People can say whatever they like about Canadian pop star Justin Bieber, but for "celebrity pastor" Rich Wilkerson Jr., the "Love Yourself" hitmaker is tops on his book.
During an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Wilkerson urged people to be more understanding towards the star given everything that he has been through.
"He's been thrown into a whirlwind that I'll never know and so I think on his journey he's always trying to figure it out," he said. "Anybody who gets put into that limelight gets a bad rap. When you do something good, that gets exploited. When you do something bad, that gets exploited."
Wilkerson—who is known for his close ties with celebrity couple Kanye West and Kim Kardashian and the reality show "Rich in Faith"—said Bieber should not be treated as on object. Despite the mistakes he made in the past, Wilkerson believes that Bieber deserves all the love and support he can get.
"People aren't projects, people are people. Projects have a start date and a finish date — that's not people. People are eternal beings and our job is to love, encourage, affirm," he continued, adding, "(Bieber's) got a heart of gold."
According to Wilkerson, Bieber is already doing his best to turn his life around and live a life that is worthy of a Christian. "(Justin) loves people and I think he's trying to walk his faith out," Wilkerson shared. "I'm thankful for him and I'm grateful for the man that he is."
Bieber spent most of 2015 rebuilding his personal life and career. He became active in Hillsong church services and often hung out with preachers such as Carl Lentz and Judah Smith.
As for his career, Bieber recently released his album "Purpose" which contained hit singles such as "What Do You Mean" and "Sorry."
