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Usher found himself in the firing line of fans after defending Sean 'Diddy' Combs while the rap mogul sits in jail on felony charges.
Diddy is serving four years after being convicted on July 2, 2025 of two counts of transportation for the purposes of prostitution.
The sentencing followed the release of 2016 hotel surveillance footage in 2024, showing Diddy physically assaulting his then-girlfriend, singer Cassie Ventura, which corroborated allegations she made in a November 2023 lawsuit - claims Diddy had previously denied.
Usher and Diddy have a decades-long relationship that began with Diddy serving as Usher’s mentor in the early 1990s, and in a new Forbes interview he appeared to dodge any denouncement of his former mentor.
‘I think certain people are prosecuted and maybe not recognized for the greatness that they offer,' Usher began. '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, you know, misrepresented.’
He added, ‘I’m not saying that every man is perfect. I'm not saying that all of us don't have flaws, but I can't with any sense of humanity, not recognize the valuable contributions that this man made.’
Usher found himself in the firing line of fans after defending Sean ' Diddy' Combs while the rap mogul sits in jail on felony charges; (pictured March)
Usher and Diddy have a decades-long relationship that began with Diddy serving as Usher’s mentor in the early 1990s, and in a new Forbes interview he appeared to dodge any denouncement of his former mentor; (Usher and Diddy in 2002)
Meanwhile, Diddy replied to Usher’s supportive comments through his spokesperson, telling TMZ, 'I’ve always had love and respect for Usher. I appreciate his words and everything he’s achieved.'
The backlash was swift, with fans taking to social media to call out Usher’s comments.
‘I know something fishy when I see one, he is hiding something,’ one wrote.
Another added: ‘When you lay down with dogs, I might start wondering if you’re a dog too. Hope Usher is ready for the heat that opening this door brings, he could’ve just chosen not to answer but you know what, I’m glad he did. Now we know what you might be all about too.’
One user blasted: ‘Anyone defending Diddy just cause they “claim” they didn’t experience anything wrong around him doesn’t mean we should ignore it and only focus on what he did good. He didn’t do anything good, anything “good” came from lies, corruption, abuse.’
Yet another tweeted: ‘Yikes. You can give someone their flowers while holding them accountable for their crimes. The Cassie video is out there. @Usher this is not it.’
Others piled on, with one asking: ‘Nothing? The dude was on video beating and dragging a woman and you have nothing negative to say? Nothing?’ and another adding, ‘Claiming that Combs is misrepresented is Stockholm syndrome at its peak. I’m really disappointed in him.’
Several fans even dragged Justin Bieber into the drama, hinting that the singer may have fallen out with Usher over his comments. ‘Hmm… I can see why he and Justin Bieber reportedly had that falling out,’ one wrote.
‘I think certain people are prosecuted and maybe not recognized for the greatness that they offer,' Usher said, adding, '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, you know, misrepresented'; (pictured 2004)
The backlash was swift, with fans taking to social media to call out Usher’s comments
A day before the Forbes interview went live, Usher’s friend Da Brat moved to quash reports of a ‘heated exchange’ between the singer and his former mentee Justin Bieber at Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s Oscars afterparty, as Daily Mail insiders revealed the real reason behind their supposed feud.
Addressing the swirling rumours, Da Brat told the Rickey Smiley Morning Show that she ‘spoke to Usher and he said this is an exaggeration of conversation.’
Sources close to Bieber had claimed last week that Usher approached the pop star with ‘energy and anger’ during the Los Angeles soiree at Chateau Marmont, though they insisted the encounter never became physical.
Other insiders told TMZ that the meeting allegedly ended in a fistfight, leaving the exact details of the altercation unclear.
‘He's been nothing but supportive of plenty of issues that Justin Bieber has had throughout the years, and y'all can actually check the records for all that. He has been,’ Da Brat emphasized on Smiley’s show.
She added: ‘Justin is on his own journey dealing with his own reality that he's created. Usher wishes him nothing but the best and they have no hostility towards each other. They definitely love each other.’
‘So people just take things out of context when they see something, and they run with it, and I'm just here to say that is not the issue. They are definitely cool with each other and they have love and they support each other.’
Usher and Bieber's history with Diddy fell under renewed scrutiny when the rap mogul faced a raft of sex crime allegations he strenuously denied.
Several fans even dragged Justin Bieber into the drama, hinting that the singer may have fallen out with Usher over his comments. ‘Hmm… I can see why he and Justin Bieber reportedly had that falling out,’ one wrote; (Usher and Bieber pictured 2009)
After a highly publicized trial, Diddy was acquitted last July of the most serious charges against him, sex trafficking and racketeering, though he was found guilty on two lesser charges of transportation to engage in prostitution.
As the scandal swirled around him, an old video resurfaced of him and a 15-year-old Bieber in which they discussed spending '48 hours' together.
'He's having 48 hours with Diddy, where we hanging out and what we're doing we can't really disclose. But it's definitely a 15-year-old's dream,' said Diddy.
'I have been given custody of him. He's signed to Usher and I had legal guardianship of Usher when he did his first album. I don't have legal guardianship of him but for the next 48 hours he's with me and we're gonna go full crazy.'
Bieber - who was standing next to Diddy in the video - offered only perfunctory contributions to the discussion like: 'Yeah' and: 'Full crazy.'
Another unearthed video showed Diddy asking a then 16-year-old Bieber why he had not 'been calling me and hanging out the way we used to hang out.'
An apparently anxious Bieber replied that Diddy had 'tried to get in contact with me' but 'never got my number. I'm going to tell you my number.'
Speculation reached such a fever pitch that Bieber broke his silence through a spokesperson to deny that Diddy had ever sexually abused him.
'Although Justin is not among Sean Combs' victims, there are individuals who were genuinely harmed by him. Shifting focus away from this reality detracts from the justice these victims rightfully deserve,' said the statement provided to TMZ.
Meanwhile, when Usher was 15, his manager LA Reid sent him to Los Angeles to spend a year living with Diddy in what has been described as 'Puffy Flavor Camp.'
'It was pretty wild. It was crazy. There were very curious things taking place and I didn't necessarily understand it,' Usher said on The Howard Stern Show in 2016.
When he was then asked whether he would ever send his own children to 'Puffy Flavor Camp,' Usher categorically responded: 'Hell no!'
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