Justin Bieber has struggled to trust those around him and has been isolated from those close to him for decades, a source told Page Six.
The 15-year-old global phenomenon with his chart-topping ‘Baby’ is now 30, married and the father of a newborn son.
However, the singer’s recent public appearances have worried fans and longtime friends.
Sources say the haunted star has been open about her drug use, anxiety and depression, and has previously used Xanax to cope with the “shame” of promiscuity. He admits that he is currently battling the ghosts of his past.
In fact, Bieber has been implicated in the arrest of Sean “Diddy” Combs, and a worrying video has resurfaced of the disgraced music mogul appearing on TV with the teen star.
“Do you think he was involved in some stupid crime? Yes,” one industry insider who has worked with Mr. Bieber’s team for years told Page Six. “He was a teenager. He was the biggest pop star in the world. Everyone was worried about him, we didn’t know if he was going to survive. People I took advantage of everything he did.”
But one music source said it’s a two-way street: “Justin is doing some really crazy things and alienating the people around him. He doesn’t trust them.”
Now, Bieber’s past friendship with Sean “Diddy” Combs (who appeared in a Manhattan courtroom this week for a hearing on his arrest on charges of extortion, sex trafficking, and transportation for the purpose of prostitution) is under scrutiny. Now, the strange video has resurfaced. The disgraced music mogul appeared on TV with the then-teenage star.
In one video, Combs, standing next to 15-year-old Bieber, says to the camera: But this is definitely a 15 year old’s dream…for the next 48 hours he will be with me and we will be completely hooked. ”
The two appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live! ” When I appeared on the show. In 2016, Combs bragged about 16-year-old Bieber: “He knows more than to talk about what he’s doing with his brother Puff on national TV,” adding that “not everything is for everyone.”
Yet another clip shows Combs giving Bieber a nudge before boarding a private plane, as if he were checking a power line.
And in one video, Combs is seen telling a young man, “You’re not calling me or hanging out like you used to,” but Hollywood Law Enthusiast explained this to Page Six: “Diddy is basically bullying Justin.”
According to an industry source, “The family is worried about Justin. It’s unclear if Diddy took advantage of Justin at the time because his family was nearby and his manager Scooter Braun also really cared about him. .
“But that being said, Justin went through some really bad times, very rebellious times.”
At age 19, his tour bus was raided by Swedish authorities, who found unspecified illegal drugs and a stun gun. A few months later, Bieber was spotted by paparazzi sneaking out after spending three hours in a brothel in Rio de Janeiro.
In January 2014, when Mr. Bieber was 20 years old, police raided his home in Calabasas, California, after he allegedly threw an egg at a neighbor’s house. Bieber pleaded no contest to misdemeanor criminal damage to property and was ordered to pay $80,000 in restitution for the damages he caused.
Two weeks later, he raced his yellow Lamborghini on the streets of Miami Beach and was arrested on DUI charges for resisting arrest and driving without a valid license.
Subsequent tests detected Xanax and marijuana in his system. Although his alcohol level was below the legal limit, he was not yet of legal drinking age. He ultimately pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of careless driving and resisting arrest and was ordered to take anger management and drunk driving education courses.
Seven years later, in 2014, Bieber posted a photo of himself leaving prison and wrote, “I’m not proud of where I am in life. I feel hurt, unhappy, confused, angry, and misunderstood.” I was misunderstood and angry at God. I also wore too much leather for the Miami people.”
In 2017, he was banned from touring China for “bad behavior”. In the same year, the concert tour was cut short as the singer experienced burnout.
Brown admitted in 2018 that there was a time when Bieber’s parties were getting out of control and he wasn’t sure if they would be successful.
“When he went to sleep one night, I thought he was going to have so much damage that he wouldn’t be able to wake up the next morning,” Brown said on The Red Pill podcast in 2018. Almost every night when I went to sleep I was worried that I would lose him because he had money running away from me. ”
That same year, Bieber married Hailey Baldwin after a years-long on-and-off romance with Selena Gomez. Shortly thereafter, the singer revealed that he was battling depression.
He opened up about his struggles with mental health and drug use in the 2020 YouTube documentary Justin Bieber: Seasons.
“There was a time when I was on Lean (codeine cough syrup and soda) and taking pills and doing molly and shrooms and stuff like that,” Bieber revealed. “It was just an escape for me.”
Then, in 2020, he told Apple Music host Zane Lowe that he wanted to protect singer Billie Eilish, then 18 years old, and cried on camera.
“It was hard for me to be young and be in this industry and not know where to turn and have everyone tell me they love me and then turn their backs on me so quickly,” Bieber explained. “I just want to protect her. I don’t want her to go through what I went through. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”
At his lowest point, Bieber turned to Hillsong Church and became very close with Pastor Carl Lentz, staying with him and his family for extended periods in New Jersey.
However, the singer has revealed that he is no longer a member of Hillsong, and in April 2021 he slammed pastors who ignored his fame.
“I think so many pastors put themselves in this position,” Bieber told GQ, but without directly mentioning Hillsong or Lentz, in 2020, “I think a lot of pastors put themselves in this position.” He was fired for the above issues and breach of trust, as well as recent revelations of moral failings, including infidelity, abuse allegations, and an Adderall addiction.
“Essentially, the church is surrounded by that man, the pastor, that man, saying, ‘This man has the ultimate relationship with God that we all desire, but we don’t want to do this.’ I’m like, ‘I can’t get it because I’m not a man,”’ Bieber told GQ. “But that is not the reality. The reality is that all humans have the same access to God.”
Bieber still goes to church, and was spotted attending a church service in Beverly Hills just days after his wife Hailey gave birth to son Jack Bruce in August.
Last week, the Bieber couple celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary at Los Angeles’ Balterre restaurant, where Bieber looked gaunt, wearing sunglasses and a trucker hat.
Justin’s family is said to love baby Jack, according to an industry source, adding that “people have been trying to take advantage of Justin for a long time.” We don’t want to take anything away from Jack and his life right now. ”
In January 2023, Bieber sold the publishing rights and artist royalties to his music catalog to music investment firm Hipgnosis in a deal worth just over $200 million.
“Most superstars sell their entire catalog by the age of 60 or 70, so it begs the question why Justin decided to do it now. He was burning through money. I heard about it,” a music source familiar with Bieber and his family told Page Six.
The singer’s fortune is currently estimated at around $285 million, increased primarily by publishing deals.
“Justin is truly a once-in-a-generation artist, and that is reflected and recognized in the magnitude of this deal,” Brown said at the time.
Brown no longer manages Bieber and the two rarely communicate, but the singer is still signed to his company Hive.
In June, Bieber parted ways with his longtime business manager Lou Taylor and took control of his finances. Britney Spears, a former client of Lou Taylor, accused her of forcing her into a conservatorship. He then hired Johnny Depp’s financial manager, Edward White.
Taylor, who owns TriStar, is also embroiled in Combs’ legal battle. Her employee Robin Greenhill, who previously worked as Spears’ assistant, was named as the accountant who allegedly oversaw payments to Combs’ sex workers. This comes from music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, who accused Combs of sexual harassment, drugging and blackmail.
Combs denied the accusations in a statement and branded Jones a “liar.”
All of these changes by Bieber have to do with his inner circle.
“People who have been close to him for years are certainly upset (about what’s happening to him). Sure, they were making money off him, but they were loyal. But now he’s replacing them with disloyal people,” said a music industry source. He’s surrounded by a lot of yes-men. ”