Ellen DeGeneres brought up Diddy’s parties in uncomfortable 2018 exchange: ‘Once you get there the party really starts’

A 2018 clip from Ellen DeGeneres’ talk show featured a subdued conversation with Sean “Diddy” Combs in which she alluded to his love of partying.

The clip is coming under renewed scrutiny as Combs, 54, remains in custody after being arrested last week on suspicion of human trafficking, including hosting parties featuring sex demonstrations called “Freak Offs.”

In the Release February 2018DeGeneres, 66, noticed that Combs was late for her taping and asked if he would be late for a party she was planning.

“Are you going to make it to my party on time?” said DeGeneres, whose career has been in tatters over the past four years following a toxic workplace scandal that ultimately led to her long-running show being canceled.

Combs responded, “Yes, I am — no — you know I have to arrive nicely late,” to which DeGeneres replied, “But not late, please.”

The clip has come under renewed fire as Combs remains in custody following his arrest last week on sex trafficking charges, including hosting parties featuring sexual exhibitions dubbed “Freak Offs.”

Combs asked DeGeneres, “What time do you want me to be there?” to which she replied, “I’ll tell you later.”

She added: ‘But it’s not too late because you know, once you get there, the party really starts, you know?

“Yeah… I got you – I promise I won’t let you down on this big one, no way,” Combs said. “Your feet are going to get blisters, you’re going to dance so hard.”

DeGeneres — whose awkward conversation with Dakota Johnson in November 2019 preceded a wave of bad publicity during the 2020 pandemic — told Combs, “I can’t wait.”

In the wake of Combs’ indictment, attention has been focused on celebrities who have previously been photographed at his parties or spoken about them in interviews.

Stars who have admitted to attending the events include Khloe Kardashian and Ashton Kutcher. Other celebrities who have been photographed at his events include Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lopez, Tommy Lee and Russell Simmons (whose own career was halted amid allegations of misconduct).

During his concert on Sunday, Ice Cube told the crowd that he had never been to a Diddy event.

The review of the talk show clip comes more than a week after Combs pleaded not guilty to federal sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges.

In the February 2018 appearance, DeGeneres noted that Combs had arrived late to her taping and asked if he would be late for a party she was planning

“Will you be early to my party?” said DeGeneres, whose career has been in tatters over the past four years following a toxic workplace scandal that ultimately led to her long-running show being canceled.

Ellen told Diddy, “Once you get there, the party really starts, you know?”

Diddy replied, “Yeah… I got you – I promise I won’t let you down with this big one, no way.”

In a criminal complaint, authorities allege that the rap mogul abused, threatened and coerced women “to satisfy his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his conduct.” The allegations date back to 2008.

Combs tried twice to post bail after his arrest, but was ordered to remain in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. If convicted, he faces a minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison.

Combs was charged again on Tuesday after a woman named Thalia Graves alleged that the music mogul and his security chief raped and videotaped her in 2001 at his New York recording studio.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New York, is the latest in a series of similar lawsuits against Combs. It comes a week after he was arrested and a federal sex trafficking indictment against him was made public.

Thalia Graves alleges that when she was 25 and dating an executive who worked for Combs in the summer of 2001, Combs and Joseph Sherman lured her to a meeting at Bad Boy Recording Studios. She said they picked her up in an SUV and during the ride gave her a drink “probably laced with a drug.”

According to the complaint, Graves lost consciousness and awoke to find herself tied up in Combs’ office and lounge at the studio. The two men raped her, beat her, slammed her head into a pool table and ignored her screams and cries for help, the complaint alleges.

At a press conference in Los Angeles with one of her attorneys, Gloria Allred, Graves said she suffered from “flashbacks, nightmares and intrusive thoughts” in the years since.

“I have a hard time trusting others to have healthy relationships or feel safe in my own skin,” Graves said through tears as she read a statement.

Combs pleaded not guilty last week to federal sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges. Pictured in NYC in 2018

She said it was “a pain that cuts deep into your being and leaves emotional scars that may never fully heal.”

His representatives did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the latest lawsuit. There was no immediate indication from the lawsuit or from Combs’ representatives whether Sherman had a separate attorney who could comment on the allegations.

The lawsuit, filed under the New York City Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act, comes during a two-year period in which legal deadlines have been suspended and victims of sexual abuse have the opportunity to sue for abuse who would otherwise be too old to sue.

Allred declined to say whether her client had spoken to investigators in Combs’ criminal case, which lists allegations only since 2008.

Graves’ lawsuit also alleges that late last year, after her former singing protégé and friend Cassie filed a lawsuit that led to a flurry of allegations against him, Combs learned from her ex-boyfriend that Combs had recorded her rape, shown it to others and sold it as pornography.

The Associated Press generally does not name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly, as Graves and Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, have done.

Graves’ lawsuit says Combs and Sherman contacted her multiple times in the years following the attack, threatening repercussions if she told anyone what had happened to her. She was in the midst of a divorce and custody battle at the time and feared losing her young son if she revealed anything, the lawsuit says.

Combs was hit with another lawsuit on Tuesday, after a woman named Thalia Graves alleged that the music mogul and his security chief raped and videotaped her in 2001 at his New York recording studio.

During a press conference in Los Angeles with one of her attorneys, Gloria Allred, Graves said she has suffered from “flashbacks, nightmares and intrusive thoughts” in recent years.

Graves said at the press conference that the guilt and shame that came with it “made me feel worthless, isolated and sometimes responsible for what happened to me.”

The lawsuit demands that damages be determined at trial and that all copies of the video be destroyed.

The lawsuit also names as defendants several companies owned by Combs, the three-time Grammy winner and founder of Bad Boy Records. Combs was one of the most influential hip-hop producers and executives of the past three decades.