The rapper and former Sean “Diddy” Combs protege Shyne has said his ex-mentor “destroyed” his life in the wake of a 1999 New York City nightclub shooting in which they were both implicated – yet he denied gaining any sense of schadenfreude from the Bad Boy Records founder’s recent arrest on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and other related crimes.
“One of the things that I would never wish on my worst enemy is to be incarcerated,” said the artist born Moses Barrow, a native of Belize who spent about eight years in prison while Combs was acquitted of charges in connection with the same shooting. “So I take no joy in anyone’s challenges whether with the criminal justice system or otherwise.
“But I’d just like to clarify – you have to be truthful in the description of the relationship. This is someone who in essence testified against me when I was on trial, when I was an 18-year-old kid just wanting to do nothing other than make my mother proud and make Belize proud and do what all of us want to do: be recognized for our talent and take over the world … This is someone who destroyed my life.”
Barrow’s pointed remarks came at a news conference Thursday while he carried out his duties as the leader of opposition in Belize’s House of Representatives.
A day earlier, a federal judge in New York City for a second time denied Combs’ request to be put on home detention after authorities jailed him Tuesday on a three-count, 14-page indictment charging him with sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; racketeering conspiracy; and transportation to engage in prostitution.
A reporter asked Barrow, 45, on Thursday whether he had been aware of – or even participated in – some of the most salacious allegations made against Combs: that the three-time Grammy winner would force sex-trafficking victims to engage in group sex acts referred to with associates of his while he recorded video and masturbated to the encounters. These so-called “freak offs” were allegedly so physically exhausting for Combs and his victims – who were purportedly forced to ingest drugs – that all “typically received IV fluids to recover”, the indictment alleged.
Barrow laughed off the question. “Oh my goodness – sir, I have nothing to do with Sean Combs’ personal life,” he said. “Everything was strictly on a professional level.”
Handed up secretly by a grand jury on 12 September and then unsealed five days later, Combs’ criminal charges prompted many to look out for Barrow’s reaction.
They were both arrested in what at the time was one of the biggest criminal trials to ensnare renowned hip-hop industry figures after a shooting at a Manhattan nightclub wounded three people.
Combs, 54, ultimately testified that he didn’t have a gun that night. He received a not-guilty verdict on charges of taking an illegal gun into the club and seeking to bribe his driver to take the legal fall for the weapon. Meanwhile, Barrow was convicted of assault along with other charges, went to prison and was deported to Belize, blunting some of the success he had earned through an acclaimed debut album.
At the time of the shooting, Combs was dating the singer Jennifer Lopez, and she was arrested in the case, too. But the charges against her were dropped. And Lopez has so far made no public comments about the sex-trafficking charges against Combs, who has pleaded not guilty, could serve up to life in prison if convicted and has been placed on suicide watch at the jail where he is being detained pending the outcome of the charges against him.
Barrow on Thursday said he “forgave” Combs and “moved on”. He acknowledged later trying to see if Combs would invest some money in Belize and the Caribbean country’s education system.
“But … let us not forget what the cold, hard facts are,” Barrow said. “This is someone who destroyed my life.”
However, he made sure to add: “Do I take any satisfaction in what he is going through? Absolutely not. I am different [from] other people. No one needs to fail for me to succeed. No one needs to suffer.”
The Associated Press contributed reporting
