Janice Smalls Combs, the mother of Sean “Diddy” Combs, has come to the defense of her son, claiming that the embattled music executive is not “the monster they have painted him to be.” As previously reported by Face2Face Africa, federal agents arrested Diddy at a Manhattan hotel on Monday, September 16, and charged him with sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
The 54-year-old remains behind bars after he entered a not-guilty plea. Diddy’s mother in a statement said that she has not been able to bear “what seems to be like a public lynching of my son before he has had the opportunity to prove his innocence,” CBS News reported.
She also admitted that her son “has made mistakes in his past” and made mention of the video that showed him assaulting his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016. The rapper and music executive had initially denied allegations of rape and abuse from Cassie. But he later issued an apology on social media after the circulation of the video.
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“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 Smalls Combs said in the 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 also described people making fun of her son’s predicaments as “agonizing”, adding that his case was “over lies and misconceptions.” Janice Smalls Combs in her statement additionally urged fans and the public “to not judge him before you’ve had the chance to hear his side.”
“My son is not the monster they have painted him to be,” she continued. “I can only pray that I am alive to see him speak his truth and be vindicated.”
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