Los Angeles, California - R&B star Usher has come to Sean "Diddy" Combs' defense after the convicted mogul's high-profile sex trafficking trial.
The 47-year-old superstar told Forbes that the jailed musician has been "misrepresented," as fans have focused on the sexual abuse allegations against him instead of his impact as an artist.
"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," Usher shared.
"I'm not saying that every man is perfect," the Confessions artist continued.
"I'm not saying that all of us don't have flaws," Usher explained.
"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."
Usher still considers Diddy a "mentor" despite his legal scandals
Diddy was convicted on prostitution-related charges last July and is currently serving four years at Fort Dix.
The eight-time Grammy-winner still refers to the disgraced Bad Boy Records founder as his "mentor," and he chooses to remember Diddy's influence for its positives.
He added, "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."