Breaking News: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Celebrity Ties—Including Usher, Bieber, J. Lo—Under Fresh Scrutiny…. See More

Sean “Diddy” Combs’ arrest on sex trafficking charges and various sexual assault lawsuits have sparked renewed scrutiny of the many celebrities he has dated, mentored and even invited to his famous parties, comprising a list of industry giants who have largely kept quiet over the emerging scandal.

Combs was arrested in New York last week on sex trafficking and racketeering charges, soon after a federal grand jury indicted the rapper and record label executive.

He pleaded not guilty to all three charges—racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, cause or coercion and transportation to engage in prostitution—and is being held in a notorious Brooklyn detention facility.

Combs’ arrest followed a string of lawsuits that accused him of sexual assault—all of which he denied—beginning with a quickly settled lawsuit filed by his ex-girlfriend, singer Cassie Ventura, in November 2023.

WHAT IS COMBS’ RELATIONSHIP WITH USHER?
Usher and Combs became acquainted in 1994, when producer LA Reid—who had signed Usher to his record label—sent him to live, when he was about 15 years old, with Combs at his home in Scarsdale, New York, while he worked on his self-titled debut album. In 2004, Usher told Rolling Stone Combs “introduced me to a totally different set of shit — sex, specifically,” while he lived at his New York home. “There was always girls around. You’d open a door and see somebody doing it, or several people in a room having an orgy,” Usher said. But through the years, Usher has remained tight-lipped about the experience, and does not talk much about his relationship with Combs. He addressed living with Combs in a 2016 interview with Howard Stern, but gave few details. Stern asked if it was “filled with chicks and orgying non-stop,” to which Usher replied, “Not really.” Usher said living with Combs was “pretty wild” and there were “very curious things taking place, and I didn’t necessarily understand.” When Stern asked if Usher would ever send his kids to “Puffy camp,” he replied, “Hell no.” Last week, all of Usher’s posts on X disappeared, fueling rumors it was somehow related to Combs. But Usher wrote in a post on X Sunday that his account was “hacked and damn y’all ran with it,” and his previous posts reappeared. Usher has not commented on Combs’ arrest or sexual assault allegations.