Jennifer Lopez’s team is scrambling for a semblance of calm in the storm as her former boyfriend Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs was arrested in Manhattan on Monday. The actress-singer wasn’t even done reeling from her messy separation from Ben Affleck, and her past is already becoming a bigger priority on the ‘Warning’ alarm.
With P Diddy’s indictment earlier this week, all sorts of old videos with the disgraced hip-hop mogul in focus have resurfaced online. Netizens are paying grave attention to the rapper’s extensive connections in the entertainment industry. Almost every and any Hollywood star under the sun was somehow linked to Diddy in the early 2000s, thanks to his glitzy and nefarious parties. Ex-Diddy producer Rodney ‘Lil Rod’ Jones Jr even described Combs as a “gatekeeper in the music industry” last month when he finally broke his silence on his $30 million lawsuit against the embattled Revolt founder, now being held in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center. (Also read: New Diddy doc announced after arrest: Quiet on Set network spearheading project while 50 Cent’s series also awaited)
The ongoing federal investigation has exploded Diddy’s life, but now it looks like his history with JLo might just drag the Atlas actress’s reputation down. Amid Combs’ entanglement with law enforcement, it wouldn’t be much of a shocker if an old case involving both the music mogul and “Jenny From the Block” were to be reopened.
Jennifer Lopez and her team struggling to move forward
According to Daily Mail’s sources, Lopez’s team is currently on “high alert as they anticipate some drama as more people revisit the shooting of Natania Reuben. The singer has yet to speak out about Diddy despite the heavy allegations levelled against her former boyfriend. Her silence aligns with experts’ claims that an overwhelming majority of A-list Hollywood celebrities are “scared to death” to weigh in on Combs’ criminal case, possibly due to their own involvement one way or another or alleged threats Diddy sent people to silence them.
“There were crisis talks this week to discuss how, and if, Jennifer should respond if the ongoing case triggers the past. Jennifer was present when the incident happened and a lot of people in the industry are looking at her sideways,” the insider added.
Also read | Former dancer says Diddy tricked her into ‘Freak Off’, showed JLo’s music videos
With everyone connected to Diddy under the microscope, “Jen has people looking into it all. She doesn’t believe any negative impact will come from whatever happens to Diddy, but will do anything to avoid any future crisis,” a second source said. On the contrary, a third source pushed that probing open the infamous NYC shooting case would drag Lopez into the situation “that she has tried for the past 25 years to forget. She has had the worst year of her life and this entire thing with Diddy is just old wounds.”
Which Diddy-Jennifer Lopez incident is being talked about here?
The former couple, dating from 1999 to 2001, were subjects of a shooting scandal involving Diddy’s bodyguard, Anthony ‘Wolf’ Jones, and his protege Moses ‘Shyne’ Barrow. The infamous nightclub incident reportedly blew out of the water when a scuffle broke out after Combs knocked a drink out of a man’s hand and someone tossed money in The Love Album artist’s direction. Gunshots ensued, which left three bystanders injured, including a woman named Natania Reuben, who claimed to have been shot in the face by Diddy.
Reports say Combs and Lopez fled the scene but were eventually arrested. Jlo was released from custody hours later. Meanwhile, Combs and his bodyguard were ultimately acquitted of the charges. The music mogul denied his involvement with the shootout, also stating at a press conference at the time that he did not own a gun.
Also read | Diddy’s California music video mansion now taken over by squatters, abandoned by John Middleton’s son
Shyne, on the other hand, was left behind as Diddy’s “Fall Guy” and was convicted in connection with the incident and served nine years in prison. Earlier this week, the rapper-turned-politician weighed in on Combs’ arrest while also bringing up the years-old shooting. He told a Channel 5 reporter in Belize that although he defended his then-mentor in the industry, Diddy turned his back on him and “called witnesses to testify against” him.
“He pretty much sent me to prison. That is the context by which you must always describe that relationship.” Barrow added that Combs was not someone he “vacationed with,” but instead someone who “destroyed” his life.
In the meantime, Diddy’s rap game rival Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson and record executive Marion Hugh ‘Suge’ Knight Jr., also a convicted felon, have suspected that Ben Affleck parted ways with JLo after finding out about her alleged shady past involvement with Diddy.