Usher has come out in support of former mentor Sean "Diddy" Combs, telling Forbes that he doesnt "have anything negative to say about" the disgraced music mogul.
In an interview with senior writer Jabari Young for The Enterprise Zone, the 47-year-old R&B superstar says he believes Combs is not being remembered for "the valuable contributions" he made in the past.
Responding to a question about what comes to mind when he thinks of Combs, Usher responded "legacy," before elaborating on his answer.
“In many ways, I think certain people are prosecuted and maybe not recognized for the greatness that they offer,” he said. “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."
"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.”
Combs was charged with federal sex trafficking and racketeering in September 2024, and eventually convicted in July 2025 on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. He is currently serving a sentence of 50 months in prison.
As a teenager, Usher lived with Diddy (then known as "Puff Daddy") in New York City for about a year while he worked on his 1994 self-titled debut album, which was co-produced by Combs. He described this period at "Puffy's Flavor Camp" as "crazy" and "wild" in an interview with Howard Stern.
Usher, however, says he looks back on all of the positive things Combs accomplished in his career and how he learned about the music business from the example he set.
“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.”
Watch the full interview below.