Judge Judy says Justin Bieber is ‘scared to death’ of her and paid neighbourhood security to tell him when she was nearby

Justin Bieber reportedly took great lengths to avoid Judge Judy after his run-ins with the law in 2014 (Picture: Aaron Rapoport/Corbis/Getty Images)

Judge Judy has revealed Justin Bieber is ‘scared to death’ of her and used to actively avoid her when they lived in the same neighbourhood.

The TV judge – real name Judith Sheindlin – is revered for being absolutely savage to the hapless plaintiffs and defendants who appear on her show.

And after 25 years on-air, everyone knows not to mess with her – especially Justin Bieber.

While the musician, who is married to Hailey Baldwin, now has an essentially squeaky clean image, in his late teens and early 20s the Baby singer was almost constantly getting into trouble.

Following his arrest for a DUI in 2014 to the absolutely breathtaking attitude he showed at his deposition (including pretending to fall asleep and winking at the camera), Judy scathingly called him a ‘fool’ in an interview with CBS News.

And it appears Justin caught wind of it, as he became terrified of her and used to pay the front desk in their neighbourhood to let him know when it was safe for him to leave the house.

The TV judge is renowned for scathing attacks on people who get in trouble with the law (Picture: Getty Images)

And 2014 saw the young singer repeatedly get in trouble (Picture: Getty Images)

Now, speaking to Access Hollywood, Judy has laughed about the incident, admitting: ‘He’s scared to death of me.’

‘There was a period of time before he grew up, when he was foolish, and doing foolish things.’

‘I must have said something about it, and then I understood that he was paying the front door people to let them know when I was there, coming and going, so he wouldn’t have to bump into me.’

Both stars had lived in a neighbourhood in Calabasas, California at the time, when Judy told CBS that Justin was ‘doing a very good job of making a fool out of himself,’ describing it as ‘sad.’

Justin grew up and is now living a much quieter life with his wife Hailey (Picture: Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue )

Judy laughed about the incident in a recent interview (Picture: Getty Images)

‘Nobody’s going to remember that he was a marginal singer, but they’re going to remember a young kid, who had a chance to have it all, and who is blowing it by acting like a fool.’

The Boyfriend singer went on to fix his image, helped in no small part by the massive mainstream success of his 2015 album Purpose, which delivered bangers such as Sorry, What Do You Mean and Love Yourself.

He was recently reported to be set to perform at a memorial honouring the life of rapper Takeoff, who was tragically shot and killed last week, at the age of 28, while attending a private party in Houston.

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The rapper’s family are hosting a celebration of life on Friday, at Atlanta’s State Farm, with the I’ll Show You singer among those set to appear.

According to TMZ, he will be taking to the stage at some point to pay tribute, but there are no details on what tracks he will be singing, or how long he will appear for.

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Justin had a few run-ins with the law at the time.