SYDNEY: Canadian pop star Justin Bieber has been asked to clean up his mess by the mayor of The Gold Coast, Australia, after he spray-painted the wall of a hotel during his Believe tour.
The abstract graffiti was painted in the tennis court area of QT Hotel on the Gold Coast, 80 kilometres Southeast of Brisbane. It was then posted on Bieber’s Instagram page, where it has attracted more than 545,000 likes.
The images are of a one-eyed blob with teeth in bright pink, various monsters in splashes of colour, Pac Man ghosts and a take on Spongebob Squarepants with crosses as eyes.
“This eyesore has no place in the city,” said a spokesman for Mayor Tom Tate. “If that’s the example Justin wants to set, it’s really unfortunate. But at the end of the day it’ll get cleaned up, whether or not he decides to.”
The mayor’s office sent a ‘graffiti removal kit’ to Bieber at the hotel, but the singer had already left for Sydney for his concerts on Friday and Saturday.
The mayor also sent a tweet directly to Bieber saying “Glad you had a great time on Australia’s #goldcoast. Hope to see you back soon to clean up your mess. Make me a #belieber”.
He has yet to hear back from Bieber, who also spray-painted a wall at a hotel in Rio de Janeiro earlier this month.
The local council has ordered the QT Hotel to paint over the graffiti, but the hotel defended the pop star’s actions. “The piece of artwork will be left for fans to enjoy,” they said in a statement via email. “We believe it is a wonderful addition to the colourful Gold Coast arts scene.”
Melissa Victor, a publicist for Bieber at Universal Music Group in New York, has declined to comment.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 29th, 2013.
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