NEWS
US President Donald Trump has said it would be “difficult” to pardon Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs as he was “very hostile” towards him.
The rapper and music mogul was found guilty on two counts of transportation for engaging in prostitution, but was acquitted of racketeering and sex trafficking in July. He pleaded not guilty to all five charges.
Combs is currently awaiting sentencing at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, where he has been held since his arrest in September last year. Last week (July 29), he asked a judge to release him on a $50million (£37.4million) bond as he waits to be sentenced in October.
In June, Trump said that he would look into a potential pardon for Combs, and that he would “certainly look at the facts”.
Now, though, he’s weighed in again, calling Combs “half-innocent” and saying it’s “more likely a no” that he would be pardoned.
“Well, he was essentially, I guess, sort of half-innocent,” Trump told Newsmax host Rob Finnerty on Friday (August 1). “[He’s] still in jail or something, but he was celebrating a victory. But I guess it wasn’t as good of a victory.”
Trump went on to recall that he was “very friendly with him. I got along with him great, and [he] seemed like a nice guy. I didn’t know him well. But when I ran for office, he was very hostile. It’s hard, you know? We’re human beings. And we don’t like to have things cloud our judgment, right? But when you knew someone and you were fine, and then you run for office, and he made some terrible statements. So I don’t know …. it makes it more difficult to do.”
It echoes comments he made in May, when he said about Combs: “I haven’t seen him, I haven’t spoken to him in years. He used to really like me a lot, but I think when I ran for politics, that relationship busted up. I read some little bit nasty statements in the paper all of a sudden.”
Referring to a possible pardon, Trump added at the time: “I would certainly look at the facts. If I think somebody is mistreated, whether they like me or don’t like me, it wouldn’t have any impact on me.”
The US President and rapper were once on good terms, with Trump attending a number of Combs’ VIP parties and events in New York City, and calling the rapper “a good friend” during a 2012 episode of The Apprentice, while Combs called Trump “a friend of mine” in 2015, shortly after Trump launched his first campaign.
But when asked about Trump in 2017, Combs told the Daily Beast, “I think that to be honest, we don’t really give a fuck about Trump, because [black people are] in the same fucked-up position. So that’s not what we’re on.”
Then, speaking to Charlamagne tha God in 2020, Combs said, “White men like Trump need to be banished. That way of thinking is real dangerous. This man literally threatened the lives of us and our families about going to vote … The number one priority is to get Trump out of office.”
Combs faces a maximum sentence of 20 years behind bars on the two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. However, he could receive less than this because it is a first-time conviction.
For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.
NEWS
Celebrated playwright and comedian Ben Elton has approached Noel Gallagher about creating an “Oasis jukebox musical”.
The two recently crossed paths at the Queen Budapest premiere at London’s BFI Imax. During their conversation, the We Will Rock You writer expressed his interest in building a stage production around Oasis’ songs.
The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column reported that the guitarist laughed and pointed him towards his brother Liam, saying: “You better ask our kid.”
Someone close to Liam suggested casting the singer would be a challenge, claiming no actor could "match" his "swagger".
Built around Queen’s songs, We Will Rock You enjoyed an impressive run, becoming the Dominion Theatre’s longest running musical and earning a place among the West End’s longest running productions. It also received the Laurence Olivier Award for Most Popular Show.
Interest in Oasis remains enormous, with 11 million people signing up for the Oasis Live ’27 ticket ballot.
After the Live Forever band returned to touring last year for the first time in 16 years, their famous rivalry with Blur became the subject of a stage comedy.
In The Battle, Gavin and Stacey actor Mathew Horne portrayed Andy Ross, the Britpop music executive who found himself in the middle of one of British music’s most memorable feuds.
He said: “This play is right in the sweet spot of my teenage cultural experience. I’m thrilled to be exploring this iconic era in music on stage with such a talented creative team involved.”
The production revisited August 1995, when Blur and Oasis went head to head by releasing Country House and Roll With It on the same day, each hoping to reach Number One.
Blur secured the victory with sales of 274,000 copies, compared with 216,000 for Oasis.
That chart contest fuelled years of public jabs between members of both groups, although relations have become less hostile over time.
A UK tour had been planned for the production, but its remaining performances were cancelled following the Birmingham and Manchester engagements in February and March this year.
Oasis Live ’27 begins on May 21 at Glasgow’s Celtic Park, with 42 concerts scheduled, including a record six performances at Knebworth.
