The six biggest mistakes Justin Bieber ever made

He emerged in 2010 as a squeaky clean pop star, wooing teenage girls with his baby-faced charm and impressing their parents with his sugary sweet image. But these days, Justin Bieber is more likely to land in the papers for getting arrested or offending an entire nation with a badly-judged Instagram post. In fairness to the 23-year-old Canadian, who was just 16 when his first album, My World, catapulted him to international fame, he's been bashed for things most teenage boys get away with — smoking, underage drinking, and the odd hormone-fuelled rant.

At times, he really seems like a decent chap — most recently, he was praised for his involvement in the One Love Manchester concert, which raised over €2 million for the victims of the May 22 bombing, and found him leading the audience in rousing chants to honour the deceased pop fans. On the other hand, some of Bieber's more questionable gaffes reek of spoiled brat syndrome. He's due to take to the stage at Dublin's RDS tonight, and we can only hope that he'll be on his best behaviour! In the meantime, we've been looking back at his most embarrassing blunders to date...

Justin's up to monkey business with animal pal Mally

MONKEY BUSINESS In a move befitting fellow child star Michael Jackson, Bieber acquired a Capuchin monkey named Mally as a pet in 2013, but had to bid the primate farewell when she was confiscated at customs in Germany (monkey ownership is illegal in most parts of the world). Bieber later expressed his regret, saying, "Everyone told me not to bring the monkey. I was like, 'It's gonna be fine, guys!' It was the farthest thing from fine." Mally survived her ordeal with Bieber and is now living happily in a German zoo, but the star's previous pet, a hamster named Pac, wasn't so lucky — it died shortly after Justin offloaded it on a fan outside a concert venue.

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GAS MAN Celebs often turn to disguises to help them evade the paparazzi or unwanted fan attention, but Bieber is a little more creative than most. Unfortunately, donning a gas mask twice in the same week in 2012 backfired for the young star when photos of his strange get-up were shared all over the world! Pairing the mask with his trademark look of trucker hat, trainers and low-slung trousers wasn't Bieber's brightest idea, but wearing it to go shopping in London was straight-up idiotic! He hasn't spoken publicly about his odd headgear, which is a smart move as it's rumoured to be the subject of a private joke. Let's face it, there's no smooth way to admit that you find nuclear war funny...

Justin, fans, and his unfortunate former pet hamster

LIFE'S A DRAG Bieber was allegedly planning a late-night drag race with singer friend Khalil in Miami Beach in 2014 when he was pulled over by police and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, driving with an expired license and resisting arrest. After taking the happiest mugshot of all time, he got off rather lightly, escaping with just a €440 fine and mandatory anger management and responsible driving courses. Just two weeks after the case was settled, he was back in the clink again, this time in Canada, where he was arrested for dangerous driving and assault. Is it any wonder 270,000 Americans signed a petition to have him deported from the United States that same year?

FRANKLY SPEAKING Bieber's ego grew to an unmanageable size in 2013, shortly after his 19th birthday, as proven by the note he left in the guestbook at the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam during a visit to the famous attraction. The self-obsessed singer mused, "Anne was a great girl. Hopefully she would have been a Belieber," referring to the name given to his devoted fans. Alright, so he's not a million miles off — the young diarist famously pasted pictures of 1940s pop idols to the walls of the attic where she and her family hid from Nazi persecution — but come on, Biebs, everything isn't about you!

A BAD EGG If you've ever had your house egged by mischievous teens, you'll be pleased to hear that a night of carefree egg-chucking in 2014 cost Bieber a whopping €70,000 when his California neighbour sued him for damages. It's a mere drop in the ocean of the pop star's staggering €200 million net worth, but it's more punishment than he received for spraying graffiti on the wall of a hotel in Rio de Janeiro two months previous. We reckon if he's so keen to vandalise something, he should stick to one of his three multimillion euro homes...

JUST THE TICKET Can you put a price on a celebrity selfie? Well, if the star is Justin Bieber, you'd better have €1,800 in your wallet, as that's the price the singer has charged for post-gig Meet and Greets. Biebs isn't the only pop star to be criticised for such a scheme — Britney Spears, Beyoncé and One Direction have all sold similar backstage packages — but even though Bieber abandoned the practice last year, he's still pushing the limits with his gig tickets. If, for example, you wanted to cough up €1,035.38 for a "VIP experience" in the RDS next week, you'd get some pretty poorly perks in exchange for your cash, namely a pre-show backstage tour, access to a VIP lounge and on-site concierge, early entry to the venue, a goody bag and a "commemorative laminate". Eh, no thanks!

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Justin Bieber plays Dublin's RDS Arena tonight - a limited number of tickets, priced from €136, are still available via Ticketmaster.ie

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