Justin Bieber took to Instagram on Friday (Sept. 22) in a rare instance of political discussion to express his support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
The 23-year-old Purpose star posted a black and yellow text graphic of the activist group’s logo along with an extensive caption. “I am a white Canadian and I will never know what it feels like to be an African American,” he wrote. “But what I do know is I am willing to stand up and use my voice to shine light on racism, because it's a real thing and it's more prevalent now than I have ever seen in my lifetime.. we are all Gods children and we are ALL EQUAL.”
Bieber’s post comes just a week-and-a-half after he introduced a prayer on the Hand-in-Hand telethon, which raised $55 million for hurricane survivors. It was the “Sorry” singer’s first public appearance since canceling the end of his Purpose tour in July. He apologized for the move in a note to his fans, writing, “Me taking this time right now is me saying I want to be SUSTAINABLE.”
Manager Scooter Braun defended Bieber’s decision on CBS This Morning on Thursday, saying, “I think he'll decide to tell people when he's ready of what exactly happened. But I think he was making a decision, like he said, to protect himself.”
