Justin Bieber Addresses Whether He Was One of ‘Sean Combs’ Victims’

Justin Bieber‘s team has spoken out amid the ongoing federal trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs, who stands accused of sex trafficking and racketeering and faces potential life in prison for his alleged crimes.

In a statement shared with People Friday (May 16), the pop star’s spokesperson said, “Although Justin is not among Sean Combs’ victims, there are individuals who were genuinely harmed by him.”

The spokesperson added, “Shifting focus away from this reality detracts from the justice these victims rightfully deserve.”

Billboard has reached out to Bieber’s reps for comment.

The statement marks the first time the “Peaches” singer has directly discussed Combs since the Bad Boy Records founder was arrested in September, with federal prosecutors accusing him with running a large-scale criminal operation in which he “abused, threatened and coerced women” for decades, in part through drug-fueled sex parties known as “freak-offs,” according to the indictment.

Combs has denied all of the accusations, and in the defense’s opening statements at his trial in New York City Monday (May 12), his lawyer asserted: “Sean Combs is a complicated man, but this is not a complicated case. We take full responsibility that there was domestic violence. Domestic violence is not sex trafficking.”

Friday marks the fifth day of the trial, which has so far focused heavily on the days-long testimony of Cassie Ventura, Combs’ ex-girlfriend. It was her now-settled civil lawsuit in November 2023 — in which she accused him of years of rape and physical abuse — that first raised allegations against the hip-hop titan, sparking a flood of additional suits from others who claimed he abused them, and setting into motion the criminal probe that led to his indictment.

Amid Combs’ fall from grace, some of Bieber’s fans have remembered that the two musicians crossed paths in the past. In a 2009 video with more than 11 million views on the “Baby” singer’s YouTube channel, a then 15-year-old Bieber spends time with the producer for 48 hours, and the pair discusses cars and hitting on girls.

“Where we hanging out and what we’re doing, we can’t really disclose,” Combs says in the video. “But it’s definitely a 15-year-old’s dream.”

In 2010, the two would take the stage with a group of other musicians at the BET-SOS Saving Ourselves Help for Haiti Benefit Concert. In 2011, they appeared together on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, with Combs saying at the time, “We’ve become friends in a strange way … [Justin] knows better than to be talking about the things that he does with Big Brother Puff on national television.”

Bieber also attended Combs’ Deleon Tequila launch party in Atlanta in 2014. In one picture from the event, the Canadian pop star sits next to Ventura; in another snap, Combs poses with his arm around Bieber.