Just when you thought the details of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ investigation and arrest couldn’t get any more harrowing, an ex-bodyguard has alleged the musician once sacrificed a bird.
Gene Deal, who previously served as Combs’ bodyguard, shared details of the supposed sacrifice in the new Hulu documentary, The Honorable Shyne. He claims that the rapper underwent a sacrificing ritual involving a white bird as a source of good luck in the lead-up to his 1999 trial over a New York City nightclub shooting, to which the rapper was linked. According to Deal, the disgraced mogul was being driven to a courthouse in Manhattan to learn the outcome of the trial when he stopped in Central Park.
There, they encountered a mysterious man who was holding a caged bird. “When Puff got close to the [man], he just dropped down to his knees,” Deal recalled. The bodyguard went on to recall seeing “smoke just going back and forth around” Combs, which he presumed to be burning “sage or something like that.” The man was holding a Bible and praying at the time of the supposed sacrificing ritual, and Deal claimed to see him put his hand on Combs’ shoulder and instruct him to remove the bird from the cage. “Puff took this white bird and threw it up in the air,” Deal said.
Rather than take flight, however, the bodyguard said the bird “just fell to the ground,” comparing the descent to “a brick.” Deal said he was taken aback by the moment and exclaimed “oh s***.” He also reflected on the moments after the bird had fallen. “The bird died, man… the bird didn’t even move,” Deal said, “and [Combs] just walked away from him real quick.” From there, Deal proceeded to the courthouse with Combs, where the latter learned that he had been acquitted of all charges related to the 1999 shooting, which left three people injured.
Combs was standing trial with fellow rapper Shyne, who was also connected to the case and who forms the subject of the Hulu documentary. Unlike Combs, Shyne wasn’t left unscathed by the trial, receiving a conviction for assault and reckless endangerment and going on to spend nine years in maximum security prison. After serving his time, Shyne was also deported back to his home country of Belize, where he became a prominent politician. In the years since the trial, Shyne — who is now known as Moses Barrow — has accused Combs of making him take the fall for the shooting, saying in a recent interview that the rapper “destroyed my life.”
Speaking to Channel 5 News, Shyne said he was “defending [Combs], and he turned around and called witnesses to testify against me,” adding that the rapper “pretty much sent me to prison.” The shooting case could be reinvestigated by authorities as they undergo a sweeping probe into Combs amid his investigation, which has been filled with details equally as bone-chilling as the alleged bird sacrifice.
Among other pieces of the investigation, we have learned that Combs allegedly hosted so-called “freak-offs” involving non-consensual recordings of his victims, is accused of drugging at least two minors, and apparently purchased 1,000 bottles of baby oil as part of his criminal enterprise. Combs has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges and has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. He remains in a federal prison in Manhattan.