HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Sean "Diddy" Combs has denied that his associates were behind the 1994 death of Tupac Shakur. The hip-hop mogul's denial comes following a report by the Los Angeles Times that claimed members of Diddy's team were responsible for the killing and that he was aware of the attack in advance.
"The story is a lie," Diddy said in a statement Monday to the Associated Press. "It is beyond ridiculous and completely false. Neither (the late rapper Notorious B.I.G.) nor I had any knowledge of any attack before, during or after it happened. ... I am shocked that the Los Angeles Times would be so irresponsible as to publish such a baseless and completely untrue story."
Shakur was beaten, shot and left for dead at New York's Quad Recording Studios. His death signaled the beginning of a feud between East and West Coast rappers that later led to the 1997 killing of Christopher Wallace, a.k.a Biggie Smalls and the Notorious B.I.G., a red-hot artist under the direction of Diddy at the time of his death.
The Times said its information was based on FBI records, interviews with people on the scene at the 1994 shooting, and statements to the FBI by an informant. None of the sources was named in the story.
According to The Times, talent manager James Rosemond and promoter James Sabatino arranged for the assault, because Shakur "had to be dealt with."
Rosemond referred to the story, which only appeared online and not in print, as a "libelous piece of garbage."
"In the past 14 years, I have not even been questioned by law enforcement with regard to the assault of Tupac Shakur, let alone brought up on charges," he said in a statement, AP reports. "Chuck Philips, the writer ... has reached a new low by employing fourth-hand information from desperate jailhouse informants along with ancient FBI reports to create this fabrication. I simply ask for all rap fans and fans of Tupac to analyze this fiction for what it is."
Earlier this month, it was revealed that Jamal Woolard (a.k.a. Gravy) had been tapped to play Notorious B.I.G. in the upcoming biopic film "Notorious."
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