Usher says X account was 'hacked' and not deleted

Why did Usher delete his entire X-Feed (formerly Twitter)? Well, apparently he didn't – even though the topic was a trending topic on the social media platform on Sunday (September 22).

“The account was hacked and damn you got away with it!” Usher wrote on X at 6:13 p.m. ET on Sunday after comments and theories about his X history being deleted began pouring in. At that point, previous posts on his X account also began to resurface. “See you tonight at the Intuit Dome.”

Shortly before Usher released the update, Billboard had asked a representative of the singer for a comment on his X-account.

Usher, who mentioned the Intuit Dome in his update, will perform at the Los Angeles arena for the second consecutive year on Sunday. The Usher: Past, Present, Future Tour next heads to Oakland, California, before traveling to cities in Texas, Florida and elsewhere.

Some posts by users on X on Sunday questioned the timing of this apparent social media purge, given Usher's professional relationship with music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, who was arrested last week on sex trafficking and organized crime charges. Usher worked with him from a young age; their history stretches back to the singer's 1994 debut album, which Combs executive produced.

“For decades, Sean Combs … abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his behavior,” according to documents released by the BillboardCombs, who pleaded not guilty, was denied bail at his arraignment on Sept. 17. If convicted, Combs faces a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison.

In addition to Usher's name, pop star P!nk was also trending on Sunday, whose X-Feed was apparently also suddenly deleted. Billboard contacted a representative for P!nk but did not receive a response as of press time. Her X-posts/tweets had also not been restored at that time.