Sean “Diddy” Combs’ mother says she is “devastated and deeply saddened” by the allegations against her son, but they are “lies”.
The musician, known for hits such as 1997’s “I’ll Be Missing You,” was arrested last month on sex trafficking and extortion charges. He was denied bail and is currently being held in a Manhattan jail.
Janice Small Combs defended her son in a statement, saying that while “he has made mistakes in the past, as we all have,” his son “is not the monster they portray him to be.” .
“It’s heartbreaking to see my son being judged for a story made of lies instead of the truth,” she wrote.
This statement was made by Ms. Small Combs and the Combs family, and was released by her attorney, Nutley G. Figgers.
The announcement came five days after it was revealed that Combs could face lawsuits from more than 100 additional accusers, both men and women, alleging sexual assault, rape and sexual exploitation. .
The star’s lawyer denied these and all previous charges, calling them “false and defamatory.”
He has faced numerous lawsuits since his ex-partner Kathy Ventura accused him of rape and abuse last year.
Combs denied the charges, and the lawsuit was settled out of court the day after it was filed.
But he has since been sued by 12 other women, many of whom have accused the rapper of drugging and assaulting them.
Federal agents searched his property in March as authorities built a criminal case against Starr.
And in May, a video of Combs assaulting Ventura in a hotel room in 2016 was leaked to news outlets.
“My son is not perfect and I’m not here to paint him as if he is,” Small Combs said in a statement, referring to the video.
“My son was not completely truthful about certain things, including denying that he had ever been violent with his ex-girlfriend, even though hotel surveillance showed otherwise. It’s possible,” she said.
“Sometimes truth and lies are so intertwined that it can be scary to admit one part of the story, especially when the truth is outside the norm or too complex to be believed.
“This is why my son’s civil legal team chose to settle his ex-girlfriend’s case without fighting it to the end, and as a result, the federal government interpreted this decision as an admission of guilt and used it against my son. That’s why I think it created a bounce-back effect.” ”
Combs previously apologized for the incident, which was captured on video, saying: “I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I was disgusted at the time I did it, and I am disgusted now.” said.
Janice Small Combs concluded her statement by asserting that one lie does not make him guilty of all the other “disgusting allegations and serious charges leveled against him.”
“It’s really painful to see the world so quickly and easily turn against my son over lies and misunderstandings, without ever listening to him or giving him a chance to express his side. ” she said, adding that she believes some of her son’s accusers include: Motivated by money.
Combs is next scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday, October 9, when his lawyers plan to argue for his release on bail.
He had been refused bail after prosecutors argued he posed a “significant risk” to his future trial.
They told a New York judge that Combs had “already attempted to obstruct the government’s investigation into the incident by repeatedly contacting victims and witnesses and instilling false stories about the incident.”