Canadian singer Justin Bieber asked to leave ancient Mayan city of Tulum after trying to climb an off-limits ruin.
Canadian pop sensation Justin Bieber was expelled from an archaeological site in Mexico after trying to clamber up some of its ruins.
Bieber, 21, was on holiday in the Yucatan Peninsula, which overlooks the Caribbean, where he visited the ancient Mayan city of Tulum on Thursday afternoon.
When the singer attempted to climb up one of the cordoned-off buildings, security guards asked him to get down, according to local news reports. But Bieber disobeyed and tried again, causing an argument to break out between members of his entourage and security guards.
Officials at the site then called the police, but tempers had cooled by the time they arrived.
Adriana Velázquez, of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History, said the officers’ intervention “wasn’t necessary”. The singer, who recently released his fourth studio album, “Purpose”, was escorted from the premises.
Tulum is one of the most visited tourist sites in Mexico and one of the finest examples of Mayan architecture. Most Mayan cities were already in decline by the time Tulum was at its peak, between the 13th century and the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century.
The Canadian star has been to several tourist sites on the Yucatán Peninsula in recent days.
On Tuesday, he visited an adventure park, where officials refused his request that other tourists be removed from the site so that he would not be bothered by fans. While there, Bieber abseiled, snorkelled in a cenote, or large sinkhole, and took part in a shamanistic ritual, Efe news agency reported.
Having sold an estimated 45 million albums and singles in the United States alone and with 73 million Twitter followers, Bieber is one of the biggest music stars on the planet.
But he has also been involved in a string of headline-grabbing infractions, including being arrested by Miami police for alleged drag-racing and driving under the influence of alcohol.
His recent single, “Love Yourself”, was beaten to the Christmas number one spot in the UK by “Bridge Over You”, sung by the NHS choir. Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust Chief Executive Tim Higginson wrote to thank Bieber, after the singer asked his fans to buy the British charity single.
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