In the early 2010s, Justin Bieber was a familiar face in the headlines for a number of ill-advised shenanigans, which culminated in a 2014 DUI arrest in Miami Beach. During this time he also happened to live down the street from one of the most famous TV judges of all time – Judy Sheindlin.
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In a recent interview with Access Hollywood, Sheindlin revealed that Bieber was “scared to death” of her when they were neighbors after she called him out on the arrest.
“There was a period of time before he grew up — when he was foolish, and doing foolish things,” Sheindlin told the outlet.
Soon after his DUI, the pop star was also accused of throwing eggs at his neighbor’s house in Calabasas (not confirmed if it was Sheindlin’s). Bieber pleaded no contest to misdemeanor vandalism and was ordered to pay $80,000 in damages.
Sheindlin continued, “I must have said something about it and then, I understood that he was paying the front door people to let them know when I was there, coming and going, so he wouldn’t have to bump into me.” Watch the clip below.
Sheindlin did speak to Bieber’s string of arrests in 2014 with Los Angeles’ CBS Affiliate saying, “Being a celebrity is a gift; you can either treat it reverently, or you can make a fool out of yourself, and he’s doing a very good job of making a fool out of himself. And I think it’s sad.”
She continued, “Nobody’s going to remember that he was a marginal singer, but they’re going to remember a young kid, who had a chance to have it all, and who is blowing it by acting like a fool.”
Nowadays, Bieber has been very public about his journey to sobriety. He took part in a 2020 Youtube Original series titled Seasons, which dictated his struggle with addiction and his bout with Lyme disease. He said in the docuseries, “I’m committed to getting better and committed to doing whatever I have to do, whether it’s inconvenient or not, because I know ultimately it’s not only for me.”
(Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)
