Trigger Warning: This article discusses alleged sexual assault and sex trafficking.
In the wake of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs being arrested last week and charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution, a host of celebrity interviews that hint at the rapper’s alleged crimes years before they came to light, have resurfaced.
The 54-year-old is currently being held in custody until his trial begins after his lawyers failed to appeal the judge’s decision to deny him bail based on his alleged danger to the safety of the community.
Since his arrest, the internet is abuzz with resurfaced interviews and foreboding comments from a host of big celebrity names, all making mention of Combs’ behaviour and most notably, the rapper’s infamous “Freak Off” parties – which lie at the centre of the 14-page federal criminal indictment of Sean Combs.
The indictment accuses Combs of running a criminal “enterprise” as an alleged racketeer that was responsible for coordinating what the indictment listed as “elaborate and produced sex performances.”
Prosecutors for the case note that the disturbing allegations also state that Combs used employees to “carry out, facilitate, and cover up his abuse and commercial sex” with security staff, household staff, and close associates acting as Combs’ “intermediaries”.
Shockingly, and as is the case with many high profile abuse cases, the perpetrators are often hidden in plain sight, with comments made in the past only given new meaning in the cold light of the current context.
Who Has Made Comments About Diddy In The Past?
Selena Gomez Remarks On ‘Weird’ Encounter With Sean Combs
In a 2016 interview with GQ, singer and Only Murders In The Building actress Selena Gomez recalled a ‘weird’ encounter with the rapper while she was dating Justin Bieber.
Reflecting on the incident with interviewer Zach Baron, Gomez spoke about Diddy handing her his parking ticket, after mistaking her for the valet attendant. According to the singer, no offense was taken. “Look, I see all of it. I don’t care – I actually laughed hysterically when it happened. But I get it. I know what all of it is.”
Khloe Kardashian Recalls Attending Diddy Party
Another celebrity whose comments have been thrust into the limelight following Diddy’s arrest is Khloe Kardashian, who spoke about the rapper’s infamous parties with her sister, Kourtney on a 2014 episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians.
In the episode, Khloe is speaking with Kourtney about the wild party she’d attended, where many of the guests were notably naked.
“I got on a plane at 5.30 am. Well, this party… I think half the people there were butt-naked… You would have loved it,” she told Kourtney.
In the same episode, Kourtney pressed her about who else was there. While Khloe seems hesitant to respond immediately, Kourtney throws out a bunch of names to test her sister’s response.
“So, who was with you this weekend?” she asked. “Diddy. Quincy. Justin Bieber… French Montana.” To which Khloe responds, “Yeah… So far, so good,” hinting that her sister was on the right track with her guesses.
Justin Bieber’s ’48 Hours With Diddy’ Video Resurfaces
Perhaps the most disturbing of all, is the resurfacing of a clip featuring a then 15-year-old Justin Bieber with the rapper – 24 years his senior.
In the clip, Justin speaks to the camera saying he’s having “48 hours with Diddy, where we hanging out and what we’re doing we can’t really disclose.” He then follows up with “but it’s definitely a 15-year-old’s dream.”
Shockingly, the rapper adds: “I have been given custody of him. He’s signed to Usher and I had a legal guardianship of Usher when we did his first album.”
“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,” Diddy adds.
The video has been shared wide and far, prompting fans to express concern for the singer’s welfare, after sources revealed Bieber was distancing himself from everything that’s currently going on.
Ashton Kutcher Recalls Diddy Party Stories
During a 2019 Hot Ones interview, Ashton Kutcher was guarded when asked whether he could share his experiences partying with Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs.
“I’ve got a lot I can’t tell,” the actor joked to host Sean Evans, adding “Can’t tell that one either… I’m actually cycling through them. Diddy party stories, man, that was some weird memory lane thing.”
Usher Speaks About Living With Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
After Usher’s Twitter/X account was strangely wiped following Diddy’s arrest, the singer’s past comments about his time staying with Sean Combs, have remerged.
The R&B singer, who was discovered by the rapper, was sent to live with Combs for a year when he was just 13.
In an interview with Rolling Stone in 2004, he spoke about his “pretty wild” experience living with the rapper, mentioning how Combs introduced him to “a totally different set of shit – sex, specifically”. Alleging that “there was always girls around. You’d open a door and see somebody doing it, or several people in a room having an orgy. You never knew what was going to happen.”
Doubling down on the remarks in a 2016 interview with Howard Stern, Usher recalled his confusion at the time. “I went there to see the lifestyle,” he began. “And I saw it. But I don’t know if I could indulge and understand what I was even looking at. It was pretty wild. It was crazy. There were very curious things taking place and I didn’t necessarily understand it.”
When asked by Stern if Usher would consider sending his own child to live with Combs, Usher was quick to reply: “Hell no”.
This article originally appeared on Marie Claire Australia and is republished here with permission.
