In a candid June 2025 interview with Rolling Stone, Charlamagne tha God didn’t hold back when addressing the entertainment industry’s sudden turn on Sean “Diddy” Combs, who’s currently on trial for a long list of sexual abuse allegations.
Speaking with Rolling Stone, The Breakfast Club host and media mogul pointed out the hypocrisy of Hollywood figures now distancing themselves from a man they once idolized. “I can’t act like it’s one emotion. It’s easy to say, ‘Oh, man, forget him. He’s a piece of trash,’ blah, blah, blah, this and that,” Charlamagne told the outlet.
“At one point that was your guy”
He added, “Yeah, he might be all of those things, but guess what? He also was somebody that every single time we was out in the party, he got the party started. He was a person that all of y’all was running around saying you was the Diddy of your city.”
Charlamagne said, “Don’t act like you weren’t, now, OK? I see you changing your Instagram names and all of that, but at one point that was your guy. So that… it just sucks to watch.”
Charlamagne’s comments come in the wake of Diddy’s dramatic fall from grace, following multiple lawsuits, allegations of abuse, and a federal investigation into alleged misconduct stretching back decades.
Once one of the most powerful figures in music and entertainment, Diddy—also known as Puff Daddy — has become a symbol of excess and downfall. His homes were raided by federal agents in March 2024, and several accusers have come forward with disturbing allegations, prompting brands and business partners to cut ties.
People are “crashing and burning,” Charlamagne said
In his Rolling Stone chat, Charlamagne, whose real name is Lenard McKelvey, didn’t defend Diddy’s actions. Instead, he’s highlighting a deeper truth: Hollywood and the entertainment industry loved Diddy—until it didn’t.
Charlamagne said,“You see certain brothers, man, certain sisters that have been around a long time, and I literally give them a pound and I compliment them because I say to them, ‘Man, your plane has landed and the wheels came out.'”
He explained. “Everybody always talks about the ascension and being up in the air, but when you land, you got to make sure your wheels come out. There’s a lot of people landing whose wheels ain’t coming out, and they’re crashing and burning.”
Charlamagne has long been one of the media’s most outspoken voices, known for his direct takes on culture, race, and accountability. Through The Breakfast Club, his bestselling books, and his podcast empire, he’s become a leading voice in hip-hop commentary—and he’s no stranger to controversy himself.
Charlamagne: Diddy’s “complex” if you’re a “hip-hop head”
Charlamagne also told Rolling Stone about Diddy, “It’s sad. And people got mad at me, I think it was last year, because I said that when it first happened. I’m like, ‘Yo, we got to stop acting like these situations don’t bring out a plethora of emotions.’
“This is complex, especially if you’re a hip-hop-head,” Charlamagne added. “I was in jail writing down things I wanted to do for my future, saying I wanted to be signed to Bad Boy in ’96, ’97, because I used to rap. And so for me, man, just sitting back watching the situation, yeah, it is sad to watch yet another one of us … That’s what it feels like, right? It feels like, another one of us.”
Charlamagne’s comments echo a broader conversation happening in the industry: how fame, unchecked power, and public loyalty can dissolve overnight. Diddy’s decades-long reign saw him crowned the king of hip-hop business, fashion, and nightlife.
The fallout from Diddy’s legal troubles may not be over, but Charlamagne’s warning is clear: in a world where celebrity is fleeting, the same people who lift you up can just as quickly tear you down.
Published: Jun 23, 2025 04:00 pm