Judged on the low bar he has set for himself over the years, Justin Bieber has been acting pretty responsibly these days.
Heck, he just visited some sick young fans at a hospital and he grew all emotional performing at the Manchester memorial concert last month.
However, despite his run of relatively good behavior, the singer has apparently been banned from performing in China due to… well… very bad behavior.
The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture announced this week that Bieber cannot perform in the country because he is impure and he sets a negative example for supporters in that nation.
The ban was explained when a fan of the scandal-filled artist posted on the Bejing Culture Bureau’s website, asking why she couldn’t see the singer on stage in China during the Asia leg of his Purpose tour this September.
“Please give a detailed explanation of why Justin Bieber is not allowed to come to China!” wrote this curious individual, adding:
“[He] has won many major awards, which demonstrates his extraordinary talents. Why aren’t mainland fans given the right to enjoy his performance?”
And this is how the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture replied:
We sympathize with your feelings. Justin Bieber is a talented singer but is also a controversial young foreign idol.
We understand that there are records of his bad behavior, whether it is in his private life abroad or on stage.
His inappropriate manner has caused public discontent.
In order to regulate the market order of show business in China and purify the market environment, it was decided that performers of inappropriate behavior will not be welcomed.
That’s just amazing all around.
What sort of bad behavior might China be referring to?
Bieber has a history of driving recklessly, screaming at his own fans and generally acting like a pompous jackass.
But there was a specific incident in China itself that may have gotten the government understandably riled up.
In 2013, while on tour in the area, the superstar was captured on camera being carried up to the Great Wall of China by his bodyguards.
Reports at the time indicated that officials in the country were offended by this action… as were many sane-minded individuals who saw it as the epitome of Justin Bieber acting like a spoiled brat.
Then, in 2014, Bieber shared photos of himself visiting the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, which many Chinese citizens see as a monument to Japan’s brutal wartime past.
It’s not the kind of place you just brag about attending on social media.
Bieber quickly apologized for the images and deleted them from his Instagram account.
“While in Japan I asked my driver to pull over for which I saw a beautiful shrine,” he wrote at the time, explaining:
“I was mislead to think the Shrines were only a place of prayer. To anyone I have offended I am extremely sorry. I love you China and I love you Japan.”
That’s nice and all.
But Chinese authorities do not love him back.
