Too $hort is walking back his comments about attending Sean “Diddy” Combs’ welcome-home party, saying he spoke without fully understanding the scope of the allegations surrounding the hip-hop mogul.
The Oakland rap veteran apologized in an Instagram video after his earlier remarks sparked backlash. Too $hort said he had been “a little insensitive” with his words and acknowledged that he needed to learn more about the case.
“I was a little insensitive with my words,” Too $hort said.
Too $hort said he was aware of the 2016 hotel surveillance footage showing Combs assaulting Cassie Ventura, but admitted he did not understand how many women had made allegations of abuse against Combs.
“I really didn’t know the full extent of the case,” he said. “I did not know that there were a lot of women who had claimed that they had been abused by Puff Daddy.”
The criticism surrounding his original comments prompted him to research the case further.
“I have listened, I have learned, I read up on it,” Too $hort said. “I am more informed.”
He also made his position on abuse clear.
“I do not condone abuse in any kind of way,” he said. “I don’t support anybody that does it.”
Too $hort then clarified what he meant when he originally said he would attend Combs’ coming-home party. According to the rapper, he was referring to the social gatherings he attended before the criminal case — not parties involving the sexual conduct described during the federal proceedings.
“I was talking about the parties that he throws for his friends,” Too $hort said. “Not any party where it is fucking baby oil or some goddamn sexual shit.”
Too $hort said he attended dozens of Combs’ parties and said he personally never witnessed sexual activity at them.
His comments come after Combs was convicted in 2025 on two federal transportation-for-prostitution counts and sentenced to 50 months in prison. Jurors acquitted him of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges.
The trial included testimony and allegations concerning violence, coercion and paid sexual encounters. Those allegations became a major part of the public scrutiny surrounding Combs.
Too $hort now says he hopes the prison sentence gives Combs an opportunity to change.
“I hope that when my brother comes home, that he has grown,” he said. “I hope that when he comes home, that he’s not an abuser anymore.”
The rapper ended his statement with another apology to people who were hurt or offended by his original comments.
“If anything I said hurt anybody, I really do regret it,” Too $hort said. “So once again, apologies to all the people, male, female, who were offended by my words.”
The apology now stands as a significant shift from Too $hort’s earlier position: rather than simply celebrating Combs’ eventual release, he says he has since learned more about the allegations and understands why his original comments were insensitive.
