Sean “Diddy” Combs’ mother has said she is “devastated and profoundly saddened” by the allegations levelled against her son, but that they are “lies”.
The musician, known for hits like 1997’s I’ll Be Missing You, was arrested on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering last month. He is currently being held in a Manhattan detention centre after being denied bail.
In a statement, Janice Small Combs defended her son, saying that although he had “made mistakes in the past, as we all have”, he is “not the monster they have painted him to be”.
“It is heartbreaking to see my son judged not for the truth, but for a narrative created out of lies,” she wrote.
The statement was attributed to Ms Small Combs and the Combs family and was issued by her lawyer, Natlie G Figgers.
It came five days after it was revealed that Mr Combs could face lawsuits from more than 100 additional accusers, both men and women, for alleged sexual assault, rape and sexual exploitation.
The star’s lawyer have denied these and all previous charges, calling them “false and defamatory”.
He has faced a number of cases since last year when his former partner Cassie Ventura accused him of rape and abuse.
Mr Combs denied the allegations, and the case was settled out of court a day after being filed.
However, he was subsequently sued by 12 other women, many of whom accused the rapper of drugging and assaulting them.
Federal agents raided his properties in March as authorities built a criminal case against the star.
Then in May, a video of Mr Combs physically assaulting Ms Ventura in a hotel room in 2016 was leaked to the press.
In her statement, Ms Small Combs referenced the video, saying she was “not here to portray my son as perfect because he is not”.
“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,” she said
“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.”
Mr Combs had previously apologised for the incident that was caught on film, saying: “I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I was disgusted then when I did it. I’m disgusted now.”
Concluding her statement, Janice Small Combs argued that one lie did not make him guilty of all the other “repulsive allegations and the grave charges levelled against him”.
“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 said, adding that she believed some of his accusers were motivated by money.
Mr Combs is next due in court on Wednesday, 9 October, when his lawyers will argue for him to be released on bail.
He was previously denied bail after prosecutors argued that he posed “a significant risk” to the forthcoming trial.
They told a New York judge that Mr Combs had “already tried to obstruct the government’s investigation of this case, repeatedly contacting victims and witnesses and feeding them false narratives of events”.