Sean “Diddy” Combs begged a judge for “mercy” in a nearly four-page letter, one day before he will be sentenced following his prostitution conviction.
“First and foremost, I want to apologize and say how sincerely sorry I am for all of the hurt and pain that I have caused others by my conduct,” the disgraced music mogul wrote in a letter obtained by Page Six.
“I take full responsibility and accountability for my past wrongs,” he added, explaining he had “made many mistakes” and was “no longer running from them.”
Combs, 55, acknowledged that saying he’s “sorry” would “never be good enough” to “ease the pain from the past,” stating that he was haunted by the 2016 hotel surveillance footage of him hitting and dragging his ex-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura across a hallway.
“The scene and images of me assaulting Cassie play over and over in my head daily,” he claimed. “I literally lost my mind. I was dead wrong for putting my hands on the woman that I loved. I’m sorry for that and always will be.”
“I honestly feel sorry for something that I couldn’t forgive someone else for: if they put their hands on one of my daughters,” he continued. “This is why it is so hard for me to forgive myself. It is like a deep wound that leaves an ugly scar.”
Combs owned up to losing himself in the “drugs and excess,” saying that being locked up for thirteen months has “humbled him and broken [him] to his core,” “mentally, physically and spiritually.”
“The old me died in jail and a new version of me was reborn. Prison will change you or kill you—I choose to live,” the “I’ll Be Missing You” crooner alleged.
“I ask you for mercy today, not only for my sake, but for the sake of my children,” he added.
“God blessed me with 7 beautiful children—3 sons and 4 daughters,” Combs continued, referring to Quincy, 34, Justin, 31, Christian “King”, 27, Chance, 19, twins Jessie and D’lia, 18, and 2-year-old, Love.
The rapper explained he’s the “only parent” to four of his kids — Christian, Quincy, Jessie and D’lia — whose mom, Kim Porter, died in 2018.
“I have failed my children as a father,” he said, admitting he was “scared to death” about “spend[ing] another second away” from his kids, and he “no longer cared about the money or the fame.”
Combs also stated he was living every day “with the constant threat of being stabbed or losing [his] life.”
The hitmaker claimed he was “committed to the journey of remaining drug free, non-violent and [a] peaceful person” and asked the judge for “another chance to live a better life.”
Combs, who was arrested in September 2024, was found guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution and acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering in July.
The “Last Night” singer can potentially spend up to 20 years in prison and is currently at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, NY.
He has continuously maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.