MANILA — Justin Bieber on Monday whipped Filipino fans and non-fans alike into a frenzy — not because of his concert antics but his recent posts on an image-sharing site mocking Manny Pacquiao. The Canadian singer posted images on his Instagram account showing the Filipino boxing icon lying unconscious in the ring during his Sunday bout against Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez. In the image, a superimposed Simba, a character from the animated film “The Lion King,” is making Pacquiao wake up. Bieber captioned it “Dad wake up.” In another, the inert figure of Pacquiao is “doing the lean with MJ,” showing the late Michael Jackson performing one of his signature dance moves. Bieber also made comments about how Floyd Mayweather, to whom he is allied, “has nothing to gain fighting pacqiao (sic)” because “Floyd has never in his professional career lost a fight… Mayweather is boxing.” The posts drew the ire of Filipino netizens, one of whom said: “Making fun of someone who got knocked out ain't funny at all. U don't know how to respect people anymore!” Another Instagram user commented, “Wow lost respect for @justinbieber. So immature. Can't you at least have some respect for Pacquiao. Even if it is a joke this is not funny.” — SG
