Teen pop idol Justin Bieber turned to Hollywood star Will Smith for support and advice amid the chaos surrounding his UK tour last week, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
The Men in Black actor — himself a former child star — became a mentor and ‘father figure’ to the singer as what should have been a triumphant tour was rocked by a string of public relations disasters.
Smith was in London chaperoning his own 14-year-old son Jaden - one of three support acts on Bieber’s sell-out ‘Believe’ tour. And according to one member of the Bieber entourage, the 44-year-old Hollywood A-lister was on hand around the clock to offer advice and guidance to the 19-year-old in the absence of his own parents.
As his mother Pattie Mallette now prepares to fly in to support her son, The Mail on Sunday can reveal the behind-the-scenes power struggle that emerged as Bieber, who found fame aged 13 and is followed by more than 35 million ‘Beliebers’, pulls away from his bubblegum ‘tween’ image.
While Smith is a fatherly influence, it seems Bieber is increasingly under the sway of new Hollywood companions, led by little-known rappers Lil Twist and Lil Za.
Angie Simpson, mother of 16-year-old Australian singer Cody Simpson, another of the support acts, said: “Will has been helping Justin out a lot, mentoring him and offering him guidance.
“He’s someone who is used to this level of scrutiny and it has helped having him around.
“Justin is an adult and has a very strong, loyal and professional team around him, but it is hard for anyone to come under such pressure.”
In place of his parents, the singer has been accompanied in the UK by Scott ‘Scooter’ Braun, the 31-year-old talent manager who discovered his protege on YouTube and turned him into a global ‘tween’ brand worth more than £70million.
But a lack of parental guidance, combined with the emerging pull of his worrying new circle of friends in the wake of the star’s split from girlfriend Selena Gomez in November, is now raising serious questions about Bieber’s increasingly erratic behaviour and state of mind.
Lil Twist — also known as Christopher Lynn Moore, a 20-year-old from Chicago — and Lil Za — real name Xavier Smith, also 20 — are regulars on the LA party scene and are thought to be exerting an increasing influence on Bieber.
In January both were believed to be present when Justin, whose hits include Baby and One Less Lonely Girl, was photographed smoking in a party at a California hotel room.
The incident came a day after Lil Twist was pulled over by police as he drove Bieber’serrari and a photographer was killed as he ran across the road to take a picture.
Last night one Hollywood associate described the effect of the friendships on the chart-topping singer: “You have to look at the people he is hanging out with.
“They are very distinct from the group of professionals around him, like his manager, who do a terrific job guiding his career and caring for him. Justin’s issues really started when he started hanging out with this undesirable crowd.”
As well as the new friends, many believe it was the end of Bieber’s two-year romance with Disney actress Selena, 21, who dumped him last November, that led to him embracing a more chaotic lifestyle.
A friend of Selena’s said: “Selena was a calming influence on Justin. She is two years older than him and he listened to and respected her. Everyone is hoping this recent behaviour is just growing pains and not the start of a more serious problem. Only time will tell.”
