Team Bieber rejects speculation about Justin and Diddy: Care about those 'genuinely harmed'
Despite persistent speculation as footage of the two together has surfaced, Team Bieber said Thursday that nothing happened. Move along, nothing to see here.
Read more: 'Horrible and disgusting': Cassie's graphic testimony of abuse leaves Sean 'Diddy' Combs' fate hanging in balance
The speculation comes at a time when Bieber has been worrying fans with photos showing him smoking — a shot posted Thursday had the self-declared former substance abuser sitting with a bong quite obviously in his lap — and "It's a cult" rumors about the church he has been attending, Churchome in Beverly Hills. (Churchome pastor Judah Smith denies those rumors, by the way.) Bieber's decision in recent years to sell his catalog for $200 million is said to have been motivated by the pop star allegedly finding himself completely broke despite generating many millions for himself and others while touring.
The new dad's marriage is rumored to be in trouble as well, though on Friday the Biebs tagged wife Hailey in an Instagram story showing a male lion lovingly caressing a female lion with its nose and teeth.
Combs, of course, is on trial on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and more. This week in court has seen dramatic testimony from Combs' former girlfriend Cassie.
But back to Bieber, who was discovered by Scooter Braun in 2008 and quickly signed to a label run by Braun and Usher. Usher was a Combs protégé who was sent by record executive and producer L.A. Reid to live with the mogul in the '90s and maybe learn a few things. The "Yeah" singer was 15 when he moved to New York. Combs became Usher's legal guardian.
Read more: Sean 'Diddy' Combs' ex-girlfriend Cassie testifies at his trial about abuse and 'freak offs'
Reid wrote in his 2016 tell-all memoir "Sing to Me," via Rolling Stone, "'Will you take this kid and teach him your swagger?' I said. 'Can you just give him some of your flavor?' And so I sent Usher to New York for what I called the 'Puffy Flavor Camp.'"
He added, "I was turning him over to the wildest party guy in the country at an age when I still needed to get his mother's permission, but he went to New York for almost a year. I didn't know whether I was being irresponsible or having an epiphany."
Usher would tell Howard Stern in 2016 that he "got a chance to see some things" while living with Combs.
"I went there to see the lifestyle, and I saw it. I don't know if I could indulge and understand what I was even looking at," he said on Stern's show. "I had curiosity of my own. I just didn't understand it. It was pretty wild. It was crazy."
Read more: Defense concedes Sean 'Diddy' Combs had violent outbursts but says no federal crimes occurred
Usher said he was mostly focused on making music at the time, no matter what "curious" things might have gone on around him.
So when Bieber and Usher connected, could a Combs meet be far behind?
Combs and the "Baby" singer made news with an interview on Jimmy Kimmel's show after the "Justin Bieber's 48 Hrs with Diddy" video was posted on YouTube in November 2009.
In the video, Combs showed Bieber a silver Lamborghini and told him, "The keys is yours, you know, when you hit 16." That was after Bieber pitched driving it right away with Combs in the passenger seat, because he had his permit. After staring at the kid for a moment, Combs simply said, "No." Then he promised him the mansion when he turned 18. Combs didn't have legal guardianship of Bieber like he did with Usher, he said, but they would be together for the next 48 hours.
Read more: Sean 'Diddy' Combs case includes a charge steeped in racist history, attorneys argue
"He knows better than to talk about the things that he's done with big brother Puff on national television," Combs said later in the Kimmel interview, adding, "Everything ain't for everybody." That was after he described Bieber as "a little brother" and "one of the greatest kids you could ever know" who could always call up and ask him for industry advice.
The two would continue to cross paths, including at parties for Combs' vodka Ciroc, a brand the embattled mogul cut ties with in January 2024.
Bieber's camp released a statement Thursday asserting that nothing untoward ever happened between the two.
"Although Justin is not among Sean Combs' victims, there are individuals who were genuinely harmed by him," a spokesperson for Bieber told TMZ. "Shifting focus away from this reality detracts from the justice these victims rightfully deserve."
The Times was unable to reach a Bieber representative Friday.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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