On Jan. 24, Justin Bieber’s arrest was leaked to the press and became top news. Supposedly charged with several felonies, he was held in a Miami jail for a little over an hour while officials decided what to do with him.  Bieber was officially arrested at 4:00 A.M., after failing a sobriety test, for driving under the influence of both alcohol and illegal drugs, resisting arrest, violating the speed limit, and on top of all of this, was underage.

Justin Bieber’s behavior was shocking to many of his fans and police say that he continuously disrespected the officers and disregarded everything they were telling him.  Bieber’s arrest caused even more problems when people all around the US were enraged at the fact that a celebrity’s shameful downfall was being broadcasted throughout the nation and excluding more important worldly events. News stations were not reporting on places like Syria which was  in the middle of chaotic revolts; they just kept televising Bieber’s “photogenic” mugshot.

Nevertheless, Justin Bieber’s terrible actions were defended by his thousands of fans that argue that he is simply “going through his rebellious teenage phase.”  I think this is completely ridiculous to just assume he is committing crimes because he is a teenager.  There are millions of teens that do not go drag racing through the streets of Miami Beach and drive under the influence.  As a celebrity, I believe that Bieber should be even more aware of his actions.  He should take into account that young girls around the world look up to him.            DUIs are unacceptable and had there been other people at the scene, Bieber could have seriously hurt someone.  According to MADD, 28 people die everyday from drunk driving.  Just because Bieber is famous does not mean that people should excuse his actions.  Maybe prisons do not want to house Justin Bieber because of threats of lawsuits from his lawyers and publicists but there should still be consequences.  The US courts could mandate Bieber go to rehab for an allotted time.  This would benefit him and decrease the possibility that he do this once again.  Maybe it’s a drug problem or maybe it’s just rebelling for publicity, but something needs to be done.