Usher Reveals I Don't Have Anything Negative To Say About Diddy

Despite Diddy’s conviction on prostitution charges and the dozens of allegations of abuse he’s facing, Usher doesn’t “have anything negative” to say about the disgraced Bad Boy Records founder. In an interview with Jabari Young for the Forbes series The Enterprise Zone, Usher spoke positively about Diddy and suggested his conviction should not take away from his legacy. “I think certain people are prosecuted and maybe not recognized for the greatness that they offer,” he said around the 24-minute point of the interview, which can be seen in full above. “I don’t have anything negative to say about Sean Combs. My experience was not what the world has seen and how he’s been, you know, misrepresented.” He insisted that he’s not defending Diddy’s alleged behavior, but he doesn’t want people to forget about what he’s achieved in the music industry. “I’m not saying that every man is perfect,” he continued. “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 for us as Black entrepreneurs, for us as people who transition culture and ideas into something that’s tangible. SO many people benefited from what he created. And I acknowledge that. That’s why I see him as legacy.” Usher was introduced to Diddy when he was a teenager and lived with him in 1994. Diddy later served as the executive producer of Usher’s debut self-titled album. “Puff was a mentor above… I think that the idea of the level of discipline came with that time in business, especially in an era that was trying to prove itself culturally in hip-hop,” he added. “Now, you can’t turn on the television and not see the influence of hip-hop. The people who actually made that appropriate and are the forefathers are people like Sean Combs. Not just in the great times that they had, musically, but in the idea of being able to find ways to monetize culture and create something that was not just black or white, it was colorless.” Even with all the allegations, Usher said that he “chooses” to remember Diddy as a great businessman. “That’s who I see that man as. And that’s what I choose to remember,” he said. “I put respect on his name because I realized that, you know, 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 he positioned himself as a businessman. There are trials and tribulations that come with the pressures of success and power. But what we choose to do with it is what I hope that you see with me and hopefully other people that I’m involved with, right?”

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