Justin Bieber attacked by a fan in Dubai; show goes on - Los Angeles Times
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Justin Bieber attacked by a fan in Dubai; show goes on

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Justin Bieber was attacked on stage Sunday in Dubai, but the only casualty of the event was a black piano that toppled over when security jumped the young fan who’d rushed the artist.

While Bieber was singing “Believe,” seated at the piano, the young man rushed up behind the 19-year-old pop star as if to hug or tackle him. He wound up being the one tackled, as security quickly responded, knocking over the piano in the process. The Biebs scooted over to the side of the stage and kept performing.

“Dubai. Nothing stops the show. 2 more to go. #BELIEVEtour,” Bieber tweeted late Sunday, Pacific time. (Dubai is 11 hours ahead of Los Angeles during daylight saving time.)

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“A young fan desperate to meet his idol did make his way on stage but was immediately removed and Justin professionally continued with his show,” the show’s promoter told the National, a United Arab Emirates newspaper. “As far as we know no further action has been taken against the youth.” On Monday, Dubai police said they were not investigating the incident and that the youth would not face charges.

“It happened all of a sudden when the guy sprinted on stage,” a front-row concert-goer told the paper. “Everybody thought he was a dancer but because I was at Saturday’s concert I knew it wasn’t part of the show.”

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She continued: “Justin looked scared and freaked out. He stopped singing for a couple of seconds and then he continued on the side of the stage.”

Bieber reportedly took a three-minute break after “Believe” and returned to perform “Boyfriend” and “Baby.”

According to the National, Bieber started his Saturday and Sunday shows two hours late, with the crowd Sunday about half that of the day before.

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The Biebs’ world tour moves on from Dubai to shows in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa, before returning to Southern California in June after a little more than a month’s break.

Also over the weekend in Bieber-ville: The Twitter feed for E! Online was hacked, and a tweet went out declaring, “Exclusive: Justin Bieber to E!online: I’m a gay.”

The tweet, and several others, were fakes. A group calling itself the Syrian Electronic Army claimed responsibility for the hack.

“Eonline’s breaking news twitter and sms accounts were compromised today,” E! said in a statement obtained by the New York Daily News. “We’re working to have this resolved as quickly as possible and are fully investigating the incident.”

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Follow Christie D’Zurilla on Twitter and Google+. Follow the Ministry of Gossip on Twitter @LATcelebs and on Facebook facebook.com/ministryofgossip.

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