“Sean has always made it a priority to open doors for Black people,” she added, “to make sure we are seen, heard, and valued in spaces where we’ve historically been excluded.”
Deonte Nash, a former stylist for Combs writing in the government’s sentencing submission, said, “Many of us were abused precisely because Mr. Combs wanted us to hold his secrets to maintain his ‘reputation.””
“Judge…. That’s a good man,” Brownlee wrote.
“Judge, this is not a good man,” Nash said.
On Friday, Combs, hair graying, entered the courtroom in a white sweater after Subramanian ruled this week that, as during his trial, he would be permitted to receive non-prison clothing at the Metropolitan Detention Center. He offered a wave to his family in the gallery and hugged his attorneys.
After his lawyers and prosecutors spoke, Combs addressed the judge—his lengthiest public comments on the legal saga that has enveloped him since Ventura first sued. (He declined to testify at trial.)
“I want to thank you for giving me the chance to finally speak up for myself,” Combs said.
He framed his remarks in part as an apology to Ventura and Jane Doe. “I brought you into my mess,” Combs said, describing his behavior as “disgusting, shameful, and sick.”
“I’m not this larger-than-life person,” Combs said he had come to realize. “I’m just a human being.”
Janice Combs, mother of Sean.Leonardo Munoz/AFP/Getty Images.
