Kim Porter’s children address ‘hurtful and false rumors’ about her death that have surfaced since Diddy’s sex trafficking arrest: What we know

Sean “Diddy” Combs’s sex trafficking case has driven interest in — and speculation about — his relationship with ex-girlfriend Kim Porter, who died in 2018 at the age of 47.

The incarcerated rap mogul and their children issued statements on Sept. 24 slamming what they say is a fake memoir purportedly written by the late model that was published this month.

They also cited “horrific conspiracy theories” around Porter’s death, insisting there was no foul play. Since Diddy’s Sept. 16 arrest and subsequent felony charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution, there have been calls to open an investigation into Porter’s death, most notably from singer-songwriter Al B. Sure!, who is the father of Porter’s eldest child, Quincy Brown.

What just happened?

Diddy and Porter’s four children released statements shredding the 59-page memoir, Kim’s Lost Words: A journey for justice, from the other side… The book — self-published by Chris Todd using the pen name Jamal T. Millwood — is on Amazon’s Top 20 book list this week despite Todd saying he can’t guarantee the memoir’s authenticity.

“The Kim Porter ‘memoir’ is fake,” Diddy’s attorney Erica Wolf said in a statement. “It is also offensive — a shameless attempt to profit from tragedy.”

The statement continued, “Unlike the fabrications in his sickening ‘memoir,’ it is an established fact that Ms. Porter died of natural causes. May she rest in peace.”

Porter’s children — Brown, Christian Combs, Jessie Combs and D’Lila Combs — addressed the “hurtful and false rumors” in their own statement, posted to their Instagram accounts.

They said it’s “simply untrue” that Porter wrote a book.

As for the “horrific conspiracy theories” that Diddy may have been involved in her death, floated in the book as well as online, they said they are “deeply saddened that the world has made a spectacle of what has been the most tragic event in our lives.”

“Our lives were shattered when we lost our mother. She was our world. And nothing has been the same since she passed,” they wrote. That said, “The cause of her death has long been established” as lobar pneumonia. “There was no foul play.”

They ended by asking the public to “please respect our mother… It’s what she deserves.”

The most prominent voice in the call for a death investigation is Al B. Sure!, whose real name is Albert Joseph Brown III. He is Porter’s ex and Quincy’s biological father. (Diddy raised Quincy, and Quincy considers the “I’ll Be Missing You” singer his father.)

In a series of Instagram posts, Al B. Sure! called for authorities, including the FBI, CIA, New York Police Department and Los Angeles Police Department, to look into Porter’s death. He claims there is a conspiracy and that her death, from natural causes, was actually a “tragic murder.”

Cassie Ventura, who is mentioned in Al B. Sure!’s posts and dated Diddy off and on for 11 years before they split in 2018, sued the Bad Boy Entertainment head in 2023 for rape, abuse and sex trafficking. It sparked sexual abuse lawsuits against him — including a new one filed Sept. 24 by accuser Thalia Graves — as well as the federal charges.

Yahoo Entertainment contacted the LAPD to see if any formal requests have been made to investigate Porter’s death. “At this time there is no comment,” a spokesperson says.

Who is Kim Porter?

As a model, Porter walked runways and appeared on magazine covers including Essence and Jet. The Georgia native also had minor acting roles on TV shows including Law & Order and Single Ladies. She also appeared in several music videos.

Her son Quincy was 3 when she started dating Diddy in 1994. They were in a relationship until 2007, producing son Christian and twins Jessie and D’Lila. Diddy also has a son, Justin, with Misa Hylton; a daughter, Chance, with Sarah Chapman; and a daughter, Love, with Dana Tran.

Porter told Essence in 2007 that their romantic relationship fell apart after he fathered Chance outside of their relationship in 2006. However, she also said they remained friends and co-parents. They spent some holidays together and even appeared at industry events together post-split.

How did Porter die?

On Nov. 15, 2018, Porter was found unresponsive at her Toluca Lake, Calif., home and pronounced dead at the scene. At the time, it was reported that she had been suffering flu-like symptoms for several weeks, and contacted her doctor because she wasn’t getting better. An autopsy report later revealed that she had died of lobar pneumonia.

After her death, Diddy posted a social media tribute, writing, “I don’t know what I’m going to do without you baby… We were more than best friends, we were more than soulmates. WE WERE SOME OTHER S—!! And I miss you so much.”

Diddy raised their children. The youngest, the twins, graduated high school earlier this year.

What’s the deal with the memoir?

Kim’s Lost Words was self-published by Chris Todd (real name Todd Guzze), using the pen name “Jamal T. Millwood for Kimberly A. Porter,” Sept. 6 on Amazon.

Todd told Rolling Stone he was given a flash drive containing the book from two music industry sources. While he “believes it to be true,” he said he can’t guarantee it.

“If somebody put my feet to the fire and they said, ‘Life or death, is that book real?’ I have to say I don’t know,” he said.

The memoir, which is reportedly riddled with typos and inaccuracies, details orgies at Diddy’s home and claims he physically abused Porter. The final entry has Porter allegedly writing about feeling sick and messaging a friend, “He got me,” hinting it was Diddy, before she called 911 and was found unresponsive.

“Kim Porter’s family is exploring all their [legal] options,” a source close to the family told People.

Al B. Sure!, who said he remained friends with Porter, dismissed the book’s contents as “fake” on social media. Porter’s friends Kimora Lee Simmons and Lawanda Lane told Rolling Stone they don’t know the author. Lane added that “every page in that book is false” and the “extremely private” Porter wasn’t working on a memoir before her death.

Why are people calling for an investigation into Porter’s death?

In the wake of his arrest, Diddy’s actions and words have been under a microscope — not just by prosecutors in his case, but also in the court of public opinion.

Over the last week, countless old interviews with Diddy have resurfaced on X and TikTok, with past comments he’s made about women and parties being reevaluated in light of the accusations. It’s alleged that Diddy held “freak-offs” in which he coerced women to participate in days-long sex performances with paid sex workers. He’d ply the women with drugs, according to the indictment, and secretly videotape them, keeping it to potentially use against them.

Is Porter named in any of Diddy’s lawsuits?

April Lampros sued Diddy in May, accusing him of sexually assaulting her multiple times in the 1990s when she was a fashion student and he was her mentor. She claimed one incident, in 1996, involved being ordered to Diddy’s apartment, having the Ecstasy forced down her throat and being coerced to have sex with Porter while Diddy masturbated.

Lampros also claimed that Diddy and Porter later had her fired from her job.

What’s the latest with Diddy’s case?

Yahoo Entertainment spoke to several legal experts about what’s next in Diddy’s case, which can take about two years from indictment to sentencing to play out. He’s currently incarcerated in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

There have been multiple civil lawsuits filed against Diddy over the last year, including the one from Graves on Tuesday. She alleges that Combs and another defendant sexually assaulted her in 2001 — and that it was recorded on tape.