Former Bad Boy Records rapper Shyne says he takes “no joy” in anyone being incarcerated, although he’s not exactly sad about Sean “Diddy” Combs’ arrest this week on sex trafficking charges.
Shyne, who is currently the opposition leader in the House of Representatives in Belize, made the comment to local news outlet Channel 5 Belize during an interview posted online Wednesday, Sept. 18.
“When I was an 18-year-old kid just wanting to do nothing other than make my mother proud and make Belize proud and do what all of us want to do, be recognized for our talent and take over the world, I was defending him, and he turned around and called witnesses to testify against me,” Shyne said. “He contributed — he pretty much sent me to prison.”
Related: Diddy’s Second Bail Request Rejected as Disturbing Text Messages Emerge
Shyne, whose legal name is Moses Michael Levi Barrow, was convicted of assault, reckless endangerment and gun possession for a 1999 New York City nightclub shooting involving Combs.
The Belize native served eight years in prison and was deported back to his homeland. Combs was also arrested in the case, but a jury found him not guilty of all charges.
Despite the legal ordeal, Shyne said he’s not angry with Combs.
“Yes, I forgave. I moved on. But let’s us not pretend as if I was in Miami for Thanksgiving and Christmas,” he explained.
Still, the 45-year-old politician has remained in contact with Combs and even appeared on stage with the mogul in London, for a surprise performance at a charity concert in 2023.
When pressed about being photographed with Combs at the event, Shyne said he was there for a good cause.
“I went to do a charity event for impoverished youth in London. Let us not lose sight of what the cold hard facts are. This was not someone who I vacationed with, and who he and I enjoyed this great intimate relationship of brotherhood. This is someone who destroyed my life, and who I forgave, and who I moved on, and for the better interest of Belize because he was in the position at that time to give scholarships and to maybe invest. I would not deny attempting to bring the investment to Belize and bring the contributions to education to Belize,” he explained.
Shyne continued, “Do I take any joy or any satisfaction with what he is going through? Absolutely not. I am different from other people, no one needs to fail for me to succeed.”
The politician was then asked if he was aware of or participated in any of Diddy’s “freak-off” parties.
“I had nothing to do with Sean Combs’ personal life,” he shot back. “No interaction at that level. Everything was strictly on a professional level.”
Back in May of this year, Shyne criticized Diddy after the mogul was shown on leaked surveillance video from 2016, attacking his then-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel.
“I vehemently denounce the repugnant behavior of Sean Diddy Combs captured on the video in which he is seen physically assaulting Mrs. Cassie Ventura-Fine,” Shyne wrote in a statement on Instagram. “There is no place for Violence against Women anywhere on the planet. As a father of a precious daughter, a global citizen and the next prime minister of Belize, I want absolutely nothing to do with people who engage in this pattern of diabolical behavior.”
Diddy is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, after two federal judges denied his requests for bail.
The mogul is charged with 3 counts — racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
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