Justin Bieber fans are still at a loss for why Justin would cancel the rest of the dates on his “Purpose World Tour” and while he says he just needs a break, two new reports suggests the cancellation had something to do with religion, although Justin is completely denying them.
Sources are telling TMZ that Biebz decided to scrap the tour because he “rededicated his life to Christ.” Justin has been spending a lot of time with Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz lately, but insiders insist Lentz had no role in Justin’s decision to cancel. As for exhaustion, sources say the rest of his travel schedule wasn’t that strenuous so the excuse makes no sense.
Along the same lines, a report out of Australia claims Justin axed the tour in order to start his own church. “I am led to believe that the real reason he has come off the road is because he wants to reconnect with his faith and he may be even planning to start his own church,” Aussie entertainment reporter Richard Wilkins told “Today Extra," also noting his closeness with the Hillsong Church. "Whether he's looking at teaming up with them in something of a more permanent situation or doing some sort of religious activity on his own - starting his own church - we're not quite sure."
- But despite the two stories, Justin insists religion played no role in the tour cancellation. Paparazzi caught up with him in Beverly Hills where he denied the rumors, shaking his head no when the photographer asked him about them. Check out the video here.
- Meanwhile, Justin hasn’t only upset his fans with the cancellation, but TMZ reports that members of his crew are “incredibly pissed off at him" because the cancellation hurt them financially. Because the tour was scrapped, about 200 or so people are now out of work.
- As for that exhaustion, Billboard points out that while Justin has been on tour for 17 months, and he did travel virtually all over the world, when you figure in breaks and days off, Justin actually had 120 days off during the tour, or four months. Not only that, 77 of those days happened in one span over the holidays and all of last January.
- As it turns out, ticket sales could have also played a part in the decision to cancel Bieber's tour. According to promoter AEG Live, only one of the 14 final dates had sold out, with about 5,000 to 12,000 tickets per show available on the secondary market, often for below face value.
- Finally, Justin’s manager Scooter Braun has also issued an apology for the cancellation. “To those that won’t be able to see it…on behalf of myself, Justin, and the team, we are sorry. That was never our intent,” Braun wrote. “But a man’s soul and well being I truly care about came first and We [sic] must all respect and honor that. Justin will be back and I know he looks forward to performing for you and with you all again.” Check out his full message here or below.