Usher has a VERY hot take on Diddy…
The Yeah! singer has no intention of condemning his former mentor, and he made that abundantly clear over the weekend. On Friday, Usher participated in an interview with Forbes’ The Enterprise Zone and controversially PRAISED the disgraced rapper, who is currently serving a four-year prison sentence on prostitution-related charges.
During a word association segment with Forbes senior writer Jabari Young, Diddy’s name got brought up and Usher gave a one-worded answer:
“Legacy”
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Young admitted he mentioned Diddy’s name specifically because of an old interview Usher did where he ominously noted he “knew better” than to get distracted by certain things while on tour. The interviewer went on to point out the OMG singer “avoided a lot of the negativity that we obviously know shows up in [Diddy’s] story today.” And from there, Usher took the reins:
“This might be a bit controversial, but in the same way I think many people choose to look past the reality of what our country is, the standards that we now stand on, we can’t ignore the reality of the history. But in many ways, I think certain people are prosecuted and maybe not recognized for the greatness that they offer. 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.”
Just because you might not have anything negative to say — which is a choice in and of itself — doesn’t mean you have to praise a man who so many alleged victims have told disturbing stories about. But maybe he’s just covering his own bases… We’ve all heard about the possible “retribution” victims fear could be coming.
Usher continued:
“I’m not saying that every man is perfect, 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 this man has made for us as Black entrepreneurs, for us as businessmen, for us as people who transition culture and ideas into something that’s tangible and becomes a business. So many people benefitted from what he created, and I acknowledge that, and that’s why I see him as ‘Legacy.’”
The U Got It Bad singer went on to refer to Diddy as “Puff,” calling him his “mentor,” and compared him to a “really, really hard teacher” who he learned from “in real time.”
“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.”
Listen to more from his interview — if you dare — below:
What are your reactions here, Perezcious readers? Especially RIGHT after all the reports of Usher’s blowout with Justin Bieber?? Let us know in the comments down below.
[Images via MEGA/WENN.]
The post Usher Doesn't Have 'Anything Negative' To Say About 'Mentor' Diddy: 'I Put Respect On His Name' appeared first on Perez Hilton.