DURING the past year, Justin Bieber has cut himself off from those in his trusted inner circle.
Even this week his wife stood alone as she at while stayed at home.
Yet one person is closer than ever to the millionaire singer: His pastor Judah Smith.
The 44-year-old spiritual guru heads — a trendy non- denominational church beloved by celebrities, which counts and among its congregation.
Justin’s , and rumoured have insiders about the pastor’s influence over the star.
Smith’s controversial megachurch — which draws in 10,000 people weekly — is trailed by a string of rape and sexual abuse scandals and even had to face down accusations of being a cult.
And it is not the first time Justin has become attached to a controversial preacher.
‘Cause of rumoured marriage troubles’
He broke ties with his previous spiritual confidant, tattooed , after the married pastor was fired from -based Christian church Hillsong in 2020 over an affair he had with star Ranin Karim, who later described their relationship as “toxic”;.
Lentz was originally introduced to Justin by Smith, who has known the Love Yourself hitmaker and his mum Pattie since Justin was 15.
A source close to the singer previously revealed: “Justin started to add Judah to the boards of his businesses — he is buying him $300,000 Rolexes and all this kind of stuff. Everyone around Justin is part of this church.”;
Some say Judah could not only be behind the rift between the pop star and his former inner circle, but the very cause of his rumoured troubles.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, a source close to Canadian Justin, 31, and 28-year-old model Hailey slammed Judah’s influence over the star as “total insanity”;. “Judah is a manipulator,”; they said.
“He is taking advantage of Justin’s situation, telling him that things are alright and that he is on top of his game — how Justin isn’t making mistakes and is just enjoying life.
“He is a toxic person, and Hailey and Justin have had a lot of arguments as she wants him out of their life.
“It’s complete madness — he trusts a guy who is known for being a manipulative person, and Hailey hates it.”;
Instead of attending the New York Met Gala on Monday, Justin spent the evening on the sofa cheering on his ice team.
And he made little effort to hide the bong on the floor next to him in an post only the day before, despite denials of drug use being issued by his team.
Just a few weeks before, at the festival, the singer was spotted what looked like marijuana next to his 15-year-old half-brother, .
“Justin keeps sinking and acting like a child,”; our insider added.
“He is doing too much s**t, he is going lower and lower, and Judah is there alongside him. Despite all this, he puts him in every meeting and includes him on projects.
“This has led to Justin cutting ties with a lot of people, as well as not being a responsible person and focused dad.
“The whole world is seeing Justin going down a hole, but Judah is telling him otherwise. It’s total insanity.”;
Fans and friends alike have tried their hardest to raise the alarm.
Almost every part of Justin’s life is becoming swallowed up by the church and its charismatic leader.
And Justin is rejecting those who cut ties with the church, giving his inner circle a complete overhaul.
Nowhere can this be seen more clearly than in the rift between the chart star and his former friend and business partner .
The pals jointly created clothing brand Drew House in 2019, and in the same year Ryan was best man at , at which Judah officiated.
But things turned sour after Bieber added Smith to the board.
Ryan and Smith are also understood to have a frosty , which culminated in Ryan quitting the church altogether last year.
Insiders repeatedly said he felt Churchome was a cult.
When Ryan chose to leave the church, he basically got excommunicated
A source close to the Biebers
It is now understood that Ryan and Justin have not spoken to each other in more than a year.
“When Ryan chose to leave the church, he basically got excommunicated”;, a source previously revealed.
And Justin is far from keen to welcome him back.
On April 3, the pop star launched his new fashion brand, Skylrk, with an animated video showing Bieber burning down a house full of relics from the past, including the Drew House logo. He also lashed out in a now-deleted post on Instagram.
He wrote: “Drew House doesn’t represent me or my family or life.
“If you’re rocking with the human Justin Bieber, don’t waste your on Drew House.”;
‘If we’re a cult, we’re worst cult in history’
Also in the video was a scooter that runs out of charge — a perhaps not-so-subtle reference to , who he has .
Now Justin’s life increasingly revolves around Smith and his megachurch.
The pair are so close that in 2017, they got matching which read: “Better at 70”;.
The pastor, with his casual denim jackets, baggy trousers and necklaces, looks more like a pop star than a priest and has also featured on some of the star’s songs.
Before Justin’s involvement, Churchome was just an average-sized church based in Seattle.
The singer began to become close to Smith in 2010 after Justin’s mum Pattie made an offer to the pastor to attend a gig over her concerns about fame’s effect on her son.
“He needs some good influences in his life. Would you come?”; she reportedly asked.
Now Smith’s church draws in thousands of worshippers across its five locations, and has launched an app that reportedly attracts more than 300,000 users every week.
The pastor boasts more than 720,000 followers on Instagram, where he posts clips of sermons.
And not only does Smith have the ear of some of Hollywood’s most famous faces, but it seems to be earning him a pretty penny too.
In 2018, Marie Claire mag reported that Churchome brought in total revenue of at least $20million, while Judah is thought to be living alongside his wife Chelsea and their three kids in a $2.5million California mansion which he described as “an investment in Churchome’s future”;.
But its slick image and massive earnings have prompted comparisons with the Church of , also beloved by .
Their charismatic leader even officiated at ’s wedding — as Smith did with Justin.
And Smith’s church has also dealt with its fair share of controversy.
In February 2023, the church came under fire for rehiring Braylon Oliver, a pastor who had been previously let go after a woman accused him of rape.
If we’re a cult, we are the worst cult in the history of all cults
Judah Smith
Churchome claimed that Oliver had demonstrated “spiritual and personal growth”; since the time of the alleged incident and claimed that reports surrounding his rehiring were “misleading”;.
Another woman, Payton Jones, accused Churchome of protecting one of its employees when she claimed church intern Zachary Jaquith sexually assaulted her in 2019, alleging she was discouraged from filing a report with by the church’s general legal counsel Troy Anderson.
Zachary and Troy both deny the accusations.
Churchome also faced a lawsuit in 2023 over its policy of forcing all staff members to donate ten per cent of their wages back to the church, the outcome of which is unclear.
But are they a cult? Smith laughed off the allegations in a sermon posted to Instagram last week.
He said: “If we’re a cult, we are the worst cult in the history of all . We meet once a month, guys! We’ve got to get better at this.”;
The Sun has approached Churchome for comment.
