TORONTO — Pop star Justin Bieber is giving Toronto Mayor Rob Ford a respite as Canada’s favorite bad boy.
Ford has admitted smoking crack while in a drunken stupor and is being sued for supposedly orchestrating the jailhouse beating of his sister’s ex-boyfriend.
The 19-year-old idol is facing the equivalent of a misdemeanor assault charge.
“It’s a change from the Rob Ford show,” said 14-year-old Jon Bullock, who braved glacial temperatures to catch a glimpse of Bieber as he turned himself in at a Toronto police station Wednesday to face charges over an altercation with a limousine driver in late December.
The incident, which comes on the heels of Bieber’s Miami arrest for allegedly drag racing and driving under the influence of alcohol, marijuana and prescription drugs, is the latest to sully the image of the singer.
For now, Bieber has eclipsed Ford as fodder for late-night comedy shows on both sides of the border.
“He had to fly to Toronto to turn himself in. Boy, this kid is really on a crime spree. He’s become a menace to society. I liked him better when he was just a menace to music,” said TV comedian Jimmy Kimmel. “By the way, when you have Justin Bieber and Rob Ford together in the same place it’s like Gotham City got attacked by the Joker and the Penguin at once.”
Even some members of the Toronto City Council — all too familiar with Mayor Ford’s foibles — were compelled to weigh-in on the battle of the bad boys.
“Both Justin Bieber and Mayor Ford need to get their lives together,” said Toronto City Councilor Joe Mihevc on Thursday on the sidelines of a council meeting.
Amidst all the hullabaloo, it’s perhaps not surprising the Toronto mayor has rushed to Bieber’s defense.
“He’s a young guy. I wish I was as successful as he was. He’s 19 years old. Think about when you were 19,” Ford opined during one of his regular call-in appearances on a Washington D.C. radio show called The Sports Junkies.
Beyond the jokes, however, there’s a sense of embarrassment, damaged pride and the feeling that Bieber and Ford are behaving in a way that’s just not Canadian.
“Canada has always been considered this polite place. People like Sarah McLachlan and Shania Twain have fulfilled that stereotype as seemingly nice, friendly people who don’t get into a lot of trouble,” said Joshua Ostroff, the Huffington Post Canada’s pop culture columnist and senior editor.
