Amazon has removed from its site a memoir that alleges that hip-hop mogul Sean Combs physically abused his longtime girlfriend Kim Porter, whose untimely death in 2018 at age 47 has been the source of conspiracies.
The book was self-published under the pseudonym “Jamal T. Millwood” by Todd Christopher Guzze, who goes by the name Chris Todd and describes himself as an investigative producer.
“We were made aware of a dispute regarding this title and have notified the publisher,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement. “The book is not currently available for sale in our store.”
The book was removed from the online store Tuesday.
The Hurricane season is on. Our meteorologists are ready. Sign up for the NBC 6 Weather newsletter to get the latest forecast in your inbox.
The spokesperson said they were not able to share sales data.
Todd has told media outlets, including Rolling Stone, that the book was given to him on a flash drive by two music industry sources. Though he told the magazine he could not guarantee the book’s authenticity, Rolling Stone reported that he said he “believes it to be true.”
When reached by phone Thursday, Todd did not provide a comment on Amazon’s removal of the book.
A spokesperson for Barnes & Nobles said the company had also removed the book from its website and that it was never available in its stores.
Porter’s four children — Quincy, Christian, Jessie and D’Lila — denounced the book, titled “Kim’s Lost Words: A journey for justice, from the other side…” which also describes Combs’ alleged sexual encounters in explicit terms, last month after it became a bestseller.
Combs fathered Christian and twin girls, Jessie and D’Lila, with Porter. Quincy is the son of R&B singer Al B. Sure, born Albert Joseph Brown III, who has also criticized the book and issued a cease-and-desist letter to its publisher, Andy Jassy, the CEO of Amazon, and the company’s founder, Jeff Bezos.
In the letter, Brown said he has been defamed by false and malicious statements published in the book and demanded retraction “of the defamatory statements” concerning him and Porter. The letter also demanded that sales of the book be halted and threatened legal action within 10 days if the demands were not met. Among the claims that Brown took issue with is the allegation that he had engaged in sexual activity with Combs, the letter says.
Brown has called the book fake, unauthorized nonsense.
Late last month, Porter’s four children said in a statement: “Claims that our mom wrote a book are simply untrue. And anyone claiming to have a manuscript is misrepresenting themselves.”
Porter died in November 2018 due to what the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner said was pneumonia. Her manner of death was ruled natural.
Her children also said in their statement that Porter’s cause of death had “long been established.”
“We are deeply saddened that the world has made a spectacle of what has been the most tragic event of our lives,” her children said. “Our mother should be remembered for the beautiful, strong, kind, and loving woman she was. Her memory should not be tainted by horrific conspiracies.”
Brown has said that when he and Porter last spoke, a few days before she died, she was in good health and they were in a great friend’s space.
Interest in the book, which cost $22 in paperback, increased rapidly after Combs was arrested Sept. 16 and indicted the following day on federal charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty and was denied bail.
Combs has been sued at least a dozen times since November, when his former longtime girlfriend, Casandra Ventura, who was signed to his record label, Bad Boy, under the name Cassie, accused Combs of rape and repeated physical abuse, among other things. The suit was settled the following day. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed and Combs denied any wrongdoing. His attorneys have vehemently denied the allegations in the pending suits and are fighting them.
This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:
