

Chris Kitching, CP24.com





They’ve been repeatedly ridiculed by late-night talk show hosts and pitted against each other in online debates about whose scandal is the bigger embarrassment for Canada, but it appears Justin Bieber doesn’t consider Rob Ford a brother in arms.

The 20-year-old pop star from Stratford, Ont., apparently enraged Toronto’s embattled mayor when they bumped into each other at a trendy nightclub in mid-March.

According to a report in the Toronto Star, Ford approached Bieber to say hello and shake hands, but the troubled singer made fun of the 44-year-old mayor over his crack cocaine scandal.

Bieber, who is facing criminal charges in the U.S. and Canada, jokingly asked Ford if he brought crack cocaine to Muzik during their encounter at the exclusive nightclub the night of March 15, the Star reported.

After the exchange, an angry Ford returned to a private booth he was sharing with an entourage, according to a report quoting unnamed sources and eyewitnesses.

During an interview with a Washington, D.C., radio station in January, Ford came to Bieber’s defence after the singer was charged with assaulting a limousine driver in Toronto. At the time, Ford said he had never met Bieber and he doesn’t listen to his music.

The encounter occurred during a night where Ford met four men outside city hall and took them back to the house he shares with his wife and two children.

That night, a passerby filmed Ford trying to hail a taxicab on a sidewalk outside city hall. The recording showed him cursing in front of a minor and appearing to slur his words and be unsteady on his feet.

When the mayor returned home with the men, he hired a “party bus” to drive the group to Muzik, the Star reported.

The newspaper report claims Ford drank to excess until 5 a.m., told people “I am in over my head” and his wife and children hate him, and spent 45 minutes in a bathroom.

Ford announced late Wednesday he was taking an immediate leave of absence to seek professional help.

The announcement came amid a barrage of new claims about drug and alcohol use, and inappropriate comments.

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