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Sean “Diddy” Combs’ infamous parties have come to an end as the disgraced rapper sits behind bars on federal charges. One person who is sad to see them go is Bow Wow, who had a controversial take on all of the drama.
Formerly known as Lil’ Bow Wow (real name: Shad Moss), the 37-year-old “Like You” artist spoke out about Diddy’s downfall on a recent episode of the More to the Story podcast, during which he repeatedly called the Bad Boy Records CEO a “gatekeeper” in the hip-hop industry.
“I never thought I would see it like this,” Bow Wow said about Diddy, who is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution charges. (The “I’ll Be Missing You” rapper, 54, has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and plans to testify at his trial, which is set for May 5, 2025.)
“He’s like the gatekeeper to the game, to the point to where BET Award weekend, like the past two, it just didn’t feel right because there was no motion, there was no parties,” Bow Wow stated, adding that the lack of Diddy parties “shows how monumental, how important he was to the culture.”
The CSI Cyber actor noted that he talked to Jermaine Dupri about the lack of parties.
“I said, ‘Jermaine, there was no parties.’ And you feel it. It’s like a hole. He was just such a gatekeeper for the liquor and the clubs. He was everything hip-hop,” Bow Wow said about Diddy. “So for that to die out, you just really never thought. Especially when you look at somebody as somebody you studied, somebody you idolized.”
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and Bow Wow attend French Montana Pre-Grammy Party at SupperClub Los Angeles on January 24, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. In October 2024, the young rapper controversially complained about the lack of Hollywood parties now that Diddy is behind bars.
Johnny Nunez/WireImage
Diddy’s parties have taken center stage in the federal case against him. At some of these these events, per the 14-page indictment against Diddy, sex acts known as “freak-offs” would be held — during which the hip-hop mogul allegedly used “used force” to “cause victims to engage in extended sex acts with male commercial sex workers that Combs arranged, directed, masturbated during and often electronically recorded.”
Per U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, “The ‘Freak Offs’ sometimes lasted days at a time, involved multiple commercial source workers, and often involved a variety of narcotics such as ketamine, ecstasy, and GHB, which Combs distributed to the victim to keep them obedient and compliant.”
Among the six additional lawsuits filed against Diddy on Monday, October 14, one anonymous victim claims that he was 16 years old when he was molested by Diddy at one of the rapper’s infamous “White Parties” in the Hamptons in 1998.
In addition to the federal charges against Diddy, attorney Tony Buzbee is representing 120 accusers — 60 men and 60 women — who claim that the “All About the Benjamins” artist sexually assaulted them.
Diddy’s legal team emphatically denied all claims against him.
“In court, the truth will prevail,” his attorneys said in a statement to TMZ on Monday. “Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted anyone — adult or minor, man or woman.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to https://www.rainn.org/
If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1 (800) 422-4453, open 24/7.