A recently resurfaced interview from 1999 shows Sean “Diddy” Combs bragging about the parties now at the center of the federal case against him.
“They won’t even give me a permit for the parties no more,” Combs told Entertainment Tonight. “They don’t want me to throw the parties no more,” he continued, but vowed, “we ain’t gonna stop, we gonna keep on having fun, bringing people together from all walks of life. You’re gonna hear about my parties, they’re gonna be shutting them down, probably be arresting me, doing all types of crazy things just because we wanna have a good time.”
Representatives for Combs did not respond to Entertainment Weekly‘s request for comment.
Elaborating on why parties he labeled mere “fun” had also repeatedly attracted the attention of law enforcement, Combs said, “Whenever you bring up a different element into people’s environment, things that broaden people’s horizons, people get intimidated.”
He explained that reaction away by suggesting that his parties “ain’t nothing but breaking down racial barriers, breaking down generation barriers, people from all walks of life…. It’s just people from all walks of life connecting and getting together.”
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A federal investigation into Combs’ notorious parties and so-called “freak offs,” alleges that Combs and his inner circle engaged in sex trafficking, forced labor, interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution, coercion and enticement to engage in prostitution, narcotics offenses, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and more.
The grand jury indictment against Combs, handed down on Sept. 17, lists three federal counts to be brought against Combs in court: sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution. Prosecutors charge Combs with a “persistent and pervasive pattern of abuse toward women and other individuals” that was first brought to light in a shocking 2016 video depicting Combs abusing former girlfriend Cassie Ventura.
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Following the release of the video, Cassie sued Combs for rape and physical abuse, settling one day later, but igniting a chain of additional allegations from multiple accusers. Those allegations led to a March raid on Combs’ Los Angeles and Miami homes, eventually amassing enough evidence against the rapper and mogul to culminate in the recent indictment.
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When asked by ET how it makes him feel that “people are dying to get into your parties,” Combs replied that “it’s cool,” but “doesn’t make me feel any way special…doesn’t make me feel like a special person, it just makes me feel like I know how to throw a party.”
The year of that interview, 1999, saw Combs charged with second-degree assault and criminal mischief for attacking Interscope Records executive Steve Stoute, also the manager of the rapper Nas. It was also the year of the Club New York shooting, which saw Combs involved in an argument at a Manhattan nightclub that led to open gunfire and three individuals being shot. (Combs was acquitted on these charges in 1999.)
Combs’ legal team’s repeated attempts to appeal his charges and set bail have been denied. He is currently detained without bail at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, where he awaits trial.
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