In April 2024, a video surfaced on YouTube, falsely claiming that Canadian pop singer Justin Bieber sued former talk show host Ellen DeGeneres for allegedly "misusing him when he was sa minor." Despite the lurid graphic below, no credible evidence supports this claim.
(Shocked/YouTube)
The video, posted by purported celebrity gossip YouTube channel Shocked, bore the headline, "Ellen DeGeneres BREAKS DOWN After Justin Bieber SUED Her For Misusing Him When He Was A Minor." It alleged Bieber was preparing legal action against DeGeneres in connection with past interactions.
These claims emerged amid unconfirmed rumors suggesting Bieber may have been mistreated while a minor under the mentorship of Sean "Diddy" Combs, who was arrested and charged with sex trafficking in September 2024.
The following description appeared beneath the video on YouTube:
Ellen DeGeneres BREAKS DOWN After Justin Bieber SUED Her For Misusing Him When He Was A Minor
It seems like Diddy's downfall is about to bring down some big names in Hollywood! This is like watching a real-life game of dominoes, with each revelation toppling another big shot.
So, check this out: Every time someone new comes forward to expose Diddy's shady dealings, they're shining a spotlight on others who were in cahoots with him. And now, it looks like Justin Bieber is gearing up to take legal action against none other than Ellen DeGeneres!
Yep, you heard me right. Justin reportedly got some serious allegations against Ellen, claiming she was involved in some shady business back when he was just a minor. If these rumors turn out to be true, Ellen could be looking at some serious prison time. On her show Ellen DeGeneres once displayed a highly revealing paparazzi photo of Justin and proceeded to ask him some rather unusual questions about it. Let's look at some instances that spotlight how Justin was treated in the media. On her show.
The video had been viewed nearly 188,000 times, as of this writing, since it was uploaded on April 23. Another YouTube video (archived), dated May 2024, similarly alleged without evidence that Bieber was suing DeGeneres. That video has been viewed more than 29,000 times, while a third YouTube video from June 2024 making the same allegation has been viewed more than 43,000 times.
Besides YouTube, false assertions about a lawsuit supposedly brought by Bieber against DeGeneres circulated on TikTok in multiple, separate videos.
But there is no evidence, legal or otherwise, to support the claim that Bieber sued, or is suing, DeGeneres. If, hypothetically speaking, there was even a sliver of truth to the claim — for instance, if Bieber felt he had been the butt of too many jokes as a frequent guest on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," having appeared 37 times over the years — reputable media outlets would have interviewed parties involved and documented the ordeal. There would also be court documents bolstering the claim. That has not happened, indicating the rumor was fabricated to drive online traffic.
In short, the claim appeared to be made up from whole cloth for the purpose of gaining clicks, or views, online.
This growing speculation surrounding Bieber and DeGeneres came after the March 2024 raids on Diddy's properties in Los Angeles and Miami by Homeland Security agents as part of an ongoing investigation into suspected sex trafficking, racketeering and interstate transportation for the purpose of prostitution by the music mogul.
Following Diddy's Sept. 16 arrest, the false claim about a Bieber lawsuit recirculated on Facebook. In the comments section of a Facebook post shared Sept. 27, 2024, the author linked to a story published the same day that made the unfounded claim that "Ellen slept with Justin Bieber," despite the fact the comedian came out as a lesbian in 1997 and has been married to her wife, Australian actress Portia de Rossi, since 2008.
Although the video's underlying claim regarding Bieber and DeGeneres was false, it could seem believable to some, given the chatter growing louder regarding repeated allegations of "grooming" Bieber is rumored to have endured as a minor forging his music career. Because the videos mentioned the arrest of Diddy, with that mixture of true and misleading information, as well as emotionally charged language, their claims generated a deluge of comments from YouTube users. Some of those messages indicated that people interpret the videos to be real news.
While there has been mounting speculation regarding the nature of the relationship between Diddy and DeGeneres, there have been no significant professional or personal ties reported between them, aside from his appearances as a guest on her talk show. The two have certainly crossed paths in the entertainment industry, but the recent rumors linking them have largely emerged from baseless and false online claims that lack credible sources.
This was not the first misleading rumor related to Bieber that captured social media users' attention. For example, we previously debunked the false claim that Bieber was releasing a new song in 2024 that contained the lyric "Lost myself at a Diddy party" in reference to the rapper and producer, an assertion that originated with the release of a song generated by artificial intelligence.