Famous Finger Flipping Celebs [PHOTOS]

Teen pop sensation Justin Bieber on Tuesday broke free from his mild mannered ways and shocked the world by flashing the middle finger at the paparazzi in Los Angeles on his 17th birthday.

Giving someone the finger or the one-finger salute or flipping someone off or flying the bird is best described as an obscene hand gesture that many celebrities resort to in a fit of rage.

Swarmed by paparazzi almost all the time, most of the celebrities have sometime in the past flashed the middle finger at the cameras.

Start the slideshow to go through some famous finger flipping celebs:

In a rare outburst from a pop star known for his mild manners and flip of his lustrous hair, Bieber on Tuesday flashed a middle finger at paparazzi who swarmed him and his girlfriend, Selena Gomez, after his birthday dinner in Los Angeles.

The incident took place when Bieber and Gomez stepped into the car after leaving an Italian restaurant where they had celebrated his 17th birthday.

Bieber, however, was quick to apologize. He tweeted on Wednesday: "Had a great b'day and at the end of the night we got surrounded by paps and I reacted in a way I know better. I'm sorry."

"It's not always easy but I know better than to react in anger."

Disney Starlet Selena Gomez, who was with Justin Bieber during his unprecedented outburst, has several times in the past given the one-finger salute to the paps.

In 2009, Gomez flipped the bird when she was out for dinner with Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato.

In another photograph, Gomez is seen hoisting the middle finger in a lady-like manner while fixing her hair.

Kim Kardashian, the celebrity who is almost always in the light of the media, does not seem like the kind of star who would get easily irritated by attention and publicity, on first looks. But she does!

In 2010, Kim Kardashian was photographed flashing the middle finger at the cameras from behind the wheel of her car.

She later hid her face behind a Louis Vuitton bag and hoisted the finger with a little help from two male friends.

In 2010, Kristen Stewart, who was glowing in the success of 'Twilight', was also caught flipping off the paps. She hoisted her middle finger to paparazzi outside LAX once she was safely through their swarm and into the car.

She was with Robert Pattinson when the incident took place.

Although she earned sympathy for the way she ran for cover from the photographers, her rude behavior did not escape the ire of the media.

In March 2010, Jessica Alba used the classic sunglasses trick to give the finger to the paps.

She flashed the middle finger while making it look like all she was doing was trying to fix her glasses.

The sunglasses move has been among the favorite of many celebrities to tone down their harsh gesture.

In 2006, Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams were photographed with their middle fingers up in the air.

The two were on vacation, sunbathing in Mexico, when the paps annoyed them into not only giving the one-finger salute but also a sign making their feelings clear.

Heath Ledger held up a note to the photographer with two little words that signified what he meant by holding up the finger.

Between takes of ‘Friends with Benefits‘ in 2010, Ashton Kutcher flipped the bird to paparazzi waiting to get a few photos of the actor in action.

After he sent across his message to the paps, he walked away with a sly smile.

This is Lindsay Lohan's way of flashing the middle finger. While the message is clear in 'fine print', the trouble-prone star sported the unconventional message not for the paps, but for the court, sparking off a massive storm.

The breaking-in incident at Madonna's masion has raised concerns even among the police authorities.

Rappers like Eminem and 50 Cents have been caught hoisting the middle finger several times in the past.

[PHOTO: U.S. rap artist Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson (L) performs during his concert in Belgrade November 6, 2006]

However, not all flip offs are bad publicity as some turn iconic. Two of the middle-finger parades that continue to live on are that of Johnny Cash's and Frank Zappa's.

The image of Johnny Cash giving the one finger salute emerged after Cash and his producers American Recordings posted an advertisement in Billboard Magazine with the image as a ”thank you” to the Nashville country music industry after winning the Grammy award. The country singer had come to resent the Nashville country-music establishment in his later years.

While there have been several photographs of Frank Zappa flashing the finger, the one that turned iconic is known as the 'nose picker', in which the eccentric musician is using his middle finger to pick his nose.

[PHOTO: A stage hand at the Ryman Auditorium puts the final touchs on a large photo of the late country music legend Johnny Cash, before the Cash tribute concert in Nashville, Tennessee, late November 10, 2003]