Skip to main content

Justin Bieber Graffiti Inspires Sarcastic Threats of Legislation

By Ephrat Livni, Esq. on November 04, 2015 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

When Bieber tweets, politicians listen. Or rather, they listen and make jokes on Twitter that other people take seriously.

A Boston City Councilor this week had to explain that he does not actually intend to try to pass legislation preventing Justin Bieber-inspired graffiti, according to the Associated Press, as reported by US News and World Report .

Bieber asked artists inspired by his music to paint murals like the one on a Boston pizza shop, an image that he tweeted to fans. Councilor Matt O'Malley then joked that he would have to work on legislation to prevent such works. But he did not mean it.

O'Malley to Earthlings

Councilor O'Malley says he was just being sarcastic when he tweeted that he would have to work on anti-Bieber legislation after the pop star asked painters of the world to make murals based on his new songs. "People of Earth: I'm not actually proposing an anti-Bieber graffiti ordinance. My sarcasm is apparently lost on some,"

O'Malley tweeted this after word got out that the politician had pop on the brain. People reportedly complained that he should be thinking about more serious business, like crime and poverty.

But some of the councilor's followers were disappointed to discover that he is not actually anti-Bieber and tweeted as much. Meanwhile, O'Malley says he doesn't have anything against the musician. He is just not a real fan of Justin Bieber.

Beliebers Don't Vote

Councilor O'Malley was not negatively impacted by the firestorm over his sarcastic tweet. He won reelection yesterday and his constituents seemed to think the Bieber tweet scandal was amusing.

O'Malley ran unopposed in his district of Jamaica Plain and appears to have a great deal of support. One supporter tweeted, "District Councilor Matt O'Malley (unopposed) got votes on 97 [percent] of the ballots cast in his district #Beliebers don't vote #EveryoneLovesMatt."

Follow FindLaw for Consumers on Facebook and Twitter (@FindLawConsumer).

Related Resources:

Copied to clipboard