Russell Brand claims Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs may have “exploited” Justin Bieber
Russell Brand has suggested Sean ‘Diddy‘ Combs may have “exploited” Justin Bieber amid the public’s concern about the ‘Baby’ singer. The British comedian made headlines last week after he was charged with rape and sexual assault, which he denies.
During the latest episode, released on April 4th, Brand discussed recent photos and videos that have surfaced of Bieber looking worse for wear.
“I met Justin Bieber at the Grammys when I was with Katy Perry, and we had an ongoing joke about adopting him and all his subsidiary rights,” Brand wrote on X. “Only now do I realise that Diddy may have been exploiting him, and that changes how I feel about that joke!”
Speaking more about his joke with Perry, he said, “Diddy was probably exploiting him in a much more tangible way. And yeah, he’s an interesting phenomenon, ain’t he, because you could make the case that he’s the first modern celebrity, in some sense.”
Brand continued: “He was a social media phenomenon before entering into the culture and completely dominating that. Like so many other people who have been through the machinery of celebrity, he ain’t looking well now.”
Combs is currently detained on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking by force and transportation for purposes of prostitution. Brand recalled a trip to Las Vegas with the Bad Boy rapper during an interview with BlackTree TV in May 2010. In it, he described Combs as “intense” and claimed it was hard to say “no” to him due to his power status.
“Diddy is new to me, right?” he said. “He looked after me. He took me on an enforced holiday to Vegas. He’s a very intense man because — I think he comes from nothing, and now he’s very, very powerful. People that do stuff like that, they’re intense.
“Now, I like him; he’s very influential. Say that you don’t want to do something, and Diddy does want you to do it, it’s really hard to not do that thing … you still do it because you think, ‘Ah, don’t upset him.’ He’s an influential person.”
He added, “He may ask you for loads of favours, and you can’t say no to him. That’s my worry … pressure. I don’t want to be nobody’s bitch; I work too hard in life, not even Diddy’s bitch.”