Usher is showing support for Sean “Diddy” Combs, claiming the disgraced music mogul, who is currently serving a 50-month prison sentence after being convicted on two prostitution-related charges, has been “misrepresented.”

In a new interview with Forbes’ The Enterprise Zone, the “Let it Burn” singer, 47, revealed he doesn’t have anything “negative” to say about Combs. When Usher was asked to name a word that he associates with the songwriter’s name, he responded, “Legacy.”

Noting that his take on Combs, 56, could be viewed as “a bit controversial,” he told the outlet that “we can’t ignore the reality of the history” when it comes to the hitmaker.

“In many ways, I think certain people are prosecuted and maybe not recognized for the greatness that they offer,” he explained during the March 20 interview. “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.”

Proclaiming that every man isn’t “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 businessmen, for us as people who have transitioned culture and ideas into something that’s tangible.”

Usher, who has worked with Combs since he was just a teen, went on to say he acknowledges that “so many people benefitted” from what the record label owner created.

Calling Combs by his former moniker “Puff,” Usher, who was born Usher Raymond IV, said he considers the rapper to be “a mentor” before comparing him to a “really, really hard teacher.”

“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,” he added.

Combs was sued by dozens who accused him of sexual misconduct. He denied all allegations.

In October 2025, Combs was sentenced by a federal judge to 50 months in prison after being convicted on two charges of transportation to engage in prostitution. His release from prison was later moved up to April 2028.

In September 2024, the Bad Boy founder was indicted on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. He was acquitted of the most serious charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking.

Watch Usher’s interview below.

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