Justin Bieber ‘doesn’t trust’ because he’s haunted by ghosts from the past

Justin Bieber is struggling to trust those around him — and is isolating himself from some who have been close to him for decades, sources tell Page Six.

The 15-year-old who became a worldwide phenomenon with his chart-topper ‘Baby’ is now 30, married and the father of a newborn son.

But the singer’s most recent public appearances have fans and longtime friends worried.

Insiders say the ghostly-looking star – who has been open about substance use, anxiety and depression, and admits he previously used Xanax to deal with the “shame” of his promiscuity – is battling the ghosts of his past.

Bieber has been implicated in the arrest of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs as disturbing videos have emerged showing the disgraced music mogul making TV appearances with the teen star.

“Do I believe he was involved in some stupid thing? Yes,” an industry insider who worked with 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 and we didn’t know if he would survive. People benefited from everything he did.”

But a music source said it’s a two-way street: “Justin has done some really crazy things and he’s alienated the people around him. He doesn’t trust them.”

Now Bieber’s former friendship with Sean “Diddy” Combs — who appeared in a Manhattan court this week for a hearing related to his arrest for racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution — is coming under scrutiny, as strange videos have emerged of the disgraced music mogul making TV appearances with the then teen star.

In one clip, Combs, standing next to 15-year-old Bieber, tells the camera, “He has 48 hours with Diddy, where we hang out and what we do we can’t really reveal. But it’s definitely a 15-year-old’s dream… for the next 48 hours he’s with me and we’re going crazy.”

When the two appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in 2016, Combs bragged about 16-year-old Bieber: “He knows better than to talk about the stuff he does with big brother Puff on national television” — adding, “Everything is not for everyone.”

In yet another clip, Combs is seen stroking Bieber – as if searching for a thread – before boarding a private flight.

And in one video, Combs is seen telling the youngster, “You haven’t been calling me and hanging out like you used to” — which a Hollywood legal source described to Page Six as, “Diddy is basically bullying Justin.”

According to the industry insider: “Family members are concerned about Justin. It is unclear if Diddy would have taken advantage of Justin at the time, as his family was nearby and his manager Scooter Braun actually cared about him.

“But when I say that, Justin went through a very bad period, a very rebellious phase.”

At the age of 19, his tour bus was raided by Swedish authorities, who found unspecified illegal drugs and a stun gun. Months later, Bieber was spotted by paparazzi who reportedly sneaked out of a Rio de Janeiro brothel after spending three hours inside.

In January 2014, when he was 20, police raided Bieber’s mansion after he was accused of throwing eggs at his neighbor’s house in Calabasas, California. He pleaded no contest to misdemeanor vandalism and was ordered to pay $80,000 for the damage he caused.

Two weeks later, he was arrested for driving under the influence, resisting arrest and driving without a valid license for racing through the streets of Miami Beach in a yellow Lamborghini.

Tests later showed 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 reduced charges of misdemeanor, careless driving and resisting arrest, and was ordered to take anger management and DUI courses.

Seven years later, Bieber posted a photo of himself leaving prison in 2014, writing, “Not proud of where I was in my life. I was in pain, unhappy, confused, angry, deluded (sic), misunderstood and angry at God. I also wore too much leather for someone in Miami.

In 2017, he was banned from touring China due to ‘bad behavior’. That same year, his concert tour was cut short when the singer suffered a burnout.

Braun admitted in 2018 that there was a point when Bieber’s partying got so out of hand that it wasn’t clear whether he would make it.

“I thought he was going to go to sleep one night and have so much crap in his system that he wouldn’t wake up the next morning,” Braun told “The Red Pill” podcast in 2018. I go to sleep almost every night when he had the money to fly away from me, and I was afraid every night that I would lose him.

That year, Bieber married Hailey Baldwin after a long-term romance with Selena Gomez. Not long after, the singer revealed that he was struggling with depression.

He opened up about his mental health and struggles with drug use in the 2020 YouTube documentary “Justin Bieber: Seasons.”

“There was a time when I was drinking Lean (codeine cough syrup and soda), I was taking pills, I was doing Molly, you know, shrooms, everything,” Bieber revealed. “It was just an escape for me.”

And the singer cried on camera in 2020 when he told Apple Music host Zane Lowe that he wanted to protect singer Billie Eilish, who was 18 at the time.

“It was hard for me to be so young and be in the industry and not know where to go, and everyone telling me they loved me, and turning their back on you in a second,” Bieber explained. ‘I just want to protect her. I don’t want her to go through the same thing I did. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”

At his lowest point, Bieber turned to Hillsong Church and became close with pastor Carl Lentz, even staying with him and his family in New Jersey for extended periods of time.

But the singer has made it clear he is no longer a member of Hillsong and in April 2021 he hit out at preachers who were letting fame go to their heads.

“I think so many pastors have put themselves on this pedestal,” Bieber told GQ, without making a direct reference to Hillsong or Lentz, who was fired in 2020 for “leadership issues and breach of trust, plus a recent revelation of moral failures . ‘including affairs, abuse allegations and an Adderall addiction.

“(It’s) basically the church can be surrounded around the man, the pastor, the man, and it’s like, ‘This man has the ultimate relationship with God that we all want, but we can’t get because we this man is not. ,” Bieber told GQ. “However, that is not the reality. The reality is that every person has the same access to God.”

Bieber is still a churchgoer and was spotted at a Churchome service in Beverly Hills days after his wife Hailey gave birth to their son Jack Blues in August.

Last week, the Biebers celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary at Baltaire Restaurant in Los Angeles – Bieber looked skinny in sunglasses and a trucker hat.

The singer’s family are said to be in love with baby Jack, the industry insider said, adding: ‘People have been trying to take advantage of Justin for a long time. We just don’t want anything to distract from Jack and his life right now.”

Bieber sold the publishing rights and artist royalties from his song catalog to music investment firm Hipgnosis in January 2023, in a deal worth just over $200 million.

“Most superstars sell their entire catalog when they’re about 60 or 70, so it begs the question why Justin has chosen to do this now. I was told he was going through money like water,” a senior music source familiar with Bieber and his family told Page Six.

The singer’s fortune is currently estimated at around $285 million, mainly thanks to the publishing deal.

“Justin is truly a once-in-a-generation artist and that is reflected and recognized by the size of this deal,” Braun said at the time.

Although Braun no longer manages Bieber and the two rarely interact, the singer is still signed to his company Hybe.

Bieber took control of his finances in June after parting ways with longtime business manager Lou Taylor, whose former client Britney Spears accused her of pushing her into a conservatorship. He then hired Johnny Depp’s financial manager, Edward White.

Taylor, who runs the Tri Star company, 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 Combs’ payments to sex workers. This is according to music producer Rodney ‘Lil Rod’ Jones, who accused Combs of sexually harassing, drugging and threatening him.

In a statement, Combs denied the allegations and called Jones a “liar.”

All of these changes by Bieber involved his inner circle.

“People who have been around him for years are getting upset about what’s going on with him,” the music industry source said. “Yes, they made money from him, but they were loyal and now he has traded them in for people who aren’t.” I don’t know him. He is surrounded by many yes men.’