Tormented Justin Bieber meets with controversial pastor after admitting to 'anger issues' amid marriage strain
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Justin Bieber was spotted heading to church in Los Angeles with a spiritual advisor in tow on Wednesday night.
The 31-year-old singer was pictured bundled up so that his head barely poked out of a large furry coat as he arrived with the Churchome pastor Judah Smith.
In recent years, Bieber and his wife Hailey have cozied up to Smith outside of church after he previously distanced himself from the disgraced Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz.
Justin was notably seen without his wife Hailey Bieber, who was seen arriving separately shortly afterward.
The trip to church comes after Justin recently admitted to struggling with 'anger issues' in a confessional Instagram post.
The message did little to allay fans' fears for Bieber mental and physical wellbeing, which have surged due to his often-disheveled appearance and reports of strain in his marriage to Hailey.
The singer appeared to try to cast aside fan concerns about his health earlier on Wednesday by posting a video of himself pumping iron.
Bieber was spotted heading into the church while bundled up like a turtle with just a portion of his head peaking out.
He wore a large brown fleece jacket and layered it over a scarlet hoodie while also wearing a rolled-up gray toque.
The singer recently revealed that he had pierced his nose on social media, and he left his studded nose sticking out.
Justin also wore a pair of oversize khaki pants that looked ready to fall to the ground at any minute. They were accented with a patch of red-and-pink plaid material sewn over his rear end.
The Sorry singer completed his ultra-casual look with a chunky pair of tan suede shoes.
Later, Hailey was seen stepping out of her white Mercedes G-wagon.
She looked chic in a tan trench coat, and she carried a large black leather bag under her arm.
The model wore a black-and-white striped top underneath, which she paired with black slacks and pointy-toed black pumps.
She wore her brunette hair down with a middle part, and she sported stylish slim sunglasses.
Smith was seen leading Bieber into the church while carrying a set of beige suede boots.
He wore a black leather jacket with a white shirt and bluejeans that were as baggy as Bieber's pants.
The pastor had on a $45 brown houndstooth Elwood baseball cap, and he wore brown leather clogs that had a similar shape to Justin's chunky footwear.
Smith was pictured appearing to give Bieber a pat on the back as he headed into the church.
The pop star was once a devotee of the celebrity-courting megachurch Hillsong and its former pastor and co-founder, Carl Lentz, whom Justin once referred to as his 'second father.'
But the two had a falling out after Lentz's torrid extramarital affair came to light in 2020, and Bieber quickly distanced himself from Lentz.
Months later, he confirmed on social media that he was no longer a member of the church, and other celebrity congregants also stopped attending its services.
Into that cross-shaped void stepped Smith, who leads Churchome, which has aggressively courted celebrities after expanding from its Seattle origins.
Smith — who has labeled himself the 'Lead Communicator' for Churchome, while his wife Chelsea is its 'Lead Theologian' — took over the City Church that his father founded in Seattle, before he and his wife expanded to Los Angeles and changed the church's name.
Although Bieber has increasingly turned to Smith after abandoning Lentz, the singer's connection to him and what would become Churchome goes back around 15 years.
According to Marie Claire, Justin's mother first saw Judah speak at a conference in Toronto in 1999, and she later contacted him and Chelsea in 2010 to ask if they could be 'good influences' for her famous son, whom they were well aware by then.
Like Bieber's former pastor, Smith has been dogged by controversy over the years. He has been accused of homophobia after previously saying that being gay was as serious a 'sin' as committing 'rape and murder.'
Churchome also came under fire in the past for hiring an employee accused of rape, and a woman previously accused the church of encouraging her not to go to the police after she was allegedly sexually assaulted by one of its interns.
Then, in 2023, Churchome was hit with a class action lawsuit by more than 100 employees over its practice of requiring them to tithe 10 percent of their gross income — with the lead plaintiff allegedly being threatened with termination if she didn't resume tithing after she fell on financial hardship.
Although Justin and Hailey arrived separately at church, they were seen leaving together, with Hailey leading the way as they walked out to their vehicle.
Justin carried what looked like a black picture frame in his arms as they walked out, though he had the picture side turned toward himself.
Hailey took the wheel of her SUV as she drove herself and Justin home.
Earlier on Wednesday, Bieber shared a short black-and-white video of himself lifting weights in what looked like a gym or studio with some friends.
He also tried to presented a more positive image with a selfie showing him smiling softly and looking off to the side.
The extreme closeup prominently showed off the new silver stud he got after piercing his nose.
The posts come after the singer reposted a meme showing a child flashing double middle fingers, with a caption saying the gesture was done behind a girlfriend's back after she made the poster 'mad.'
The post comes in the context of widespread fears about Justin and Hailey's strained marriage, along with concerns from fans for the hitmaker's health after multiple sightings in which he has looked gaunt and disheveled.
He further fueled concerns this weekend with a post admitting to 'anger issues' and self 'hate'.
On Sunday afternoon, he shared a short clip of a young boy standing in the snow while dressed in a thick coat who begins flashing his middle fingers in multiple poses at the camera.
The accompanying text read: 'pov: me behind my girlfriend after she make me mad.'
Although he didn't create the original post, an Instagram post Bieber shared the day before seemed to draw a connection with the Instagram Stories meme.
On Saturday, he posted a closeup photo from a high angle of his face partially hidden underneath a hood covered in mottled white fleece, which made it look as if it had been encrusted with snow.
'I got anger issues too, but I wanna grow and not react so much smh,' he captioned the photo, which gave the post joking about venting anger at a girlfriend new resonance.
Later on Sunday, Justin shared a face-saving post featuring multiple photos of his wife Hailey.
One featured her at a table with her face blocked by her baseball cap as she held her hands together, and he added a heart emoji to the image.
Another image showed her at what appeared to be the same outdoor restaurant table as they waited for their order. She rested her chin on her outstretched fingers and displayed a cute smile for the camera.
A final snap, apparently from the same outing, pictured Hailey in a crop top highlighting her trim figure as she waited in line to order. Justin didn't bother to caption the photos of her.
The latest posts come days after Justin shared a troubling childhood throwback of Hailey.
Although the Insta Stories post seemed to be a love note to the model, he concerningly soundtracked it to Michael Jackson's hit single Remember The Time.
Although the tune superficially sounds like a love song, it features lyrics about a romance that has dried up, including: 'Do you remember when we fell in love? / We were young and innocent then.'
The song takes a darker turn, as Jackson continues: 'Do you remember how it all began? / It just seemed like heaven, so why did it end?'
Despite its upbeat sound, the lyrics look back wistfully on a romance for the rearview mirror.
A source previously gave a window into Justin and Hailey's marriage to DailyMail.com, revealing that Hailey 'works all the time' while Justin 'chills with friends' and spends time at home with their baby son.
Fans have expressed concern for the couple due to their stony-faced public appearances, and Hailey's famous friends have allegedly urged her to leave the singer due to his 'unacceptable' behavior.
‘Hailey’s been struggling with Justin almost since the start of the marriage,’ an insider told DailyMail.com exclusively. ‘She loves him madly but he’s a loose cannon. Some of her friends have advised her to go it alone and leave him.
‘His behavior is sometimes unacceptable. She’s put up with a lot,' they added.
The insider said Hailey's friends were hopeful that Justin's behavior would change after he became a new father to their baby son Jack, but her close confidants allegedly don't feel that fatherhood has made a significant impact.
‘When the baby was born he was there for her and she thought being a father would change him for the better, but it hasn’t stuck,’ the source said.
Justin seems to have turned to Dr. Jocelyn Miranda, a chiropractor who specializes in Body Biomechanics/Biodynamics and is a soft tissue specialist for athletic and vocal performance amid his health concerns, which he revealed late Saturday in an oddly affectionate Insta Stories post.
This is the same chiropractor who was seen on several occasions in the past with Shawn Mendes.
The Treat You Better artist began working her after he canceled his Wonder tour in July 2022, citing a need to prioritize his mental health.
Bieber shared a black and white snap from a FaceTime chat with the doctor late Saturday night, writing 'Luv you girl,' on the picture.
The Grammy winner previously canceled his World Justice Tour after being diagnosed in 2022 with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that caused a partial facial paralysis.
In another post a few hours later he revealed, 'I think I hate myself sometimes when I feel myself start to become inauthentic. Then I remember we’re all being made to think we’re not enough but I still hate when I change myself to please people.'
The post was accompanied by video of Bieber making music at his home with musicians including DJ Tay James, and Judah Smith.
These recent posts come after the STAY singer admitted to struggling with anger issues.
He received plenty of support for his declaration in the comments, including a kind word from actress Alyssa Milano.
'I see you,' the Charmed alumna wrote.
'You are not alone in feeling this way sometimes. But… please know you are enough and will continue to grow. Just keep going. One foot in front of the other. One day at a time.'
'I love when you be you! ❤️' a fan added.
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