As Sean “Diddy” Combs awaits trial on sex trafficking and racketeering charges, he continues to receive support from his children.
The hip-hop mogul, who maintains his innocence, marked his 55th birthday in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center this week, where he had the option for “breakfast cake.” Outside the prison, his family gathered to celebrate him. They called Combs to sing happy birthday, complete with a cake and candles, then posted the recorded conversation with Combs to the star’s Instagram account.
Afterward, Christian “King” Combs, Combs’s eldest child with the late Kim Porter, announced that he was “taking over my Pop’s” Instagram account. The 26-year-old said he wanted to spread “good energy” and remind people of “all the positive things” his father has done as Combs faces the federal charges and the list of sexual assault lawsuits filed against him grows.
King went on to share three of his dad’s old music videos — “It’s All About The Benjamins” (1997) and “Victory” (1998) — and expletive-filled clips of Combs with Notorious B.I.G. Posted on Nov. 6, the day the presidential election was called, there was no shortage of reactions in the comments.
With Combs facing 15 years to life in prison — and an ongoing investigation — turning over his Instagram to his kids is a risky public relations move.
PR pro says it comes off as ‘insincere and cluelessly timed’
It’s no surprise that Combs’s children are supporting him during his ordeal.
While Combs’s seven children are from relationships with four different moms, they are a tight-knit crew. King, 26, and his half-brother Justin, 30, were at their father’s Los Angeles home when it was raided in March and handcuffed by federal investigators before being released. King, a rapper like his dad, and several siblings attended Combs’s court hearings, and posted their support of him online.
Saunders called the tactic “one in which a defendant accused of vile acts is attempting to garner sympathy for himself and his children. The strategy is an attempt to make an alleged abuser more relatable to potential jurors. As a strategy, Mr. Combs must rewrite history and recast himself as a good father and family man.”
Saunders, a former prosecutor, says she’s not surprised that Combs’s children appear supportive of him. She also cautions that people who are abusive can have more than one side.
“As a trial attorney, I have seen cases where the most reprehensible perpetrators can be portrayed as both violent abusers and supportive youth leaders,” she said. “An abuser can be both anti-women, anti-child and have a family.”
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