“Bieber is so disturbed by the Diddy news and is unwilling to process it or discuss it so he has shut off,” an insider told Daily Mail.
“So many people who helped to make him who he is were very close to Diddy and it has completely thrown him. Justin hasn’t been responding on this since the home raids. He’s not going to.”
“He had a long break from Diddy when he believes most of this took place and he had distanced himself from him.
“He was featured on Diddy’s most recent album, and had he known any of this, there is no way he would have done it.”
It comes after clips of Combs and a then-teenage Bieber emerged on social media following the raiding of the disgraced star’s homes in Los Angeles and Miami.
One clip saw the pair standing together, with Combs saying: “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”.
Court documents obtained by TMZ on Tuesday ahead of Combs’ arraignment revealed that he has been charged with three counts: racketeering conspiracy; sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and transportation to engage in prostitution.
In a statement, Combs’ lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, condemned his client’s arrest.
“We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the US Attorney’s Office,” he said on Monday.
“Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children and working to uplift the black community.”
Combs’ downfall began in November 2023 when his ex-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura filed a bombshell lawsuit against the rap mogul, accusing him of rape and physical abuse throughout their 10-year relationship.
The exes settled the suit the next day.
In May, video surveillance of the Sean John founder violently attacking the Me & U singer, 38, in a hotel in 2016 was released to the public.
The clip, which was taken at the now-closed InterContinental Hotel in Century City, California, showed a towel-clad Combs punching and kicking Ventura in a hallway as she tried to escape to the elevator.
After the video surfaced, the Last Night rapper, who had previously denied abusing the model, issued an apology for his actions, saying his behaviour in the video was “inexcusable.”