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Sir Paul McCartney performs onstage during the iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sept. 21, 2013 in Las Vegas.
Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Clear ChannelSean “Diddy” Combs and Endeavor are teaming up to diversify the music industry. On the heels of Combs signing with WME for representation in all areas, the two will partner for the The Excellence Program, which aims to be one of the largest virtual development programs and résumé databases for aspiring entertainment executives from underrepresented communities.
The Excellence Program will launch July 12 and will be free and accessible to eligible students with an interest in breaking into entertainment, marketing, music or fashion. The six-week program will include sessions spanning categories such as touring and performing, professional development, entertainment business and storytelling.
Sessions will be taught by a curated list of industry heavyweights including Joey Bada$$, Cari Champion, Victor Cruz, Bill Duffy, Desiree Gruber, Terrence Jenkins, Reggie Love, Marshawn Lynch, French Montana, Guy Oseary, Rajon Rondo, Lindsey Vonn, Gus Wenner and Jeff Burroughs. Additional sessions will be led by executives from Amazon Studios, Amazon Web Services, MSG Entertainment, Revolt Media, Combs Enterprises, WME, Endeavor Content and IMG Models.
“Beginning my career as an intern changed my life, so it’s been a lifelong dream to give the next generation of entrepreneurs and executives access to the best in entertainment, marketing, music and fashion,” Combs said in a release. “Partnering with Endeavor creates a pipeline to opportunities that allow future leaders to not only succeed, but thrive in these highly competitive industries.”
Combs will kick off the program with a session on “Igniting the Excellence in You.” Once the program is completed, top participants will be considered for internships at the aforementioned companies and entered into a master database “résumé book” to be shared across relevant companies in an effort to diversify hiring pipelines and recruiting industrywide. Combs Enterprises and Endeavor have each committed to hiring interns and entry-level employees from the program.
HBCU in LA, National Association of Latino Independent Producers, Brown Girls Dream, Asian American Collective, Reel Works and Diverso have joined The Excellence Program as partners, while racial justice nonprofit Color of Change has partnered with Combs and Endeavor to lead coursework on ways to effectively impact change in the workplace. Companies who sign on will be encouraged to adopt measures from Color of Change’s #ChangeIndustries Initiative, which secures commitments to roadmaps for change from the corporations that set culture, with the goal of increasing Black empowerment, safety and equitable culture change.
Combs moves to WME from CAA. The artist has five top 10 albums on the Billboard 200, including two No. 1s (No Way Out, four weeks at No. 1 in 1997, and Press Play, one week at No. 1 in 2006). According to MRC Data, he’s also posted 15 top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hits as a performing artist, with five of those going to No. 1. Combs has sold 8.8 million albums in the U.S. and his songs as a credited performer have registered 806 million U.S. on-demand streams.
In addition to his own work as an artist, he has produced 10 more Hot 100 top 10s that he does not feature on, including three No. 1 hits for Mariah Carey.
In 2016, Diddy's Bad Boy Family Reunion Tour grossed $22.3 million and sold over 250,000 tickets, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore.
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Ronnie Radke has claimed that Max Georgiev was dismissed from Falling In Reverse due to allegations of sexual misconduct, accusations that Georgiev has firmly rejected.
Georgiev exited the Las Vegas metalcore group in 2024. Last week, the band’s frontman Ronnie Radke shared an Instagram post stating that the guitarist was removed after allegedly admitting to a sexual relationship with an underage girl.
“For those that are wondering why I fired the guitarist,” Radke wrote, according to Lambgoat, “it’s because he admitted to sleeping with a minor ten years before he [was] in my band [when] he was 27 years old. Have fun with that.”
Georgiev, who joined Falling In Reverse in 2018 and now performs with metal outfit Vio-lence, responded shortly after, denying the allegations. “To the fans, I have never done anything illegal with a minor,” said Max Georgiev. “Fifteen years ago, when I was 23, I still lived in Quebec, Canada.”
“Since then, I have played for several bands who never mentioned inappropriate behavior on my part,” he continued. “I have always had great respect for the fans. I have strived to play my heart out for you.”
Radke’s Instagram account has since appeared to be removed, something he addressed during a livestream. “Maybe me talking about my old guitar player getting fired for finding out he was hooking up with minors, I think that AI might’ve caught that and was like, ‘You gotta go’,” he suggested, as reported by Loudwire".
“This man not only did that, [but] the parents of the minor ten years before he was in my band found out, they confronted him, he lied about his age so he could continue doing that with her. He wasn’t 23, he was older. He’s lying about that,” Radke went on to claim.
In a subsequent statement shared on Thursday January 8, Georgiev again rejected Radke’s accusations, calling them “delusional”. “I met someone who turned eighteen a few months later while I occasionally dated her,” he said. “This was fifteen years ago, when I was 23 in Quebec, Canada.”
“Her parents never confronted me because the girl only had a mother. I never lied to her or her daughter about anything.”
Georgiev later suggested that his departure from Falling In Reverse may instead have been linked to him “taking the initiative to learn nine songs of another band”, which he identified as Disturbed.
Elsewhere, Radke has reportedly filed a temporary restraining order against Brittany Furlan, citing alleged harassment connected to a catfish controversy from last year.
He has repeatedly alleged that Furlan, the estranged wife of Tommy Lee, was involved with someone impersonating him online. The filing asks that she be required to remain at least 100 yards away from him. Representatives for Furlan have said they are “aware” of the request and maintain that the allegations are “not accurate”.
Radke also saw his defamation lawsuit against Anthony Fantano of The Needle Drop dismissed last year.
