March has been a rough month for Justin Bieber. He's faced one headline after another putting his personal life, instead of his music, in the spotlight.
It all kicked off in London when he was out celebrating his "worst" birthday on March 1. When the nightclub party was shut down, the troubles didn't end. Weeks after turning 19, there's news a battery investigation has been opened against the singer after an alleged argument with a male neighbor, 47, near his California home on Tuesday, TMZ reports.
On Wednesday, Bieber opened up about his tabloid woes, though not the battery investigation, in an interview with Us Weekly.
"The biggest misconception about me is that I'm a bad person. I get upset about that. I have a big heart. I want to be a good role model, but some people want me to fail," he told the magazine the same day more details about his run-in with his neighbor are coming out.
According to TMZ, Bieber argued with the neighbor, when he was home in L.A. during a day off on his Believe Tour. When a new Ferrari was delivered to Bieber's Calabasas home Tuesday morning, he reportedly took it for a test drive. Sometime thereafter, the neighbor approached him and it became heated. Authorities were called, and there is now a battery investigation under way.
"I'm young and I make mistakes. That's part of growing up," Bieber told Us about his troubles, never referencing this latest incident. "I mess up sometimes. It's part of growing up."
Bieber has addressed the media attention several times over the last few weeks on Twitter and Instagram, and his latest comments mirror those statements.
"I know who I am and I'm not gonna let negativity towards me bring me down," he said. "I'm a positive person, and I plan on staying that way. This business can break you down, but I have a strong team around me, and my family and all the fans. The love overcomes the negativity. I'm not perfect but I'm growing and trying to be better every day. That's part of life."
In addition to the battery claims, over the last few weeks, Bieber has faced a media firestorm about his well-publicized antics, including, kicking off a London concert late, getting admitted to the hospital after he collapsing in concert days later and then getting into a verbal scuffle with the paparazzi.
Bieber is back in Europe for more dates on his Believe Tour (and has yet to make any headlines for being shirtless while being newly abroad). He said that, at the moment, he's "figuring it out" in terms of what his next career move is (mulling another album, more touring), but added, "I'm young and I want to have fun. I don't think there is anything wrong with that."