NEW YORK >> Justin Bieber’s former friends claim the pop star is in the clutches of a cult and that his Churchome pastor holds undue influence over the singer’s life.

Pastor Judah Smith meanwhile challenged the cult claim, quipping to TMZ’s new “What Happened to Justin Bieber?” documentary: “What kind of a cult only meets once a month?”

Insiders allege that the “Love Yourself” crooner, 31, cut ties with best man and former collaborator Ryan Good after the latter left the Beverly Hills megachurch that he deemed a cult. Good was the creative director for Bieber’s Drew House label — with which the pop star also severed ties last month.

In April, TMZ referred to the “culty” relationship between Bieber and Smith. According to the new documentary, the pair interrogated Good about his sex life and antagonized Bieber’s former manager Scooter Braun about not believing in Jesus. Braun is Jewish.

The Kardashians, Chris Pratt and wife Katherine Schwarzenegger, as well as Ciara and Russell Wilson have also been linked to Churchome.

Also reported in the documentary are claims that Bieber was on the brink of “financial collapse” when he sold his music catalog a little over two years ago.

Similar claims were made in a recent story published by The Hollywood Reporter. Bieber’s camp denied the allegations.

Distributed by Tribune News Service.