Usher has defended himself against claims of being an "absentee father." The R&B singer has experienced a pretty tough year in 2012 so far; not only has he undergone a very public court battle with his ex, Tameka Foster but he also lost his step-son Kile Glover, in a tragic jet-ski accident in the summer. Talking to Oprah Winfrey during her talk show 'Oprah's Next Chapter,' Usher defended himself against some of the criticisms that have been levelled against him in recent months. "This will be the only time that I've ever chosen to speak about it," Usher told Oprah, about the custody hearing, regarding his children Usher Raymond V and Naviyd Ely Raymond, on the show that aired yesterday (September 16, 2012). "I've been a man of integrity throughout the entire process," he told the chat show host. "Which I hope my boys will understand." He used the opportunity to dismiss claims that he has been an "absentee father" and told Oprah that he was "Absentee from the aspect of having to go and work, that probably would be her version or idea what absentee would be. But no, I'm not an absentee father at all." Usher had also been publicly criticized for allegedly not attending Kile's funeral but insist that that was not the case. "It hurts me to hear people speculating that I wasn't at the funeral. I absolutely was at the funeral. I was at the burial as well," he explained, before revealing the damage that has been done to his relationship with Tameka: "We don't see eye-to-eye. The friend that I was to Tameka, I don't know that I could ever be again. She made us enemies in a way that I never understood."