Johannesburg -
In South Africa the family name Mandela carries a lot of weight - but Joburg photographer Jodi Bieber has discovered that hers does too.
Bieber, who is in France, was mistakenly believed to have been the mother of pop sensation Justin Bieber, and had transport to a TV interview organised for her by a very impressed receptionist.
“Justin Bieber saved the day for me in Paris today,” Bieber posted in a status update on Facebook on Monday night.
She had been accidentally dropped off at the wrong television station for an interview, and needed to get from there to France 24.
The receptionist at the first TV station immediately organised transport for Bieber to her interview.
“Reception was so impressed I was Justin’s mother,” she said.
Bieber, a former photographer of The Star, won the World Press Photo Award in 2011 for her highly publicised portrait of Bibi Aisha, the young Afghan woman whose nose and ears were cut off by the Taliban after seeking refuge from her violent husband in her parents’ home.
She has won other awards, including eight World Press Photo awards.
Bieber is rounding off a year of travelling, teaching, public speaking, judging photographs and meeting people.
The Star