‘Disgusted’ Justin Bieber ‘is in a hard place mentally’ after Diddy’s arrest: report
Justin Bieber is reportedly “completely disgusted” by the scandal surrounding his former mentor Sean “Diddy” Combs.
A source told US Weekly that the “Baby” singer, 30, “wants nothing to do” with Combs, 54, who was arrested last month and has been charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution.
“Justin has been advised to stay as far away as possible from anything and everything related to Diddy,” the insider said in an article published Wednesday.
They explained that Bieber — who welcomed his first child, son Jack, with wife Hailey Bieber in August — “wants to protect himself” amid the scandal involving Combs.
A second source claimed Bieber “is in a hard place mentally right now.”
“He has such a history with Diddy and the allegations against him have been hard to process,” the insider added, while noting that Bieber is more focused on his son right now.
“His happiness being a dad has outweighed his anxiety about Diddy,” the source shared.
The Post has reached out to reps for Bieber and Combs for comment.
After becoming an overnight success at just 14, Bieber signed to the record label of Combs’ protégée Usher in 2008, which marked the start of his friendship with the now-disgraced rapper.
Following Combs’ arrest, old videos have been recirculating online that show creepy interactions between the record executive and Bieber when the pop star was a teenager.
In one video, Combs presented Bieber, then 15, with a convertible, before telling the camera, “He’s having 48 hours with Diddy, where we hanging out and what we’re doing we can’t really disclose. But it’s definitely a 15-year-old’s dream.”
“I don’t have legal guardianship of him [Bieber], but for the next 48 hours he’s with me, and we’re gonna go full crazy,” he added.
In another video from 2011, Combs forbid Bieber, then 16, from talking about their friendship on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
A different viral video from “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” showed Khloé Kardashian recalling running into Bieber at one of Combs’ A-list parties in 2014, saying that “half of the guests were naked.”
Back in 2020, Bieber tearfully reflected on growing up in the music industry during an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, where he cried about wanting to “protect” then-rising star Billie Eilish.
“I don’t want her to go through anything I went through. I don’t wish that upon anybody,” Bieber said at the time.
In an unsealed indictment against Combs, federal prosecutors claim that the hip-hop star hosted “freak off” parties where women were lured and coerced into engaging in sexual performances with male sex workers.
The parties were allegedly recorded, providing Combs with material he could use to blackmail and coerce his victims.
Combs is also facing allegations of sexual assault from 120 accusers over the past 30 years.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is currently in custody at a Brooklyn federal detention facility while he awaits trial.