Judge Judy is beloved for being a straight shooter in the courtroom, so perhaps it’s no surprise that one of her young celebrity neighbors was intimidated by her—especially because she had publicly denounced some of his actions in the past. In a new interview with Access Hollywood, Judge Judy Sheindlin claimed her pop star neighbor was “scared to death” of her when they lived near each other, and that it was probably because of something she said about him to the press. Read on to find out which singer she says went out of his way to avoid seeing the TV judge in person.
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In her interview with Access Hollywood published Nov. 7, Sheindlin talked about her former neighbor, Justin Bieber.
“He’s scared to death of me,” the 80-year-old TV personality said of the singer.
“There was a period of time before he grew up when he was foolish and doing foolish things. 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,” she added, laughing.
Access Hollywood noted that Sheindlin commented on Bieber in 2014, not long after he was arrested after failing a sobriety test while drag racing in Florida. He later pled guilty to careless driving and resisting arrest, as reported by The Guardian. Around this time, the “Peaches” singer was also making headlines for various controversial actions, such as urinating in a mop bucket at a nightclub.
In February of that year, Sheindlin told CBS Los Angeles, “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. 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.”
In 2017, OK! magazine reported that Bieber was worried about being neighbors with Sheindlin once he found out they both had apartments in the same Beverly Hills building.
A source told the publication, “Justin freaked out when he found out.”
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Bieber has reflected on his past in social media posts and in interviews. In January 2021, he talked about his arrest in an Instagram post.
“7 years ago today I was arrested, not my finest hour,” he wrote. “Not proud of where I was at in my life. I was hurting, unhappy, confused, angry, mislead, misunderstood and angry at god.. I also wore too much leather for someone in Miami. All this to say God has brought me a long way. From then til now I do realize something.. God was as close to me then as he is right now. My encouragement to you is to ‘let your past be a reminder of how far god has brought you. Don’t allow shame to ruin your ‘today’ let the forgiveness of Jesus take over and watch your life blossom into all that God has designed you to be. LOVE YOU GUYS WITH MY WHOLE HEART.”