Buckhead Coalition President Sam Massell became internationally famous on Monday after a Justin Bieber “protest” that turned out to be a silly prank.
Massell found himself featured on international media websites thanks to the staged episode concocted by a local radio station show. As always, the courtly Massell made the most of things.
“If I meet him, I’ll be cordial like I would with anyone else,” he said.
And if Bieber would like to record an album with Massell’s daughter, vocalist Melanie Massell, the former Atlanta mayor would be A-OK with that.
“That’d make me rich. Then I could retire,” Massell quipped.
A Facebook page that popped up like a spring crocus the other day claimed to mobilize residents against the idea of Bieber moving into the neighborhood. Turns out the nonBelieber movement was just a radio prank, although it did attract more than 500 fans and some legitimate comments from actual Buckhead residents.
Massell started fielding phone calls from all over, and got a good chuckle out of the “controversy.”
“We’ve had calls from CNN, from the U.K., from the daily newspaper in Canada,” he said. “It’s made international news. There are so many other things more important to concentrate on. This too shall pass.”
Bieber, who has been back in Atlanta for several weeks now working on a new recording project, didn’t specifically address the supposed anti-Belieber movement but appeared to be aware of it.
“I guess I’m an easy target for some,” he said in a recent Twitter post. “I’m still human.”
He followed that up with “Thanks to all those Beliebers out there inspiring me everyday” and “Keeping it positive always.”
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