Prior to the start of the Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sex trafficking trial in New York City on Friday morning, Canada’s Justin Bieber said he was not “among Combs’ victims.” On Friday The New York Posts’ (NYP) morning edition carried a story that said, “Justin Bieber said he was never a victim of accused sex abuser Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, who helped the young singer break into the music industry when he was just 15 years old, ending his silence on the rumour amid the disgraced mogul’s bombshell sex-trafficking trial.” On Thursday night, a representative for Bieber told TMZ, “Although Justin is not among Sean Combs’ victims, there are individuals who were genuinely harmed by him. Shifting focus away from this reality detracts from the justice these victims rightfully deserve.” Other sources told TMZ Combs, 61, never sexually or otherwise abused Bieber, who is now 31, in any capacity, cooling online speculation in light of Combs’ sex-trafficking trial this week. Celebrity watchers online pointed to several videos of Combs and the then-teenage Bieber, reports NYP. .“In one of the videos, Combs makes a series of questionably phrased comments as Bieber stands awkwardly and increasingly flushed while looking at the camera,” says NYP, adding in the video, Combs can be heard saying, “Where we’re hanging out and what we’re doing cannot really be disclosed. For the next 48 hours, he’s with me and we’re gonna go buck full crazy.” Another video from last year shows a pre-arrest Combs briefly meeting with Bieber and exhibiting some odd body language that some online speculators believed was actually a pat-down for hidden wires, reports NYP. In a Jimmy Kimmel Live! Interview, Combs said of Bieber, "He knows better than to be talking about the things that he does with big brother Puff on national television. Everything ain’t for everybody.” Combs is charged with racketeering, conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution, and, if found guilty on all counts, he faces life in prison. The former hip-hop star has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Another celebrity to get name-dropped on Friday was American singer-songwriter and dancer, Chris Brown. .Defence lawyer, Anna Estevao, asked Comb’s former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, who has been on the witness stand all week, about a time when Combs was mad at her because he thought she’d been dancing with Brown. "Do you remember when [Combs] thought you were dancing with Chris Brown?" Estevao asked Ventura. "I do but, I was not, I wasn't dancing with Chris Brown," Ventura responded. Brown is just one among a list of celebrities whose names have come up at trial, reports NYP, adding Britney Spears’ name came up Thursday in court because Combs invited her to Ventura's twenty-first birthday bash at a Vegas club. Actor Michael B. Jordan and rapper Kid Cudi were also mentioned on Thursday due to romantic involvements with Ventura. Also in testimony on Friday, court heard Combs grabbed Ventura’s phone out of her hand in August 2016 because he suspected she was dating an NFL player. Ventura said Combs ran down Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles with the phone and her mother called the police after she returned home without it. The athlete's identity wasn’t revealed, but Ventura confirmed that he was an NFL player at the time. ."(Combs) was upset with you when he suspected you of cheating, right?" Estevao asked. "I don’t know I would call it cheating at that point," Ventura replied. Combs' volatile moods affected every aspect of Ventura's life, she testified. "They affected my whole life, my career, how I felt about myself, my self-worth," she said. Ventura told prosecutors Combs' desire to hold "Freak Offs" consumed their lives. She described a ‘Freak Off’ as her having sex with a paid escort, while Combs watched and pleasured himself. "If he was in the mood to have a freak off, my work would take the back seat," she said. Prosecutor Emily Johnson asked Ventura whether she was a willing participant in the "Freak-offs," as implied by Combs' defence attorneys. "Throughout 11 years in the relationship with Sean, who did you want to have sex with?" Johnson asked. "Just him," Ventura replied. "Anyone else?" the prosecutor continued. "Not at the time," Ventura said. Before closing her testimony on Friday, Ventura said she went from being an R&B singer to being a sex worker because of all the work and preparation she had to do for "Freak-Offs." She told the court she didn't get to do many things she wanted to in her career "because I had a whole other job, basically a sex worker." The trial resumes on Monday.
