Was He Really Arrogant?

Last week has been a flurry of debates about the infamous Youtube video of US Pop Idol Justin Bieber titled “ Justin Bieber: How arrogant can you be” posted by a scorned fan and daughter of the father featured in the video being brushed off by the singer. The video for me was too choppy for me to see, some say he was pushed away other seems he was ignored. In my interpretation, the man quickly rushed over to Justin as he was quickly walking out of the tarmac and brushed passed the man who dropped something on the floor. The daughter immediately posted the video and closed the comments section in her Youtube account.

Since then PEP and Yahoo Philippines and other media sites has picked up the story of the Viral Vid calling Justin ungrateful to the very fans that lifted him up to his fame. And the opinions and flurry of comments came flooding in on whether the pop idol or the employee was on the wrong for their actions.

The work I am in now allows me to work and interact with VIP clients such as high profile celebrities and politicians. Most of who have a similar crazed fan base as Justin Bieber. As a fan myself, say if I am in the presence of the cast of Fringe or of Jonny Depp, my human side is fighting every last cell of my body from trying to give one of them a hug, a kiss and ask for an autograph.

However before the start of our shift we are briefed such actions are unprofessional, can cause problems with the security detail and can also get us suspended or worse fired. Already the fact the fan approached the VIP and another video taping the incident by both employees of the airport questions security and protocol issues by the managers of NAIA.

After a while working with such VIPS, some I can say ARE snobs, others seem like they are, not because of choice but because they are instructed to ignore fans at certain areas by their agents and bodyguards due to security reasons. In most cases celebrities can only pose for pictures and sign autographs for a short period of time at certain public areas.

I understand that the Tatay in the video was trying his best to give his daughter such a great gift. After all his daughters greatest fan can walk up to him once in a lifetime. However the viral buzz of the video has taken the whole thing out of context. Maybe JB was sick, maybe he was running late behind schedule, maybe his agents told him to ignore any fans that come his way as he walks out, maybe he really is arrogant. There are many factors here to consider and we have yet to hear from the actors side. And also remember that US has a different way of how their celebrities interact with fans as compared to Philippine celebrities. Seriously its only in the Philippines I find certain people actually do a live interview that they have an STD or tweet how jealous they are of another co-host or air.

I am not defending the actor here, but the issue is now a mountain of a molehill. What does the daughter want? A public apology from JB which I am sure the Philippine fan base will be gain spilt on their opinions about him, and rebirth of new issues about his actions. This can cause a gaffe between possible future concerts of the actor in Manila. Because seriously, every US based celebrity that visits our country seems to get a bad rep the moment they leave.

And the father who IMO broke some serious protocol in walking over to him to ask for an autograph. He was actually lucky he was just brushed aside. I have witnessed and myself have been tackled by a bodyguard simply by being within a few feets space of an VIP. If I was NAIA’s marketing and security manager, the best way I could have deflected this issue was give everyone involved a serious briefing on professionalism when facing a VIP. And then speak to the agents/publicists of the VIP for a latter photoshoot with the crew as a complimentary gift in exchange for assisting JB on both his arrival and departure in Manila. Most celebrity agents allow this because it builds rapport with them and the company and can be used as a positive publicity stunt.

Reading most of the comments in PEP and Yahoo Philippines, show that the fans are running mostly on emotions. But we need to see all sides of things in every issue and controversy before making hasty judgments and conclusions.

Unfortunately humanity nowadays with the rise of social media, have an unsalable hunger for negativity, trolling and controversy.