A tobacconist has sparked outrage after a “sickening” mural featuring rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs and Justin Bieber was painted on the wall of its storefront.
Pro Art Sydney, a store that sells snacks, painting supplies, tobacco and smoking supplies, shared a photo of its latest mural on Instagram over the weekend.
The artwork on the storefront on Cleveland Street in Surry Hills shows Combs looking wide-eyed at Bieber, while the rapper and singer are separated by a bottle of baby oil.
Aussies were outraged by the ‘art’, with many claiming the mural was ’embarrassing’ given Combs’ recent arrest and charge.
‘Absolutely disgusting. Sorry, but anyone who thinks it’s funny is crazy,” one person said.
“That’s so disrespectful, not just to Justin Bieber, but to every victim of sexual assault in the world. It’s disgusting,” a second.
Combs, 54, was arrested in New York earlier this month and faced an indictment accusing him of years of coercion and abuse while using blackmail and violence to control his victims.
He was charged with sex trafficking and related crimes, and will likely spend 10 years behind bars if convicted.
Pro Art Sydney mural showing Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs looking wide-eyed at Justin Bieber with a bottle of baby oil between them
Bieber and Diddy had a close professional relationship during the early years of the Baby hitmaker’s career
One of the most harrowing claims is how federal agents seized 1,000 bottles of baby oil from his homes in Miami and Los Angeles during raids in March.
Justin Bieber’s previously close bond with the disgraced rapper has since come under scrutiny – with disturbing videos of a then 15-year-old Bieber spending “48 hours with Diddy” and of the pair partying together resurfacing online .
However, store owner Winston Cooley told Daily Mail Australia that “95 percent” of people found the mural “funny”, while the remaining five percent were not people who visited his store.
“Someone will always be offended,” he said.
‘It wasn’t a profound thought and it wasn’t something to offend people.
‘We were just thinking ‘what’s in the news at the moment’ and it was all about P Diddy and baby oil. So I thought, let’s make a meme and put it on the front.”
He compared it to another iconic mural of Tony Abbott dressed as a bride and marrying himself, created by artist Scottie Marsh as a commentary on gay marriage.
“You can paint stuff like that, and there’s going to be plenty of people who find it offensive, and there’s plenty of people who like it,” Cooley said.
‘I don’t see how the one at the front, which was painted by someone, is any different from that. You’re going to piss some people off, some people are going to like it. What can you do?
“I’m just running a business, you know, independently and out there, and I don’t really want to put something out there that’s going to make everyone take advantage of me.”
Shop owner Winston Cooley explained that the mural was not intended to offend and was merely a meme of current news regarding the accusations and allegations P.Diddy faced.
Mr Cooley said he will replace the mural within a week (photo, another mural painted on the Pro Art Sydney storefront)
Mr Cooley said he would replace the mural sometime this week.
“Whatever I think about it, personally I’d rather not put things out there that offend people,” Cooley said.
‘This one clearly did that. And I thought, I don’t really want to leave it there and just have it taken advantage of by the police.’
Although he has received hate mail about the mural, Mr. Cooley said he spoke with the artist on Sunday, who said he was offered a full-time job because of the painting.
“He said people told him they had no problem with the mural and found nothing offensive, but he understands why I want to change it,” Cooley said.
“He has jobs for it. He was offered a full-time job and he had other people offer to paint their rooms.”