For the first time, Justin Bieber’s team has broken its silence amid the ongoing federal trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs, who stands accused of sex trafficking and racketeering and faces potential life in prison for his alleged crimes.

 Speaking in an interview with People on Friday [May 16], the singer’s spokesperson said “Although Justin is not among Sean Combs’ victims, there are individuals who were genuinely harmed by him.

The spokesperson continued “Shifting focus away from this reality detracts from the justice these victims rightfully deserve.”

The statement marks the first time ever Bieber is addressing rumours of being one of Sean ‘Combs’ Diddy’s victims since the Bad Boys Records founder’s arrest in September,  with federal prosecutors accusing him with running a large-scale criminal operation in which he “abused, threatened and coerced women” for decades, in part through drug-fueled sex parties known as “freak-offs,” according to the indictment.

All allegations have been denied by Diddy, and in the defense’s opening statements at his trial in New York City Monday (May 12), his lawyer asserted: “Sean Combs is a complicated man, but this is not a complicated case. We take full responsibility that there was domestic violence. Domestic violence is not sex trafficking.”

Friday marks the fifth day of the trial, which has so far focused heavily on the days-long testimony of Cassie Ventura, Combs’ ex-girlfriend. It was her now-settled civil lawsuit in November 2023 — in which she accused him of years of rape and physical abuse — that first raised allegations against the hip-hop titan, sparking a flood of additional suits from others who claimed he abused them, and setting into motion the criminal probe that led to his indictment.