14 DAY TRIAL // Will Smith has spoken out in Justin Bieber’s defense countless times before and the young pop star does spend a lot of time with Will and Jada’s son Jaden, so it was somewhat logical to assume Will and Justin are also friends. As it turns out, they’re more than that, as Will is The Biebs’ “mentor.”
In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Justin and his manager Scooter Braun talk about his transition to adulthood, recent media scandals and the never-ending media attention the singer is getting for both.
Braun also reveals that Will Smith is a “mentor” for Justin, calling him up at least once a week for a spiritual conversation that’s bound to help him make said transition smoother and deal with the constant criticism and negative attention.
“Braun tells of a particularly tough time for Bieber around the time he returned from his world tour in May that prompted the movie star to drive to Bieber’s house and pull him out of bed for a three-hour talk. Bieber’s reaction, according to Braun: ‘He said, “Man, that makes me feel so loved. I woke up, and there’s Will Smith, one of, if not the, biggest movie stars on the planet. He took time out of his day for me’”,” the magazine writes.
“Now, Bieber and Smith have a weekly call to go over any potential issues, emotional or otherwise,” THR continues, adding that “Scientology has never been discussed.” According to Braun, will has advised him to let Justin do his thing because he’s young and needs to make his own mistakes in order to become a man.
Though Braun is quick to say that Scientology was never a topic of conversation between Justin and Will, we wouldn’t have expected otherwise, given that neither the actor nor his wife Jada Pinkett-Smith ever admitted to being Scientologists.
Nevertheless, that’s considered one of Hollywood’s worst kept secrets. Also widely known is that celebrity Scientologists tend to befriend celebrities they wish to get enlisted in the Church – just look at how close Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes were to David and Victoria Beckham a few years back, when they were thinking of becoming Scientologists too.
Considering that Bieber isn’t just one of the most influential young stars of the moment but also one of the richest, his becoming a Scientologist would be manna for the Church, which explains reports that this mentoring stuff (that we already knew about) is nothing but covert recruitment.
As for how Will’s philosophy is translating to Bieber, here’s what he told THR about his haters: “I don’t give a [expletive]. Not ‘I don’t give a [expletive]’ to just be reckless and do whatever, but ‘I don’t give a [expletive] what they say.’ I know who I am and what I’m doing in my life and what I’ve accomplished and continue to accomplish as a performer, as a writer, as an artist, as a person, as a human being. I’m happy with the man I’m becoming.”