“I don’t know P. Diddy’s life”—Cuba Gooding Jr. Fires Back at Rodney Jones
Cuba Gooding Jr is distancing himself from Sean “Diddy” Combs after his name surfaced in a lawsuit filed by Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones in February. Based on charges filed by Diddy’s former producer and videographer, Diddy drugged, threatened, and sexually harassed Jones.
The Academy Award-winning actor sat down for the PBD Podcast with Patrick Bet-David, where he was asked about Diddy and the sexual assault suit filed against him.
“I don’t know P. Diddy’s life,” the 56-year-old said. “I don’t know what he’s going through. I don’t know what the police are gonna find on all of that.”
“I think, whatever he’s dealing with… he’s on his journey, man,” he said, referring to Diddy.
He added, “I can’t imagine that he’s stupid enough to do whatever he’s doing and keep it on his premises. I think that the raid and all of that stuff, only time will tell who was involved, who had been a frequent guest in these places and areas.”
While authorities haven’t said much to explain the raids, it’s believed that they were conducted in relation to a sex trafficking investigation.
The actor said he was surprised by the extensive search of the hip-hop mogul’s LA pad, calling it “the craziest thing I’d ever’ seen.”
Gooding, known for his breakthrough role as Tre Styles in Boyz n the Hood, shared that he was shocked when he turned on The Today Show and learned that he was named in Diddy’s lawsuit. He exclaimed, “Excuse me?! Pulling me into this?”
He said he assumed his name was mentioned in the suit due to past cases he faced involving non-consensual touching.
In the lawsuit, Diddy’s former producer alleged that the Jerry Maguire star “began touching, groping, and fondling Jones’ legs, his upper inner thighs near his groin, the small of his back near his buttocks, and his shoulders” after the embattled rap mogul introduced them on his yacht. “He rejected his advances and Mr. Gooding Jr. did not stop until Mr. Jones forcibly pushed him away,” court documents read.
A photo of the encounter was included where the actor appears to have his arm wrapped around the videographer’s shoulder.
Gooding fired back with a picture of his own and claimed Jones intended to make the interaction look “sordid.” This picture hasn’t been shared with the public.
Gooding explained he was partying with a bunch of celebrities, jumping ships between yachts to ring in the new year on a good note. “I went from one ship, ‘Happy New Year. So I hung out with Tyson, next ship there’s Drake,” he recalled.
It was then that he stumbled on Diddy and Jones. Jones allegedly said, “Hey Cuba, you want to hear P. Diddy’s new song?” Gooding agreed and sat next to him. Explaining the image Jones shared in his lawsuit, Gooding said he was just listening to music.
The Oscar winner believes that Jones is after Diddy’s money.
Gooding also claims he only met Diddy a few times. The two met through his girlfriend, Claudine De Niro.
In light of the serious allegations, P. Diddy and his lawyers are denying all accusations.
“Enough is enough. For the last couple of weeks, I have sat silently and watched people try to assassinate my character, destroy my reputation and my legacy. Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday. Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family, and for the truth,” Diddy shared on Instagram.
