Wendy Williams breaks silence on Diddy sex trafficking investigation – years after she was criticized for speaking out against the disgraced rapper

Wendy Williams has spoken out following the arrest of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, claiming it was ‘about time’ the disgraced rapper was investigated.

Combs has been hailed as rap royalty for decades and is currently awaiting trial at New York City’s Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution.

Williams, 60, has been openly critical of the disgraced music mogul, 54, throughout her career, so was unsurprisingly relieved to hear he was under investigation.

“What’s really weird is that so many people have told me, ‘Wendy, you mentioned it,'” she told DailyMail.com exclusively. “Including some people in my family who have said the same thing.”

The popular TV host, who said she was “doing well” after her aphasia diagnosis and health issues, said she was shocked by the video of Combs abusing his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a hotel lobby.

‘Do you know what I think about that? “It’s about time,” she said. ‘To see this video on TV of [Cassie] being beaten… it was just horrible.

‘But now you have to think: how often? How many people? How many more women? It’s just so awful.’

The Wendy Williams Show was last broadcast in June 2022 after 13 years – without Williams herself appearing.

She previously retired from the show in 2021 and began what was initially expected to be a temporary leave of absence to deal with health issues.

Some fans have since claimed that if Williams had still been on air, she would have highlighted the fact that she had been warning about his alleged behavior for years.

One fan wrote: ‘I really miss Aunt Wendy Williams on days like today. No one covered current topics like she did. Nobody. I can almost hear her going out to Puffy (Diddy) and telling us that she told us.

‘Cause she’s always known and she tried to tell us. Many times. I hope she’s doing better.’

“Remember, Wendy Williams told us exactly who Sean Combs was in 1998. 26 years ago!,” read another comment.

Last weekend, an awkward interview with Diddy surfaced during an appearance on The Wendy Williams Show in 2017.

The clip showed the controversial rapper speaking to Williams about her son Kevin Hunt Jr., who was 16 at the time.

“And let me tell you something, as a mother of a now 16-year-old —” Williams said before Diddy interrupted, “Mhm, who I met backstage, he’s an amazing young man.”

Williams quickly thanked him for the compliment before appearing to disappear and stutter her words as Diddy stared at her.

Commenters quickly flocked to the old clip, noting how coy Williams was when Diddy mentioned her son, now 24.

“That was a threat, he says play nice,” one person wrote.

Another said: ‘By the way she hesitated you know she knew about him!’

“The way she wanted to say, ‘Stay away from my son,'” another added.

Combs pleaded not guilty to all three charges and was denied bail pending trial in his federal sex trafficking case.

The music mogul is accused of heading a sordid empire of sex crimes; pushing female victims and male sex workers into drugged, sometimes days-long sexual performances called “Freak Offs.”

The indictment against him also alleged that he coerced and abused women for years, while using blackmail and shocking acts of violence to control his victims.

It indirectly referred to an attack on his former girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie, which was captured on video and sent shockwaves upon its release in May.

Combs maintains his innocence and plans to fight the lawsuit, according to his attorney Marc Agnifilo.

He also claimed that Combs strongly believes this is a “racially motivated persecution” and that he is being targeted because he is a “successful black man.”

This comes after his lawyer previously told the newspaper that Combs “can’t wait” to testify in court.

Agnifilo, a former assistant district attorney in Manhattan, said TMZ that Combs plans to “fight this case not only for himself, but for others in a similar position,” who also face government prosecution.

His attorney also said Combs has his family in mind and wants to prove to them that he is “the same man they have always known.”

Combs has been a major figure in the hip-hop industry for the past thirty years, serving as a producer for artists such as Usher and Notorious BIG.