by The mother of controversial hip-hop mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs released a statement on Sunday defending her son against the criminal prosecution and multiple sexual misconduct allegations he is currently facing while in federal custody in New York.
Combs, 54, has been arrested at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since pleading not guilty on September 17 to federal charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution.
In a statement released through her lawyers, Janice Smalls Combs said it was “unbearable” to witness “what appears to be a public lynching of my son before he had the opportunity to prove his innocence.”
She then mentions that her son has “made mistakes in his past” and references an episode captured on security video in which Combs attacked singer Cassie, his ex-girlfriend, in the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel in 2016. Combs apologized for the incident, saying his behavior was “inexcusable” and that he took “full responsibility” for his actions.
In November, Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, filed a lawsuit accusing Combs of rape and abuse during their relationship; he denied the allegations. She reached a settlement the next day.
The charges against Combs relate to the incident captured by the hotel’s security cameras. According to the complaint, Combs tried to bribe a hotel security guard who intervened in the incident to keep them quiet.
“My son may not have been completely honest about certain things, such as denying that he was ever violent toward an ex-girlfriend when hotel surveillance showed otherwise,” Janice Smalls Combs said in the statement. “Sometimes the truth and a lie become so closely intertwined that it becomes terrifying to admit part of the story, especially if that truth is outside the norm or too complicated to believe. That’s why I believe it my son’s civil legal team I chose to settle the ex-girlfriend’s lawsuit instead of fighting it to the end, which resulted in a backlash when the federal government used this decision against my son by interpreting it as an admission of guilt.”
She adds that it was “painful” to see people making fun of her son’s situation “about lies and misconceptions.”
At the end of the statement, she asks fans and the public “not to judge him until you’ve had a chance to hear his side.”
“My son is not the monster they made him out to be,” she says. “I can only pray that I live to see him speak his truth and be proven right.”
In the indictment, prosecutors allege that since 2008, Combs has been part of a criminal organization that engages or attempts to engage in sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, obstruction of justice and other criminal offenses.
Prosecutors accused Combs of using his business empire as a criminal enterprise to cover up his alleged abuse of women at events Combs called “Freak Offs.”
“The ‘Freak Offs’ sometimes lasted for days at a time, involved multiple commercial sex workers, and often involved a variety of narcotics, such as ketamine, ecstasy and GHB, that Combs distributed to the victims to keep them obedient and compliant. ,” the US attorney said. Damian Williams, of the Southern District of New York, told reporters as the indictment was unveiled.
On October 1, Texas attorney Tony Buzbee said yes representing 120 plaintiffs which have raised new allegations of sexual misconduct against Combs. Buzbee said he expects lawsuits to be filed within the next month. Buzbee described the victims as 60 men and 60 women, and that 25 were minors at the time of the alleged misconduct.
