Just a month after Moses “Shyne” Barrow finally admitted to reporters 25 years later that Sean “Diddy” Combs “destroyed” his life after the 1999 shooting that led to his 10 year prison sentence, he’s now pointing the finger at Diddy directly in the trailer for new documentary The Honorable Shyne.
In the doc, coming to Hulu on Nov. 18, the ex-rapper-turned-politician opens up about the night of that infamous shooting more than he ever has before, saying, “I was definitely set up to be the fall guy.” Barrow has consistently been pressed for two decades about whether or not he blamed Combs for his time spent in prison, but he’d always said there were no hard feelings—until now.
Shyne was a burgeoning star on the rap scene in the 90s and signed to Combs’ Bad Boy Records. He shares in the documentary that he was “with Puff all the time,” as he was known then, leading up to the shooting. Combs was also dating Jennifer Lopez at the time.
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The three of them were all in attendance at a New York City club in 1999 when a disagreement and subsequent shooting broke out that left three people injured, including Natania Reuben, who was shot in the face. Reuben has always upheld that Combs was the person who shot her, and yet after he, Lopez, and Barrow were taken into custody, Combs and Lopez had their charges dropped and only Barrow was found guilty and sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was 21 years old at the time.
After eight years behind bars, Barrow was released and deported to his home country of Belize, where he became and remains an influential politician.
In the 25 years since the shooting, Barrow has never spoken about Diddy’s role in his conviction. He also showed no ill will towards the rapper, and would even appear on stage with him over the years—including performing as part of Combs’ BET Lifetime Achievement Award Tribute in 2022.
Last month, following Combs’ arrest on sex trafficking charges, Barrow broke his silence about the shooting for the first time and justified his time spent with the disgraced mogul since then as “in the best interest of Belize” since “[Combs] was in a position at that time to give scholarships [and] invest.” He added that Combs was someone who “destroyed my life, and who I forgave” to help his country.
But now he is taking his condemnation of Combs further in the new documentary, which tells the story of his life from hip-hop stardom to his role as Leader of the Opposition of Belize. From the trailer, it seems several in the know will explain how Barrow was “betrayed” as Combs escaped charges and let his protegé take the fall.
One of the hardest parts of serving time, Barrow says in the film, was “watching everybody succeed,” including 50 Cent, who rose to prominence while Barrow was incarcerated.
Combs remains in custody as he awaits his trial for Racketeering Conspiracy, Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud, or Coercion, and Transportation to Engage in Prostitution.
