In the midst of a string of legal issues involving allegations of sexual assault and sex trafficking, Sean “Diddy” Combs’ mother has stepped up to defend him.
Combs’ mother, Janice Small Combs, said in a statement released on October 6 through lawyer Natalie G. Figgers, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, that Diddy is innocent of the charges made against him.
“It is heartbreaking to see my son judged not for the truth, but for a narrative created out of lies,” she said in the statement. “To bear witness what seems to be like a public lynching of my son before he has had the opportunity to prove his innocence is a pain too unbearable to put into words.”
“Like every human being, my son deserves to have his day in court, to finally share his side, and to prove his innocence,” she added.
The statement recognized the widely distributed video footage of Diddy abusing Cassie Ventura, his ex-girlfriend, but claimed that the incident was isolated and was not being used in an unjust manner to support other “repulsive allegations” against her son.
“I am not here to portray my son as perfect because he is not,” as mentioned in her statement. “He has made mistakes in his past, as we all have.”
Janice Combs maintained her son’s innocence with reference to a long list of other charges made public in the previous year, even though she acknowledged that her son “may not have been entirely truthful about certain things,” such as the 2016 assault on Ventura that was revealed via a hotel security footage that was made public in May.
“Not being entirely straightforward about one issue does not mean my son is guilty of the repulsive allegations and the grave charges leveled against him,” his mother noted.
She asserted that the lengthy list of charges against him is driven by those looking for financial gain rather than justice, after drawing comparisons between Combs and other people who were “wrongfully convicted and later exonerated” because of “past actions or mistakes.”
“Truly agonizing to watch the world turn against my son so quickly and easily over lies and misconceptions, without ever hearing his side or affording him the opportunity to present his side,” Combs’ mother expressed her regret over the way the public had treated the artist.
She called for people to provide room for the rapper to explain himself, stating, “My son is not the monster they have painted him to be, and he deserves the chance to tell his side. I can only pray that I am alive to see him speak his truth and be vindicated.”
Combs is being detained in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center pending his trial after filing a not-guilty plea to federal charges of sex trafficking and racketeering on September 16.
A lawyer for 120 more of Combs’ alleged victims said last week that they intended to file additional cases against the celebrity in addition to the current ones.
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