Usher defends Diddy – ‘I put respect on his name’

R&B legend Usher is defending his musical peer, Sean “Diddy” Combs, months after the superproducer was sentenced to several years in prison.

In a new interview with Forbes, Usher, 47, said he felt Combs had been “misrepresented” amid his closely watched federal sex crimes trial, and cited “legacy” as the one word that comes to mind when the Bad Boy Records founder’s name comes up.

“In many ways, I think certain people are prosecuted and maybe not recognized for the greatness that they offer,” Usher told the outlet in the March 25 interview. “I don’t have anything negative to say about Sean Combs because my experience was not what the world has seen and how he’s been misrepresented.”

The disgraced music mogul, who was found guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution in 2025, is set to be freed in 2028. Combs, 56, is behind bars at New Jersey’s FCI Fort Dix serving a 50-month sentence for his conviction, after being acquitted on the more serious charges, sex trafficking and racketeering.

“I’m not saying that every man is perfect. I’m not saying that all of us don’t have flaws,” Usher continued. “But I can’t with any sense of humanity not recognize the valuable contributions that this man made for us as Black entrepreneurs, for us as businessmen, for us as people who have transitioned culture and ideas into something that’s tangible.”

“So many people benefitted from what he created and I acknowledge that,” he added. “That’s who I see that man as. And that’s what I choose to remember. I put respect on his name because I realized that what I learned as a businessman before I even understood what business was came as a result of seeing the incredible things that he was able to do and the way that he positioned himself as a businessman.”

Combs’ conviction centered on the transportation of two former girlfriends – Casandra “Cassie” Ventura Fine and the anonymous “Jane” – as well as sex workers for the intent of prostitution. 

Major moments from the trial included Fine, a former Bad Boy Records artist, providing emotional testimony about his alleged abuse and rapper Kid Cudi, who was once romantically involved with her, alleging the music mogul broke into his home.

Combs, who has denied all allegations of sexual misconduct, is still facing upwards of 70 civil lawsuits across the country.

Contributing: Brendan Morrow, KiMi Robinson and Taijuan Moorman, USA TODAY