Scooter Braun has accused the man suing Justin Bieber of blackmail.
The 24-year-old singer was caught on camera two years ago when he engaged in a heated confrontation with Rodney Tobias Cannon whilst in Cleveland after Game 3 of the 2016 NBA Finals, and he is now being subjected to a lawsuit that claims he used "racial slurs" and was responsible for injuries sustained by Cannon during the brawl.
Justin’s manager, Scooter, has now leapt to the ‘Sorry’ hitmaker’s defence and insisted the allegations against him are "completely false".
He tweeted: "Justin Bieber has done a lot of stupid things in his past but what he has also done is apologize and own those mistakes. This most recent claim against him is completely false and a fabrication from a man who tried to push for money for the last several years.
"It is disgusting to me to see this man lie and try to bring race into a situation to scare us into a payment again. He never said these things before because they never happened. This is a smear tactic to get money and it’s gross.
"So I repeat… these statements again justin are completely false and we won’t be scared or blackmailed. This man should be ashamed of himself. Real racism exists.. but it doesn’t apply here. Just horrible.(sic)"
In the lawsuit, Cannon claimed Justin "suddenly became irate" after he took a picture with the singer and "aggressively threatening harm to [him] if the photograph was not deleted."
He also alleged Justin made "threatening communications made in public in front of a number of people included the use of racial epithets."
The lawsuit comes just over a year after Cannon filed a police report about the altercation, claiming he was trying to settle with Justin, but that the star wasn’t co-operating.
Scooter Braun defends Justin Bieber
