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It appears Justin Bieber is in no rush to dispel rumours of his diva-like behaviour.

Following inordinate media coverage of the Canadian pop export's impetuous and irresponsible ways – vis-à-vis urinating into a janitor's bucket, abandoning his pet monkey, spitting off a hotel balcony, getting into a nightclub brawl and so forth – Bieber took his diva game to a higher level this week when he enlisted his burly bodyguards to carry him up the Great Wall of China.

As reported by The Mirror, the 19-year-old singer took a break during his tour of Asia to visit the sprawling Beijing landmark, which historians estimate took centuries to construct and cost an estimated four million to six million people their lives in the process.

One of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Great Wall can even be seen from outer space and scaling the steps has become a rite of passage for millions of tourists.

But that's not how Justin Bieber rolls.

As with most of Bieber's egregious activities, a fan captured a photo of him sitting atop the shoulders of his hulking bodyguards while climbing the Great Wall steps. The photo was posted to Instagram, which naturally generated immediate vitriol on Twitter.

A random sampling: "Bieber made his bodyguards carry him up the Great Wall – what an idiot," said one user. "All hail Emperor Bieber," tweeted another.

Taking the perspective of Bieber's beasts of burden, another person tweeted: "Bet these bodyguards always dreamt of doing this when they grew up. What a turd."

Once Bieber was hauled to the summit, he climbed down from his human perch and posed for pictures with fans.

But wait, there's more. During his stopover in Beijing, Bieber created a security near-meltdown when he decided to go skateboarding. Again the photographic proof went straight to Instagram, with pictures of security guards frantically jogging behind Bieber as he weaved through the streets.

And is this any way for a young Canadian singer to behave? It's small wonder that Bieber's pop contemporary Miley Cyrus, 20, rose to his defence in the latest issue of Rolling Stone.

"He's trying really hard," said Cyrus in the interview. "People don't take him seriously but he really can play the drums, he really can play the guitar, he really can sing. I just don't want to see him [mess] that up, to where people think he's Vanilla Ice. I tell him that."

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