Hailey Bieber is standing by her husband Justin Bieber amidst a renewed spotlight on his past ties to Sean “Diddy” Combs, as the music mogul faces serious legal charges.
In a move that seemed to speak louder than words, Hailey took to Instagram this week to share a cryptic post featuring a throwback photo of Justin — a decision that immediately caught fans’ attention.
The 27-year-old model posted an image from 2017, showing Justin flashing his middle finger during a trip to Queensland, Australia.
With the simple caption “Mood,” Hailey made it clear how she’s feeling in the midst of the renewed scrutiny surrounding Justin’s previous connection to Diddy, 54, following the hip-hop icon’s shocking arrest.
The timing of her post was telling. Diddy was arrested on September 16 on multiple charges, including sex trafficking, racketeering, and engaging in prostitution.
The news has rocked the music industry and dredged up old footage and stories linking Justin to Diddy from when the pop star was a teenager. As Diddy remains in custody in a Brooklyn detention center without bail, the resurfaced videos of a young Justin hanging out with him have sparked concern and debate on social media.
The image Hailey shared dates back to when Justin, now 30, was just 23. In the throwback snap, the pop star, then shirtless in striped swim shorts, was seen standing on Makepeace Island, a luxury hideaway he had rented from Sir Richard Branson.
Justin, who has maintained a conspicuous silence amid the mounting legal issues surrounding Diddy, was close to the music mogul during his early career.
The Bad Boy Records founder once took the young singer under his wing and has spoken in the past about mentoring him — but now, many are revisiting that relationship with a more critical lens.
In one resurfaced interview from 2011, Diddy appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! with Justin in tow and made some eyebrow-raising comments about their time together.
“He knows better than to be talking about the things that he does with big brother Puff on national television,” Diddy teased, while a teenage Justin sat beside him, looking somewhat bashful. It’s a moment that, in retrospect, has drawn concern, given Diddy’s current legal predicament.
Adding to the unease, another video clip shows a 15-year-old Justin spending time with Diddy, who was heard saying cryptically, “Where we hanging out and what we doing, we can’t really disclose, but it’s definitely a 15-year-old’s dream.” Diddy’s words in the clip, originally dismissed as playful banter, now come across as unsettlingly vague.
The troubling optics of the situation have led to intense scrutiny online, with fans and critics alike questioning the appropriateness of such interactions between an established music mogul and a young, impressionable star.
“Why were people okay with this?” read one comment on a viral social media post featuring the clip. Others expressed shock that the videos hadn’t raised red flags at the time. “This is wild to watch now knowing everything we know about Diddy,” another user wrote.