TORONTO — Justin Bieber’s contentious relationship with his fans hit a new peak at a concert on Sunday night when he stormed off stage after asking them to settle down.

The Stratford, Ont.-born pop superstar dropped the microphone and stopped his Manchester, England show after pleading with fans to tone down their screams.

“I appreciate all the support, I appreciate the love … but the screaming in these breaks has got to stop. Please and thank you,” Bieber said in footage uploaded to YouTube, in which some members of the audience can be heard booing.

“I don’t think it’s necessary when I’m trying to say something and you guys are screaming.”

But the screams continued and Bieber became visibly fed up before leaving the stage. He later returned to continue the show before closing out by explaining his actions.

“I travelled across the whole world to come here and I dedicate my life to performing and bringing smiles to people’s faces,” he told the audience.

“I feel that people were just not giving me the same respect back and it hurts a little bit so that’s why.”

Bieber’s frustrations have been boiling over in recent days as he pushed ahead with the U.K. leg of his “Purpose” tour.

Last week, he clashed with fans at the Birmingham stop where he called the audience’s screams “obnoxious.” At another of three dates at Manchester Arena he sarcastically offered one fan the microphone when they were trying to shout to him.

Fans have been wearing on the singer for months.

In the summer, he shuttered his Instagram account saying that he was being trolled over images he posted with his girlfriend.

Bieber also scrapped all of his paid tour meet-and-greets earlier this year, reasoning that the conveyor-belt of conversations and photos with fans left him feeling “exhausted to the point of depression.”

 

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The Canadian Press

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