Justin Bieber has officially addressed the swirling speculation that he was one of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ victims.
In a statement to TMZ on Thursday, a representative for the 31-year-old ‘Baby’ singer made it clear: “Although Justin is not among Sean Combs’ victims, there are individuals who were genuinely harmed by him.”
The rep added, “Shifting focus away from this reality detracts from the justice these victims rightfully deserve.”
The comment comes as social media continues to unearth and dissect old footage of Bieber and Combs from over a decade ago, clips that include suggestive remarks and ambiguous behavior during the pop star’s teenage years.
One resurfaced video from 2009 shows the pair standing beside a car outside a house, with Diddy telling the then-15-year-old: “You ever seen the movie 48 Hrs? Right now [Justin is] having 48 hours with Diddy, him and his boy…they’re having the times of their lives, like where we hanging out and what we’re doing we can’t really disclose”.
Combs says that he was “given custody” of Bieber and noted: “You know, he’s signed to Usher and I had legal guardianship of Usher when he did his first album. I did Usher’s first album. For the next 48 hours, he’s with me. And we’re gonna go full. Buck full crazy.”
The ‘Never Say Never’ hitmaker says, “Let’s go get some girls,” when Diddy asks what he wants to do. “Man after my heart,” the rapper responds. “That’s what I’m talking about.”
Another bizarre interaction from 2011 showed the music mogul seemingly “warning” the ‘One Time’ musician while talking about their “friendship” on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2011.
“I think that we have become friends in a strange way,” Combs said when the host asked about their relationship. Bieber quipped: “It’s like Rob & Big,” referencing skateboarder Rob Dyrdek and his bodyguard, Christopher “Big Black” Boykin.
“I’m Big and you’re Rob,” the then-teenager continued, to which Combs said: “He’s, to a lot of us, he’s like a little brother. He’s not afraid to call and ask for advice. He’s somebody that industry-wise, the record industry is a strong family.
“He’s somebody that we definitely have our arms around and we wanna protect him because he’s genuinely such a nice person besides his talents,” he praised. “He’s one of the greatest kids you could ever know.”
