Janice Combs, mother to Sean “Diddy” Combs, has released a statement on behalf of the Combs family amid ongoing sex crime allegations against the music mogul.
Combs was indicted by federal prosecutors in mid-September on racketeering and sex trafficking charges and denied bail.
In a statement released Sunday (Oct. 6) through attorney Natlie G. Figgers, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Combs’ mother said Diddy is not guilty of the allegations against him: “My son is not the monster they have painted him to be, and he deserves the chance to tell his side.”
“It is heartbreaking to see my son judged not for the truth, but for a narrative created out of lies,” reads her statement, which comes five days after it was reported Diddy will face lawsuits from 120 additional accusers for alleged incidents dating as far back as 1991. “To bear witness [to] 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.”
Indictment documents unsealed on Sept. 17 said, “For decades, Sean Combs … abused, threatened and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his conduct. To do so, Combs relied on the employees, resources and the influence of his multi-faceted business empire that he led and controlled.”
Combs was denied bail. If convicted of the charges, he faces a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum of life behind bars.
On Sunday, his mother said, “I am not here to portray my son as perfect because he is not. He has made mistakes in his past, as we all have.”
She referenced the lawsuit Combs settled last year from singer and ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura, who accused him of rape and abuse. Combs had denied her allegations, but when video surfaced of him physically assaulting her in a hotel, issued an apology.
“My son may not have been entirely truthful about certain things, such as denying he has ever gotten violent with an ex-girlfriend when the hotel’s surveillance showed otherwise,” Janice Combs said in her statement. “Sometimes, the truth and a lie become so closely intertwined that it becomes terrifying to admit one part of the story, especially when that truth is outside the norm or is too complicated to be believed. This is why I believe my son’s civil legal team opted to settle the ex-girlfriend’s lawsuit instead of contesting it until the end, resulting in a ricochet effect as the federal government used this decision against my son by interpreting it as an admission of guilt.”
She said this does not make him guilty of the multiple “repulsive allegations and the grave charges leveled against him.”
“Many individuals who were wrongfully convicted and later exonerated had their freedom taken from them not because they were guilty of the crimes they were accused of, but because they didn’t fit the image of what this society considers to be a ‘good person.’ History has showed us how individuals can be wrongfully convicted due to their past actions or mistakes,” she said.
“It is 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,” she added.
“These lies thrown at him are motivated by those seeking a financial gain, and not justice,” reads the statement. “These individuals saw how quickly my son’s civil legal team settled his ex-girlfriend’s lawsuit, so they believe they can receive a quick payday by falsely accusing my son. False allegations of sexual assault thwart true victims of sexual violence from getting the justice they deserve. To make matters worse, the federal government is now using these lies to prosecute my son. This injustice has been unbearable for our family. The worst part of this ordeal is watching my beloved son be stripped of his dignity, not for what he did, but for what people choose to believe about him.”