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R&B singer Usher has spoken out as hundreds of his X/Twitter posts disappeared after Sean “Diddy” Combs was arrested.
On Sunday (22 September), tweets on the “Yeah!” singer’s account disappeared before he regained control of the account and told fans he had been “hacked”.
“Account got hacked and damn y’all ran with it!” he said. “See you tonight at Intuit Dome.”
It caused some fans to comment on the timing of his tweets being deleted, since it coincided with the arrest of Usher’s close friend of 30 years, rapper Diddy.
Last week, Combs was arrested and charged with federal racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution charges. Last Tuesday (17 September), he appeared in Manhattan federal court to plead not guilty.
Federal prosecutors alleged Combs threatened and abused women “to fulfill his sexual desires” by forcing them to engage in recorded sexual activity which he referred to as “Freak Offs”.
Combs was denied bail on Wednesday and remains in jail as he awaits trial, a federal judge ruled after the musician’s lawyers attempted to propose a $50m bail package to avoid serving months in the Metropolitan Detention Center.
Combs, who has denied any wrongdoing, had his multiple properties raided in March as part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation. Two months later, a video was leaked showing him brutally beating his then-girlfriend Cassie, born Cassandra Ventura, in a hotel lobby.
Combs is widely credited with the discovery and cultivation of artists such as Usher, who rose to fame in the mid-Nineties before achieving wider success in the Noughties with hit singles such as “Yeah!” and “Confessions part II”.
Diddy and Usher met after the R&B singer signed a record deal with LA Reid, who reportedly sent him to live with Diddy, real name Sean Combs, in New York for a year.
Since Diddy’s arrest, resurfaced footage and interviews have been circulating online, with one 2004 interview with Rolling Stone showing Usher discuss what he saw when visiting Diddy’s homes.
In it, Usher recalled how Diddy introduced him to “a totally different set of s*** – sex, specifically”.
“Sex is so hot in the industry, man,” he continued, claiming: “There was always girls around. You’d open a door and see somebody doing it, or several people in a room having an orgy. You never knew what was going to happen.”
Years later, when Usher was promoting his 2016 film Hands of Stone, in which he starred opposite Robert De Niro and Edgar Ramirez, he appeared on The Howard Stern Show where he was also questioned about his experiences at Diddy’s home.
Describing it as “pretty wild”, Usher said he witnessed “curious things” and emphasised that this was the Nineties: “Do you understand what that’s like?”
“I went there to see the lifestyle,” he continued. “And I saw it. But I don’t know if I could indulge and understand what I was even looking at. It was pretty wild. It was crazy.
“There were very curious things taking place and I didn’t necessarily understand it.”
“You’re a dad now. Would you ever send your kid to a Puffy camp?” Stern asked him.
“Hell no,” Usher replied.
The Independent has contacted Usher and Diddy for comment.
