Sean Combs' mother, Janice Smalls Combs, says she is “devastated” by the “narrative created through lies” about her son, likening the fervor surrounding the Bad Boy Entertainment founder to a “public lynching.”
The 83-year-old released a statement in defense of Combs Sunday night — his first public comment since Combs' flurry of civil lawsuits last fall and his arrest on sex trafficking and racketeering charges in September.
Janice Combs begged the world “not to judge” her son before hearing “his side of the story” and said prosecutors used Combs' deal with ex-girlfriend Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura “as an admission of guilt” to build a federal criminal case against him. “My son is not the monster they make him out to be, and he deserves a chance to have his say,” Janice's statement read. “I can only pray that I am alive to see him tell his truth and be vindicated.”
Since being arrested in New York City on September 16, Combs has been in jail without the possibility of bail. He appealed the judge's decision, with the next hearing set for Thursday 10 October. As the trial looms, he is also facing a dozen civil lawsuits filed against him by several women and a man who allege Combs sexually assaulted them. The alleged meetings took place between 1990 and last summer.
Last week, Houston attorney Tony Buzbee announced at a news conference that he represents more than 120 men and women who accuse Combs and associates of sexual abuse. Buzbee said 25 of them were minors at the time of the alleged abuse, including a nine-year-old boy who claims he was forced to perform oral sex on Combs after auditioning for the iconic record label.
In her statement, Janice Combs labeled these claims as “lies” that are “motivated by those seeking financial gain and not justice.” “These people saw how quickly my son's civil legal team settled his ex-girlfriend's case, so they believe they can receive a quick payoff by falsely accusing him,” she added. “False sexual assault allegations prevent real victims of sexual assault from getting the justice they deserve.” (Combs' attorney, Erica Wolff, said that Combs “categorically and emphatically denies as false and defamatory any claims that he sexually abused anyone, including minors.”)
Janice acknowledged that Combs wasn't perfect and “made mistakes in his past,” referring to hotel surveillance footage that showed Combs kicking Ventura to the ground, before dragging her back to his hotel suite.
“My son may not have been entirely truthful about certain things,” he wrote. “Sometimes, truth and lies become so closely intertwined that it becomes terrifying to admit part of the story, especially when that truth is outside the norm or too complicated to conceive.”
Full statement from Janice Smalls Combs
“I address you today as a mother devastated and deeply saddened by the allegations made against my son Sean Combs. It is heartbreaking to see him judged not for the truth, but for a narrative created by lies. Witnessing what appears to be a public lynching of my son before he has the opportunity to prove his innocence is a pain too unbearable for words. Like every human being, my son deserves to have his day in court, to finally share his version and prove his innocence.
I'm not here to portray my son as the perfect man because he isn't. He's made mistakes in the past, like all of us. He may not have been completely truthful about some things, such as denying that he had ever been violent with an ex-girlfriend when hotel surveillance proved otherwise. Sometimes, truth and lies become so closely intertwined that it becomes terrifying to admit part of the story, especially when that truth is outside the norm or too complicated to conceive. This is why I believe my son's civil legal team decided to settle his ex-girlfriend's lawsuit instead of contesting it to the end, resulting in a rebound effect, as the federal government used this decision against him , interpreting it as an admission of guilt.
It is important to recognize that none of us, regardless of our status, are immune to fear or mistakes. Not being completely truthful about an issue does not mean that my son is guilty of the abhorrent allegations and serious allegations made against him. Many people who have been wrongly convicted and subsequently acquitted have had their liberty taken away not because they were guilty of the crimes they were accused of, but because they did not fit the image of what this society considers a “good person.” History has shown us how individuals can be wrongly condemned due to their past actions or mistakes.
I will never forget watching the world make jokes and laugh at my son's life crumbling before our eyes. It is truly distressing to see everyone turn against him so quickly and easily due to lies and misconceptions, without ever listening to his side or giving him the opportunity to have his say. These lies against him are motivated by those seeking financial gain and not justice. These people saw how quickly Sean's civil legal team settled his ex-girlfriend's lawsuit, so they believe they can receive a quick buck by attacking him with lies. Those false accusations prevent real victims of sexual assault from getting the justice they deserve. To make matters worse, the federal government is now using these lies to persecute my son. This injustice was unbearable for our family. The worst part of this ordeal is seeing my beloved boy be stripped of his dignity, not because of what he has done, but because of what people choose to believe about him.
I ask his supporters, fans, colleagues, friends and the public not to judge him before you have had a chance to hear his side. Please think of those who have been unjustly persecuted, remember that not everyone who has made mistakes in life deserves to have their entire existence judged by a single action or a few mistakes. My son is not the monster they make him out to be and deserves the chance to have his say. I can only pray that I am alive to see him tell his truth and be vindicated.”
From Rolling Stone US
