The Truth About 50 Cent And Diddy's Tumultuous Relationship
The following article includes allegations of sexual assault.
Hip-hop fans are historically fascinated with rap feuds, which makes sense since they've been a huge part of making the industry successful and entertaining. But one of the most explosive, confusing ones is between rap moguls Curtis Jackson, a.k.a. 50 Cent, and Sean "Diddy" Combs.
The "In Da Club" rapper is certainly no stranger to feuds, having alleged beef with artists like The Game and Ja Rule in the past. 50's true feelings about the "Bad Boy Records" founder surfaced publicly in 2023 amid Cassandra "Cassie" Ventura's lawsuit alleging abuse from Diddy. 50 has not held back on how he really feels about Diddy, sparking some major animosity between the two men. Was there always animosity, though?
In a 2018 interview on "The Breakfast Club," Diddy claimed he and 50 were completely cool. "I don't have no beef with Fif. He loves me," Diddy insisted. "Y'all can't see that he loves me? You really think that's hate? ... You know he loves me." Perhaps this is a case of thou who doth protest too much, because, from all of their interactions over the years, it's clear that 50 and Diddy have a tumultuous friendship, if it can even be called that.
50 Cent's Diddy diss track
50 Cent released a diss track in 2006 called, "The Bomb," directed straight at Diddy. In the lyrics, he alleges that the "Coming Home" artist knows more about the 1997 murder of The Notorious B.I.G. than he's letting on.
"Who shot Biggie Smalls? / We don't get 'em / They gonna kill us all / Man, Puffy know who hit that n***a / Man, that n***a soft / He scared them boys from the Westside will break him off / Dump on his a**, so he run to Harlem shake em off," the lyrics read (via HipHopDX). He also added that calling Diddy out won't get him an invitation to his famous and lavish summer white party in the Hamptons, which he appears to note sarcastically, as if that's Diddy's only claim to fame.
In 2023, 50 posted a year-old freestyle video on Instagram by rapper Mase. Mase appeared to allude to Diddy in a negative light, and 50 wanted to ensure that no one missed out. The caption read, "Who said MA$E don't get busy man you gotta listen! @bransoncognac @lecheminduroi @thefinallaptour." Mase rapped, "I'm the illest of all, don't ever put Mase with any Bad Boys ... I see no integrity in your name." Mase was once signed to Diddy's label, Bad Boy Records, but announced in 2022 that he had signed with competitor Snoop Dogg's Death Row Records, (once owned by notorious Diddy rival, Suge Knight).
The two reportedly brawled at the 2012 BET Awards
The 2012 BET Awards sparked some major rumors about Diddy and 50 Cent getting into a heated argument that turned into a physical fight. Neither party went public to fully explain what happened, but fans were able to piece things together based on post-award show interviews from other artists and one media source in particular.
MediaTakeOut.com had first reported the alleged fight, but since deleted all details and former news about the supposed melee. The site reported (via SOHH.com), "Here's what happened. Diddy and 50 started cracking jokes BACK AND FORTH — in a friendly way. But at some point, 50 started getting UPSET. His jokes went from PLAYFUL ... to DISRESPECTFUL. Fifty eventually got so RILED UP ... that he called Diddy a "b***h." The outlet even claimed to have photos of the fight at one point.
The same outlet reported that Machine Gun Kelly gave an interview on "The Breakfast Club" claiming that 50 approached Diddy's trailer asking some questions in a sarcastic manner, and the next thing he saw, the whole thing "popped off." WELCOME 2 CALI TV obtained a very blurry video from WorldStarHipHop of the awards show scuffle, with the incident being seemingly scrubbed from the Internet. The fight didn't result in any arrests or charges, so it went mostly under the radar.
50 Cent accused Diddy of stealing his video concept
In 2014, 50 Cent released a music video for his song, "Animal Ambition." It was stylized with dark, sultry lighting (prominently featuring a vibrant crimson spotlight in the background) with the rapper acting somewhat sexually toward the women in his video. Less than one year after "Animal Ambition," Diddy released an ad campaign for his cologne, 3 a.m. by Sean John, with then-partner Cassie Ventura.
Diddy's ad, which has since been removed but can be seen in a reaction clip with Diddy from "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen," featured the same sultry, dark lighting (even having a bright red spotlight in the background in one scene). However, Diddy was acting extremely sexually aggressive towards Ventura — as opposed to 50 acting more low-key — almost insinuating violence; chasing her, and even pretending to choke her.
We all know that 50 can be a bit petty, and he took to Instagram in a now-deleted post to call out the similarities between the videos. Showing side-by-side stills of each one, he wrote (via HipHopDX) "Hmmmm pretty similar, Animal Ambition #EFFENVODKA #FRIGO #SMSAUDIO did puffy copy my S***? LMAO should have at least let my director shoot it." His hashtag of #EFFENVODKA was speculated to be another dig at Diddy, as 50 had signed on to be the spokesperson for the vodka company, and Diddy was notably part owner and spokesperson of a competitor, CÎROC Vodka.
Diddy's public freak out inspired 50 Cent to make memes
Diddy made it widely known in 2015 that he took his son's football practice at UCLA very seriously, which resulted in an arrest. During a fit of rage, he attempted to hit his son's coach with a heavy metal weight known as a kettlebell for allegedly yelling at his son during practice. Page Six reported that Diddy could have seriously injured the coach if the weight had actually struck him.
After learning about the incident, 50 Cent — who clearly can't pass up an opportunity to publicly pile on Diddy — took to his Instagram (via the Daily Mail) in a since-deleted series of posts to create memes of mockery. One post showed a lone image of Diddy with the phrase, "It's all about the kettlebells, baby," replacing Diddy's own lyric of "Benjamins" with the word "kettlebells." Another meme he created featured an angry Diddy manhandling someone with the headline, "When you asked for Ciroc, and they bring you Effen," 50's vodka brand.
Conan O'Brien had a laugh with the rapper over the memes when he appeared on "Conan," and the host asked if Diddy also found them funny. "He probably didn't," 50 quipped. "As he started to work his way out [of the situation], I felt better about me poking fun at him." Both 50 and O'Brien didn't appear malicious when opining about the situation, the two just appeared to really appreciate a good internet meme.
50 Cent says that Diddy makes him uncomfortable
50 Cent has been low-key bashing Diddy publicly since the early 2000's through zings in interviews, rap lyrics, and, of course, silly memes that were intended to be a joke. In October 2023, 50 seemed to turn things up a notch.
During his "The Final Lap Tour," he spoke out about why he doesn't like to go to Diddy's parties anymore, alluding that Diddy's sexuality may not be totally heterosexual (not that it's anyone's business). The Daily Loud posted the video on X, formerly known as Twitter. "That's why I don't be going to no Puffy parties. N***a hug you from the front and back at the same time? ... Look, if you into that, you into that. I'm fine with it. To each his own. I'm just saying, this isn't my kind of motherf***ing kind of party."
Another clip from 2020 resurfaced on Instagram of 50 on the "Drink Champs" podcast explaining that Diddy offered to take him shopping — and pay — but he turned him down because he felt like Diddy had ulterior motives. While headlining the Rolling Loud festival in New York City, 50 made an impromptu wardrobe change because he said on stage (via HipHopDX) that he felt like he looked too much like Diddy with the ensemble. "You know why I threw that jacket. It made me look like Puffy."
50 Cent trolls Diddy amid his serious allegations
In November 2023, Diddy's ex, Cassandra "Cassie" Ventura filed a lawsuit against Diddy for sexual assault, human trafficking, and other shocking allegations. Diddy quickly settled with Ventura, most likely thinking the ordeal was behind him ... not quite. As of December 2023, an additional four women have come forward accusing Diddy of alleged sexual assault and other heinous crimes. Diddy broke his silence on December 6, 2023, posting on X, denying all allegations made against him.
However, his old pal, 50 Cent has certainly not been silent throughout this ordeal. 50 almost excitedly posts multiple times a week on his social media about each new allegation. He even claimed he will be making a documentary about Diddy's alleged sexual assault, and noted that the proceeds will go towards survivors of rape and assault.
50's Instagram includes a barrage of insults against Diddy. Some are obvious digs: a photo of Diddy and disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, merging Diddy's face with jailed R&B singer R. Kelly, and posting relevant news and media headlines. Other digs are less obvious: a photo of 50 and an AI version of Tupac with the caption, "Karma is a mother fvcker brother love, brother love, brother love. @bransoncognac @lecheminduroi @thefinallaptour." Comments on the Instagram post are speculating that Diddy had something to do with Tupac's death, and 50 will be the one to out him.
Violent rumors are being spread about Diddy
Aside from his post on X proclaiming his innocence, Diddy has remained silent towards 50 Cent while the "Candy Shop" rapper continues to viciously troll him. However, the YouTube source ShanTEA is reporting that there are rumors from "the street" that Diddy wants to "unalive 50 Cent" for producing a documentary about him. There is absolutely no solid proof to these rumors as it's just "word on the street," but the same source is alleging that 50 should tread carefully.
The video also brought up some interesting information about Russel Simmons' ex-wife, Kimora Lee Simmons. Kimora Lee was very close to the late Kim Porter, who was mother to three of Diddy's children (Porter passed away in 2018 from pneumonia). After Cassie's lawsuit went public, she posted this phrase on her Instagram story (via Atlanta Black Star) on November 17: "As you sow, so shall you reap." The day after this eyebrow raising post, Fox News reported that per a resurfaced interview, Diddy once threatened to hit Kimora Lee while she was pregnant.
What's even creepier, is that on December 2, Kimora Lee's house caught on fire while she and her children were inside. Thankfully, everyone made it out safely. The Internet went crazy speculating that Diddy possibly had something to do with the fire; Again, these are Internet rumors with no solid proof. However, 50 may end up having quite a few people to collaborate with on this documentary, should it ever come to fruition.
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).