Paparazzo praises 'good kid' Justin Bieber after he ran him over

  • 28/07/2017

A celebrity photographer has jumped to pop superstar Justin Bieber's defence after the 'Sorry' hitmaker ran him over while leaving church in his four-wheel drive.

The singer was leaving Hillsong Church in Beverly Hills on Wednesday night (local time) when he clipped the paparazzo with his truck, Beverly Hills police said.

Video published by TMZ shows Bieber pulling out of a driveway and manoeuvring around a crowd of photographers - but one failed to get out of the way, and he smacked him in the leg.

Bieber got out of his truck and repeatedly asked the photographer what he could do to help, staying by his side for around 10 minutes, until paramedics and police arrived.

The photographer who was struck has since posted a video from his hospital bed in an effort to protect Bieber from criticism, as he was awaiting an x-ray on his injured foot.

He said the vehicle was simply too large for the 'What Do You Mean?' crooner, and that combined with the slope he was on meant he couldn't see the threat properly.

"An hour before my birthday hits, I get run over by Justin Bieber - ain't that something," the photographer laughed at the start of the video.

"He's a good kid though. I think the truck was a bit too big for him because there's no way he could see over the front.

"But he got out, he was compassionate, he's a good kid. Accidents happen [and] hopefully everything works out here."

Earlier in the week it was claimed that mega-church Hillsong, where Bieber had been leading up to the incident, had brought about Bieber's decision to cancel the remaining 15 dates of his Purpose World Tour.

However he has since denied that, saying reports suggesting the cancellation had anything to do with his Christian faith was wrong.

Newshub.