Singer Justin Bieber smiles as he performs at the 2011 American Music Awards in Los Angeles, November 20, 2011.MARIO ANZUONI
Couldn't they just compare hair? According to TMZ.com, Justin Bieber took a DNA test Friday in New Jersey in a bid to refute the claims of a San Diego woman who filed a paternity suit against the Canadian teen hit-maker. The suit has since been withdrawn, but the Baby singer's legal team intends to sue the accuser, Mariah Yeater, in order to discourage future baseless "Bieby" claims.
Yeater, 20, had claimed in her suit that she had sex backstage with the 17-year-old last year and that he was the father of her baby, born in July. She was demanding child support.
Bieber has repeatedly denied the allegation, saying he never met Yeater.
Chicago lawyer Jeffery Leving said last week that Yeater had dropped the lawsuit but hoped to reach a private settlement with Bieber's lawyers.
"She believes Justin Bieber is the father," Leving told Chicago TV channel WGNtv on Wednesday. "Negotiations are going on right now with Bieber's counsel and we're trying to negotiate a private, secure DNA test with the same safeguards that would exist if there were a court order, but without a court order."
"This matter is not over," Leving added.
Bieber's spokesman Matthew Hiltzik called it "sad" that "someone would fabricate such a malicious, defamatory and demonstrably false claim. We'll continue to consider all of our options to protect Justin."
The baby claims have threatened to tarnish Bieber's squeaky clean image and left Yeater open to a possible charge of statutory rape since the singer was only 16 years old at the time of the alleged encounter.
In her complaint, Yeater claimed the two had sex for 30 seconds in a backstage bathroom after she attended a Bieber concert in Los Angeles in October, 2010. It has been suggested that the paternity lawsuit was dropped because of media pressure and death threats from unnamed Yeater-haters.
Bieber's career and Twitter account continues unabated, despite the controversy. Yesterday he brazenly tweeted "I'M SEXY AND I KNOW IT," while his new album, Under The Mistletoe, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
Staff, with files from Reuters
Brad Wheeler