Footage of Sean “Diddy” Combs hanging out with a 15-year-old Justin Bieber has resurfaced after the rapper’s homes were raided in connection to a federal human trafficking investigation.
The raids occurred on Monday (25 March) at the hip-hop star’s mansion in the Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles, California, and his Miami Beach home on Star Island, in Florida.
A statement from Homeland Security said law enforcement actions had been “executed as part of an ongoing investigation with assistance from HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami and our local law enforcement partners”.
In a statement through his lawyer, Diddy called the raids a “gross overuse of military-level force” for which there was “no excuse” and insisted he was innocent.
Amid the investigation, a 14-year-old video from Bieber’s YouTube channel has re-emerged in which Diddy talks about spending “48-hours” with the “Baby” singer.
The video starts with Combs showing Bieber (now 30) his Lamborghini and promising him a drive in it once he turns 16 next year.
“You ever seen the movie 48 Hrs? Right now [Justin is] having 48 hours with Diddy, him and his boy,” the rapper says in the video.
“They’re having the times of their lives, like where we hanging out and what we’re doing we can’t really disclose. But it’s definitely a 15-year-old’s dream.”
“I have been given custody of him,” Diddy says. “You know, he’s signed to Usher and I had legal guardianship of Usher when he did his first album. I did Usher’s first album.”
He adds: “For the next 48 hours, he’s with me. And we’re gonna go full. Buck full crazy.”
“Let’s go get some girls,” Bieber tells Diddy when asked what he wants to do.
“Man after my heart,” the rapper responds. “That’s what I’m talking about.”
Representatives for Bieber and Combs did not immediately respond to The Independent’s request for comment.
Combs, 54, is credited with helping launch the careers of artists including Biggie Smalls, Mary J Blige and Usher.
The current criminal investigation into Combs is a major escalation in the scrutiny of the music mogul, who has been the defendant in several sexual abuse lawsuits in recent months.
In February, a male music producer has accused Combs of sexually assaulting him and forcing him to sleep with sex workers.
In November of last year, Combs’s former partner, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura filed a lawsuit in which she claimed she was trafficked, raped and beaten by the rapper on numerous occasions over the course of 10 years.
Ventura’s lawsuit was settled a day after she filed it for an undisclosed amount of money.
Another of Diddy’s accusers is a woman who alleges that he raped her two decades ago, when she was 17 years old.
Combs vehemently denied the allegations. In a statement in December, he called the claims “sickening” and said his accusers were “looking for a quick payday”.
“Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged,” he said in a statement. “I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”
