to do better not just for himself, but for those who idolize the Canadian-born musician.
“I hope that he realizes that his actions not only lead to consequences that affect him,” Atfield specified, “but they lead to consequences that affect others who are looking up to him as a role model.”
Justin chose not appear in court that day, but expressed in an 2015 Complex interview that he was a victim of a celeb-obsessed cop who has a pension for nabbing famous folks, including himself.
“The cop supposedly wanted to be famous for arresting celebrities, and someone had heard him say that prior to that,” Justin remarked, before seemingly allowing a bit of cockiness to shine through.
“I wouldn’t take back anything,” Bieber said of all his past tribulations, including the DUI incident.
“[In fact], I would do it all the same way. I’m not going to say I’m sorry for the things that I’ve done because I think that it allows me to tell a story. If I would’ve came into the industry at a young age and never had any failures, people would’ve been like, Who is this kid? He’s not relatable. Now, I went through my sh**, I came out on the other side, and I’m going to show you it gets better.”
Since that time, Justin has faced a handful of other legal obstacles besides DUI that are mostly due to his own violent tendencies.
For example, a civil lawsuit was filed by a Cleveland resident against the star in June 2016 after Bieber allegedly a man outside of a hotel in the Ohio city, according to a separate TMZ posting.
Justin Bieber reflects on his 2014 DUI arrest: "Thank God I'm not where I used to be." https://t.co/UKSYT69nic pic.twitter.com/DTH4vemW5X
— Us Weekly (@usweekly) April 23, 2017
Additionally, the celebrity gossip site also reported on a supposed February 2017 headbutting incident that supposedly saw Justin attacking a worker of the popular L.A.-based eatery Serafina during an after-party for the Grammys.
“Several eyewitnesses [told TMZ that] Bieber was ‘play fighting’ with [That’s So Raven alum] Kyle Massey,” the post notes, “when he realized someone from the restaurant staff was recording the action. Justin [was said to have] asked the guy to stop recording and delete the video, [and] the staffer apparently resisted. That’s when Justin [purportedly] lunged at the guy.”
None of the more recent incidents were brought up by Justin Bieber in his DUI Instagram reflection.
[Featured Image by Mike Windle/Getty Images]
