Usher’s friend Da Brat has disputed claims the crooner had a ‘heated exchange’ with his former mentee Justin Bieber at Jay-Z and Beyonce’s Oscars afterparty.
Sources close to Bieber indicated last week that it was Usher who approached the pop act with ‘energy and anger’ during the soiree at Los Angeles hotspot Chateau Marmont, but they insisted the dispute never became physical.
However, other insiders claimed the encounter culminated in a fistfight, leaving the exact nature of the supposed altercation unclear, via TMZ.
Usher and Scooter Braun shepherded Bieber’s rise to fame when he was 13 and 14, signing him to their label after winning a bidding war against Justin Timberlake.
Early in their respective careers, Bieber, 32, and Usher, 47, were also both the proteges of disgraced rap mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, 56.
Last May, Bieber firmly denied years of rumors he was molested by Diddy as a child, with a spokesperson saying he was ‘not among Sean Combs’ victims.’
As stories circulated about the supposed spat between Bieber and Usher at the Oscars afterparty, Da Brat insisted that she ‘spoke to Usher and he said this is an exaggeration of conversation,’ on the Rickey Smiley Morning Show.
The Daily Mail has contacted Usher and Bieber’s representatives for comment.
Usher’s friend Da Brat has disputed claims the crooner had a ‘heated exchange’ with his former mentee Justin Bieber at Jay-Z and Beyonce’s Oscars afterparty
Usher and Scooter Braun engineered Bieber’s rise to fame, signing him to their label after winning a bidding war against Justin Timberlake; Usher and Bieber pictured 2009
Bieber is pictured last month attending the Grammys in Los Angeles
‘He’s been nothing but supportive of plenty of issues that Justin Bieber has had throughout the years, and y’all can actually check the records for all that. He has been,’ Da Brat shared on Smiley’s show.
‘Justin is on his own journey dealing with his own reality that he’s created. Usher wishes him nothing but the best and they have no hostility towards each other. They definitely love each other,’ she continued.
‘So people just take things out of context when they see something, and they run with it, and I’m just here to say that is not the issue. They are definitely cool with each other and they have love and they support each other.’
When speculation about the Oscars afterparty first exploded last week, a source accused Bieber of having always been impolite to Usher, amid claims the Baby singer wants to freeze out people from his past.
Among the star-studded guest list at Beyonce and Jay-Z’s bash were Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce as well as Timothee Chalamet and Kylie Jenner.
Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan were in attendance, as were Jacob Elordi, Teyana Taylor, Vin Diesel, Sofia Vergara, Austin Butler, Emma Stone, Emma Watson, Jon Batiste, Chloe Bailey and Vanessa and Natalia Bryant.
Bieber’s wife Hailey, nee Baldwin, was also among the invitees, along with her longtime close friend and fellow supermodel Kendall Jenner.
None of the famous names who dropped by Beyonce and Jay-Z’s party has publicly discussed witnessing any spat unfold between Bieber and Usher.
Bieber went viral for his singing videos on YouTube in 2007 at the age of 13, leading to his discovery by business partners Scooter Braun and Usher.
They signed him the following year and guided him along his rise to global fame, with Bieber at one point moving to Atlanta with his mother to work with Usher.
‘I definitely try to be as much of a big brother, mentor and protector as I can,’ Usher said on the French radio show Le 6/9 in 2010.
In 2024, Usher revealed that he had asked Bieber to be a part of his Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show in Las Vegas, only to be rebuffed.
The party was hosted by Jay-Z and Beyonce on Sunday night; Usher seen with Beyonce and Jay-Z at their Oscars party in 2024
‘I definitely try to be as much of a big brother, mentor and protector as I can,’ Usher said on the French radio show Le 6/9 in 2010; he and Bieber are pictured at the 2011 Grammy Awards
Bieber went viral for his singing videos on YouTube in 2007 at the age of 13, leading to his discovery by business partners Braun and Usher; Bieber and Usher pictured in 2012
‘I honor and recognize that my brother, you know, he – I think that it might’ve been the fact that he’s just wanting to tell a different story right now, and I understand that,’ Usher said during an interview on The Breakfast Club in 2024.
‘But we did have a brief conversation, and we’re gonna do something else in the future,’ the performer added. ‘No love lost or anything like that.’
Usher explained that he had also reached out to other artists, adding that Bieber was ‘gonna play the Super Bowl’ at some stage. ‘I’ll go ahead and give you that – in the future. I profess that over his life.
‘It’s time, because he has a career that deserves it. But it just didn’t happen, but that doesn’t mean it’s not going to.’
That same year, Usher discussed having waged ‘a bit of a bidding war between me and Justin Timberlake’ to sign Bieber.
‘I was like, “I’m not certain that I could understand each and every producer that this artist could benefit from, but what I can tell you is I’m going to give you my passion, and I’m going to give you every bit of what I have to offer,”‘ Usher told People.
Back in 2024, Usher revealed that he had asked Bieber to be a part of his Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show in Las Vegas (seen above) – but the Peaches hitmaker turned down the offer
And during a past interview with People, Usher also shared that he signed Bieber after a ‘bidding war’ with Justin Timberlake; Bieber seen in 2009 in L.A.
‘He’s gonna play the Super Bowl,’ Usher added of Bieber at the time. ‘I’ll go ahead and give you that – in the future. I profess that over his life’; seen in 2021 in L.A.
Bieber and Usher appear to have last been pictured together back in 2021, while attending a Lakers game in Los Angeles.
Braun meanwhile emerged as one of the top music managers in the business, with a client list including Bieber as well as Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato.
He announced his retirement from the profession in June 2024, one day after he and Bieber ended their business relationship.
Bieber and Braun’s bond disintegrated into an explosive financial feud that ended with a settlement last year, in which the pop act allegedly agreed to pay a $26 million in costs related to the cancellation of his Justice tour in 2022, sources told TMZ.
Under the terms of the deal, Bieber was also reportedly meant to pay half of the $11 million in unpaid commission Braun claimed to be owed.
Usher and Bieber’s history with Diddy fell under renewed scrutiny when the rap mogul faced a raft of sex crime allegations he strenuously denied.
After a highly publicized trial, Diddy was acquitted last July of the most serious charges against him, sex trafficking and racketeering, though he was found guilty on two lesser charges of transportation to engage in prostitution.
As the scandal swirled around him, an old video resurfaced of him and a 15-year-old Bieber in which they discussed spending ’48 hours’ together.
‘He’s having 48 hours with Diddy, where we hanging out and what we’re doing we can’t really disclose. But it’s definitely a 15-year-old’s dream,’ said Diddy.
Bieber and Usher were seemingly last pictured together back in 2021 as they attended a Lakers game in Los Angeles (seen above)
Bieber and Usher have both also been the underage proteges of disgraced rap mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs whom Usher is pictured with in 2002
‘I have been given custody of him. He’s signed to Usher and I had legal guardianship of Usher when he did his first album. I don’t have legal guardianship of him but for the next 48 hours he’s with me and we’re gonna go full crazy.’
Bieber – who was standing next to Diddy in the video – offered only perfunctory contributions to the discussion like: ‘Yeah’ and: ‘Full crazy.’
Another unearthed video showed Diddy asking a then 16-year-old Bieber why he had not ‘been calling me and hanging out the way we used to hang out.’
An apparently anxious Bieber replied that Diddy had ‘tried to get in contact with me’ but ‘never got my number. I’m going to tell you my number.’
Fan concerns mounted for Bieber’s wellbeing in the wake of Diddy’s downfall, especially given the young singer’s hollow-eyed and disheveled appearance.
Speculation reached such a fever pitch that Bieber broke his silence through a spokesperson to deny that Diddy had ever sexually abused him.
Speculation reached such a fever pitch that Bieber broke his silence through a spokesperson to deny that Diddy had ever sexually abused him; Bieber and Diddy pictured in 2010
‘Although Justin is not among Sean Combs’ victims, there are individuals who were genuinely harmed by him. Shifting focus away from this reality detracts from the justice these victims rightfully deserve,’ said the statement provided to TMZ.
Meanwhile, when Usher was 15, his manager LA Reid sent him to Los Angeles to spend a year living with Diddy in what has been described as ‘Puffy Flavor Camp.’
‘It was pretty wild. It was crazy. There were very curious things taking place and I didn’t necessarily understand it,’ Usher said on The Howard Stern Show in 2016.
When he was then asked whether he would ever send his own children to ‘Puffy Flavor Camp,’ Usher categorically responded: ‘Hell no!’
