Find out what Sean “Diddy” Combs’ famous “white parties” were like

The rapper’s arrest Sean Combs known as P. Diddy, highlighted the artist’s lifestyle, known for promoting some of the most popular parties in showbiz during the height of his cultural influence.

But if there was a time when celebrities struggled to get invitations to a Sean “Diddy” Combs party, nowadays the scenario has changed, and people are trying to disassociate themselves from the businessman and producer who is now in jail.

Combs could face life in prison if convicted on charges in the Southern District of New York of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. He pleads innocent.

According to the accusations, the crimes took place during the “Freak Offs”, the name given by Combs himself to the events he promoted that featured sexual performances. He is accused of drugging and coercing victims into prolonged sexual acts with sex workers, beginning around 2009.

The indictment has put a spotlight on the contrast between Combs’ influence at the height of his career, while hosting his annual Big White Parties between 1998 and 2009, and his alleged behavior behind closed doors in the years since.

“Modern-day Gatsby”

Combs reportedly began hosting these annual parties in 1998 to mark his presence in New York’s upscale Hamptons community. His dream was to integrate the hip-hop lifestyle with the East Coast elite and “take everyone’s image and put us on the same color and on the same level,” Combs said in a 2006 interview with Oprah Winfrey.

“I made the craziest mix: some of my Harlem boys; Leonardo DiCaprio, after he had just finished [o filme de sucesso de 1997] ‘Titanic,’” Combs said. “I had socialites there and relatives from the South. There were 200 people sitting here, just having a homemade barbecue.”

Not everyone in the room agreed with the idea.

“People in the Hamptons thought the first party would be the end of the world,” Steven Gaines, author of “Philistines at the Hedgerow: Passion and Property in the Hamptons,” told The Hollywood Reporter in 2018. “They were afraid of a noisy showbiz crowd and they thought it would be an invasion, but it wasn’t.”

For his part, Combs clearly imagined himself as a modern-day Jay Gatsby, the fictional character in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel “The Great Gatsby,” a millionaire living on Long Island, portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio in the 2013 film adaptation .

“If I read The Great Gatsby? I am the Great Gatsby!” Combs told The Independent in 2001.

“It doesn’t seem to bother Combs that Gatsby’s life ended with his dreams shattered and his wealthy friends exposed as fickle and dishonest,” the publication wrote at the time.

“Iconic”

His parties were popular from the start, attracting entertainment talent and industry giants.

The initial guest list reportedly reached 1,000 people, all of whom were required to dress entirely in white, according to THR.

“Having an entire party dressed all in white was an impressive sight,” host Martha Stewart, a guest at Combs’ first party, told THR in 2018.

Socialite and businesswoman Paris Hilton described the kickoff event as “iconic” and said “everyone was there.”

THE CNN has reached out to representatives for Stewart and Hilton for comment.

The parties have branched from Labor Day events to Fourth of July celebrations in the US and changed locations to include Los Angeles and Saint-Tropez.

Combs used some of these parties to raise funds for various causes he supported, making clear his social influence at the time.

“The party seemed to get bigger and bigger as corporate sponsors jumped on board and Combs used it to launch colognes, vodkas and even philanthropic efforts,” GQ reported in 2016.

“The last official White Party on record, in 2009, took place in Los Angeles,” the publication reported. Photos from several years show guests from different generations and different entertainment sectors together at the same event.

“We will continue to have fun”

As Combs faces legal charges, some have turned to past information about his partying in an attempt to glean more details about his private life.

The clip from a 1999 interview with “Entertainment Tonight” in which Combs talked about his white parties resurfaced on social media this week.

“They don’t want me to throw parties anymore,” Combs said. “But we won’t stop. Let’s keep having fun. Bringing people from all walks of life together.”

He even seems to have made a prediction: “You will hear about my parties. They’ll break them up, they’ll probably arrest me, do all kinds of crazy things just because we want to have fun.”

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This content was originally published in Find out what Sean “Diddy” Combs’ famous “white parties” were like on the CNN Brasil website.

Source: CNN Brasil