Culture

Diddy Really, Really Wanted Princes William and Harry at His Parties

ROYAL INVITATION

The rapper’s former publicist dished on Diddy’s fixation with the British royals.

Diddy’s former publicist Rob Shuter says he was asked over 10 times to invite Prince William and Prince Harry to parties.
CARL DE SOUZA/AFP via Getty Images

Seemingly every celebrity in Hollywood has attended one of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ infamous parties over the years.

According to the BBC, however, there were two guests he always wanted but never got: Princes William and Harry. Diddy’s former publicist, Rob Shuter, told the broadcaster that the disgraced mogul instructed him to invite the royals to his parties more than 10 times. Shuter also said that Diddy displayed framed photos of William and Harry in one of his properties.

Diddy “thought of himself as a king,” Shuter explained; he wanted to become the “party king of New York.” With that in mind, the publicist went on, “it makes perfect sense that he would like to have two princes in his entourage.”

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The rapper was reportedly so eager to have them in attendance that he allegedly offered to pay for their travel, accommodation, and security bills. But evidently these incentives weren’t enough to convince the princes, who never showed up.

A smart decision: Diddy’s parties, in particular his annual “White Party,” have attracted scrutiny as the full scope of Diddy’s allegedly sprawling “criminal enterprise” comes into view.

According to federal prosecutors, Diddy used physical and emotional abuse to entrap the women in his orbit, plying them with drugs before forcing them to participate in days-long group sex sprees. He’s been charged with sex-trafficking and racketeering, among other crimes.

He’s also been hit with several lawsuits, some of which speak to the parties specifically. A go-go dancer recently sued the performer, alleging he had “pimped [her] out” to his guests, recording the encounters to “blackmail” her into silence. In another lawsuit, an unnamed partygoer says that, attending an East Hamptons White Party at age 16, Diddy—under the guise of gauging the boy’s star potential—demanded he “drop his pants” and then grabbed his genitals.

While Diddy has denied any and all wrongdoing, some of his famous friends have come under fire for their association with the disgraced entertainer. And although both princes have been pictured with Diddy—Harry’s name even appears in one of the lawsuits, but only as an example of the level of celebrity to which Diddy had access—the rapper himself has admitted that he tried and failed to get the “young bucks” to hang out with him. Stunning foresight on the part of some palace aide.

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