Production operations for Usher Raymond IV have incorporated at least three former personal team members of Sean Combs into the touring roster for The R&B Tour, co-headlined with Chris Brown across North American stadiums. The hirings include Combs’ longtime chief of staff Kristina Khorram, along with a former personal assistant and a videographer who previously recorded documentary footage for the incarcerated music executive.

The operational restructuring surfaced as Combs serves a 50-month federal prison sentence following his conviction on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. A spokesperson for Usher declined to comment on the staffing appointments, while representatives for Khorram did not respond to inquiries regarding her specific administrative responsibilities during the multi-city stadium run.

Key figures and operational data for The R&B Tour

• Co-headlining artists: Usher Raymond IV and Chris Brown
• Initial schedule: 56 stadium performance dates across North America
• Hired personnel: Kristina Khorram, an unidentified videographer, and a former personal assistant
• Legal status of Sean Combs: serving a 50-month federal prison sentence after acquittal on racketeering and sex trafficking charges
• Status of personal assistant: dismissed from Usher’s touring production after prior employment

Roles and departures among former Bad Boy staff

Kristina Khorram worked for more than a decade within Combs Enterprises before her promotion to chief of staff in 2020, acting as a central administrative manager for Combs’ personal and professional business affairs. During the federal prosecution handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, prosecutors identified Khorram as an alleged co-conspirator in court filings detailing racketeering and trafficking claims. Khorram was never indicted, faced no criminal charges, and was not called to take the witness stand during the criminal trial in federal court.

Addressing prior claims, Khorram maintained that she never participated in or permitted any unlawful activity during her tenure at the company. “The idea that I could be accused of playing a role in — or even being a bystander to — the rape of anyone is beyond upsetting, disturbing, and unthinkable,” Khorram previously stated, adding that the accusations leveled against her during the proceedings were untrue.

Usher‘s production unit also added a videographer who documented Combs’ private and professional life up until federal agents arrested the executive in September 2024. Portions of that documentary footage subsequently appeared in the Netflix docuseries Sean Combs: The Reckoning, executive produced by Curtis 50 Cent Jackson and released in December 2025. Additionally, Usher hired Combs’ former personal assistant, who had served the Bad Boy founder between December 2021 and September 2024. Usher has since severed professional ties with the assistant, who had testified under an immunity agreement in federal court regarding how he maintained Combs’ travel bags stocked with controlled substances and coordinated hotel suites for private gatherings.

Chronology of personnel movements and legal proceedings

• September 16, 2024 — Federal law enforcement agents arrest Sean Combs in New York on criminal charges.
• December 1, 2025 — Netflix premieres the docuseries Sean Combs: The Reckoning, featuring footage captured by Combs’ former personal videographer.
• September 23, 2026 — Details emerge confirming that three former Combs aides joined Usher’s touring company.
• September 24, 2026 — Industry representatives and former Bad Boy Records artists publicly review the employment of Kristina Khorram within Usher’s production.

Decades of professional ties between Usher and Sean Combs

The professional and personal relationship linking Usher and Combs spans more than three decades, dating back to the early 1990s when music executive L.A. Reid arranged for a teenage Usher to relocate to New York. During that developmental phase, known in the music industry as flavor camp, Usher lived in Combs’ private residence for several months. Combs subsequently served as executive producer of Usher’s self-titled debut studio album in 1994, establishing a creative partnership that later included co-headlining performances during Bad Boy’s 2016 reunion tour.

Usher publicly addressed his view of Combs’ career during an interview with Forbes earlier in the year, highlighting his contributions to corporate entertainment while navigating public fallout. “I’m not saying that every man is perfect. I’m not saying that all of us don’t have flaws,” Usher stated. “But I can’t, with any sense of humanity, not recognize the valuable contributions that this man made for us as Black entrepreneurs, for us as businessmen, for us as people who have transitioned culture and ideas into something that’s tangible. So many people benefitted from what he created, and I acknowledge that.”

Sequence of developments surrounding the touring roster

• Federal prosecutors named Kristina Khorram as an alleged unindicted co-conspirator in the Southern District of New York.
• Combs’ former personal assistant secured federal immunity to provide sworn testimony detailing logistical tasks carried out between 2021 and 2024.
• Usher assembled crew members for The R&B Tour alongside Chris Brown to service major venues across North America.
• Production managers placed Khorram and the former personal videographer into active operational roles for the concert series.
• Usher terminated the employment of Combs’ former personal assistant following his initial onboarding.
• Former Danity Kane member Aubrey O’Day and industry peers issued public statements questioning the hiring decisions made by Usher’s team.

Unresolved aspects of the touring appointments

Tour organizers have not disclosed the internal hiring pipeline or third-party agencies responsible for placing Combs’ former staff into Usher’s production network. It remains unconfirmed whether Kristina Khorram holds direct financial authority on the live production or exercises logistical oversight over external contractors hired across upcoming concert stops.

The staffing developments maintain intense attention on Usher’s concert schedule as The R&B Tour prepares to fulfill remaining stadium dates alongside co-headliner Chris Brown across North American markets. Representatives for Usher have not scheduled further administrative updates regarding the tour’s staffing structure, while former Bad Boy Records artists continue to monitor how former executives from Combs Enterprises transition into prominent roles across live entertainment enterprises.