A tobacco shop has sparked outrage after a sickening mural featuring rapper Sean Diddy Combs and Justin Bieber was painted on its shopfront wall.
Pro Art Sydney, a store that sells snacks, paint supplies, tobacco and smoking paraphernalia, shared a picture of its newest mural to Instagram over the weekend.
The artwork emblazoned on the stores shopfront on Cleveland Street in Surry Hills shows Combs glaring at a wide-eyed Bieber, with the rapper and singer separated by a bottle of baby oil.
Aussies were outraged at the art, with many claiming the mural was shameful considering Combs recent arrest and charges.
Absolutely disgusting. Sorry, but anyone that thinks its funny is a f***wit, one said.
That is so disrespectful not only to Justin Bieber, but every victim of sexual assault in the world. Its repulsive, a second.
Combs, 54, was arrested in New York earlier this month and was hit with 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 about 10 years behind bars if found guilty.
Pro Art Sydney mural showing Sean Diddy Combs glaring at a wide-eyed 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 hitmakers career
Among the most harrowing claims is how federal agents seized 1,000 bottles of baby oil from his Miami and Los Angeles homes during raids in March.
Justin Biebers formerly close bond with the disgraced rapper has since come under intense scrutiny - with troubling videos of a then-15-year-old Bieber spending 48 hours with Diddy, as well as the pair partying together, resurfacing online.
However shop owner Winston Cooley told Daily Mail Australia said 95 per cent of people found the mural funny, while the other five per cent were not people who visited his store.
Someone is always going to get offended, he said.
It wasnt some deep thought and wasnt something to offend people.
We just thought "whats in the news at the moment" and it was all about P Diddy and baby oil. So I thought, lets do 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, which was created by artist Scottie Marsh as a commentary on same-sex marriage.
You can paint things like that, and theres going to be plenty of people who find it offensive, and theres plenty of people who like it, Cooley said.
I dont see how the one at the front that was painted by someone is any different to that. Youre going to piss some people off, some people going to like it. What can you do?
Im just running a business, you know, independent and out there, and I dont really want to put something out there that has everyone abusing me.
Store owner Winston Cooley explained the mural was not meant to offend and was only a meme of current news related to the allegations and charges facing P.Diddy
Mr Cooley said he will replace the mural within the week (pictured, another mural painted on Pro Art Sydneys shopfront)
Mr Cooley said he would replace the mural sometime this week.
No matter what I think, personally, Id rather not put things up that are going offend people, Cooley said.
This one obviously did. And I thought I dont really want to leave it up and just cop abuse over it.
While he has received hate mail over the mural, Mr Cooley said he spoke with the artist on Sunday who said he has been offered a full-time job because of the painting.
He said people told him they had no problem with the mural and didnt find anything offensive but he understands why I want to change it, Mr Cooley said.
Hes got jobs out of it. He was offered a full-time job and he had other people offer him to paint their room.