CONTENT WARNING: This post mentions sexual abuse allegations.
In September this year, Diddy was charged with sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Many of the abuse claims are alleged to have taken place at parties, and, as you may be aware, this prompted a renewed interest in the celebrities who had been photographed at events with the mogul over the years.
Resurfaced images from Diddy’s infamous parties sparked discussions online about the rapper’s perceived relationships with several well-known stars. And one of the celebrities who found themselves embroiled in the discourse was Will Smith, who has now taken the opportunity to distance himself from Diddy.
Speaking on stage during a show in San Diego last week, the Oscar-winning actor addressed online “memes” about his alleged connections to Diddy, telling the crowd: “I just wanna say this very clearly: I don’t have shit to do with Puffy.”
“I haven’t addressed any of this publicly… Y’all can stop all of that bullshit. I ain’t been nowhere near no damn ‘freak off,’” he said, referring to the term for the alleged sex parties at the center of a federal case against Diddy. “I ain’t been nowhere near that man, ain’t did none of that stupid shit.”
Will concluded: “I haven’t said that publicly, [this is] the first time. I don’t usually respond to dumb ass stuff — so many things, people say so much stuff. But you know, y’all memes was doing too much, it was having me mad.”
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673), which routes the caller to their nearest sexual assault service provider. You can also search for your local center here.