Tacoma — Frankly, I’m still angry about it. Or annoyed. Or righteously cranky, in that satisfying way that comes from holding a worthy grudge.
Justin Bieber was supposed to perform in Tacoma this week. According to the archivists who oversee the Tacoma Dome’s vast collection of RV show ticket stubs, wedding expo flyers and monster truck rally promotions, it would have been the pop star’s first time back since 2012 — or almost a decade.
It’s too bad the show was canceled — just like the Tacoma show before it.
I, for one, was hoping for an apology, at long last.
OK, OK … obviously the health and well-being of Bieber and everyone involved with his Justice Tour comes first. Several of his recent tour stops have now been called off due to a reported COVID outbreak, and while Bieber — who is said to have tested positive himself — is reportedly feeling fine, we should all hope everyone gets well soon.
Still, in my mind at least, Bieber has some explaining yet to do.
In case trivial matters like Bieber’s history in Tacoma aren’t top of mind for you — as they clearly are for me — let me explain: On Oct. 9, 2012, Bieber played a sold out show at the T-Dome. It was a Tuesday in the City of Destiny, and for the then 18-year-old Bieber, a tour stop between Portland and Vancouver.
The next day, the Canadian-born singer took to Twitter to claim his camera and laptop had been stolen during the show. More scandalous? Bieber said the devices held “a lot of personal footage.” His team even filed an online police report. According to reporting by The News Tribune’s Craig Sailor, an annoyed former Tacoma police spokesperson Mark Fulghum was “inundated” with national media calls. Soon, the world was reading about how the Biebs got burgled in T-Town.
It was another public black eye for a city with a history of them. I’m surprised he didn’t reference the aroma.
It was also a hoax, or at the very least the inspiration for a poorly executed publicity stunt.
Remarkably, two days after the show, an anonymous Twitter account posted links to what appeared to be short home videos of Bieber with friends — threatening to release more footage soon. But as The News Tribune’s Stacia Glenn reported, when the deadline came the following day, what the eager masses actually got was a link to a slick new Bieber music video, featuring Nicki Minaj, which was quickly viewed a bazillion times.
As Fulghum aptly put it way back when, “A lot of people got played.” Or, as one 2012 internet user put it via one of those meme generators using a picture of the pop star’s face: “Plays a sold out show in Tacoma, takes everyone’s money, lies about getting jacked for publicity.”
Ten years later, I can still remember it well (in case that wasn’t readily apparent). I was a young, indulgent blogger at a Seattle alt-weekly that doesn’t really exist anymore, and I took to my keyboard with indignation, accusing Bieber of dragging a good city’s name through the mud for purely promotional purposes.
Not long after I hit publish, a call to the front desk came in. It was Bieber’s people, letting me know — in no uncertain terms — that I had it all wrong. The singer’s laptop and camera really had been stolen, they insisted. It’s a line they stuck to.
On Friday, I reached out to Tacoma police spokesperson Wendy Haddow, just to see if anything had ever come of the case — even though I already knew the answer. Predictably, Haddow said she couldn’t immediately find any record of the report. Much like in the public consciousness, the heist that probably wasn’t appears to have slipped from memory.
Here’s hoping Bieber has a speedy and full recovery. In all seriousness, that’s what matters most.
But when the Biebs finally does return to Tacoma? He should take a moment in his set to clear the air — and say he’s sorry. Whether his laptop was stolen or not, Tacoma didn’t deserve to be the punchline of Bieber’s promo.
Not all of us have forgotten.
