TORONTO — Justin Bieber’s manager Scooter Braun has put to rest rumours of a rift with the teen he took from Stratford, Ont. to global fame and fortune.
“I love this kid. And I have his back forever,” Braun wrote in an Instagram post on Monday.
Tabloids and gossip websites have reported that the 32-year-old music mogul had a falling out with Bieber over the singer’s recent public behaviour.
Radar Online, part of the company behind the National Enquirer and Star, claimed on June 21 that Braun was considering sending Bieber to rehab because his “partying, pot smoking and drinking is out of control.”
In Monday’s social media missive, Braun called Bieber “family” and said he is proud of him.
“He is growing and pushing himself as a young man and doing it with the world watching. And what he wants is to be good. To be great. And to mean something positive to the world despite the obstacles or the pressures,” explained Braun. “His heart is pure and I will be right there with him like I promised him 6 years ago. It is all love.”
Earlier in the day, Braun tweeted: “@justinbieber’s heart is still good and pure and caring. I’m incredibly proud and love that kid.”
Braun and Bieber first responded to the rift rumours by posting a video showing them running in slow-motion into each other’s arms as someone sang a line from Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.”
On Tuesday, Bieber chimed in via Twitter. “Interesting how some people in the media wanna take shots at me for no reason,” he tweeted. “All good. Keeping it positive over here. All about the music.”
He added: “In life you gotta know who you are. know your heart. love the people that love you. and be kind. be GREAT!”
The 19-year-old superstar is currently on his Believe tour, which stops July 23 in Ottawa and July 23 and 25 in Toronto. The tour wraps up in Australia in late November.
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