Usher Reveals Why He Still Believes in Justin Bieber
Usher Raymond has decided to speak up about his mentee Justin Bieber, who may have shocked the world by joking about a racial term.
Bieber, the 20-year-old Canadian singer, joked while using the "n-word" in two recent videos that have become public fodder. While a number of people questioned if Bieber was racist, 35-year-old singer Usher has served as the young singer's mentor since 2008.
As one of the people in the entertainment industry who knows Bieber best, Usher has decided to take to his Instagram account to write an open letter about his thoughts on the matter.
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"At my core, I am a person that supports growth and understands without judgement, that growth often comes as a result of pain and continues effort," Usher wrote on Instagram. "As I have watched Justin Bieber navigate difficult waters as a young man, I can tell you that he hasn't always chosen the path of his greatest potential, but he is unequivocally not a racist."
Usher went on to defend Bieber and explain why he was so forgiving of the young singer.
"What he was 5 years ago was a naive child who did not understand the negative power and degradation that comes from playing with racial slurs," Usher wrote. "What he is now is a young man faced with an opportunity to become his best self, an example to the millions of kids that follow him to not make the same mistakes."
In Bieber's "Believe" movie which appeared in movie theaters last Christmas, the singer shared the advice given to him by Usher.
"When I first met you, I told you, you can have all of this, if you believe in it," Usher told Bieber in the movie. "And now it's happened. Don't f--- it up."
