Kanye West sparks outrage with 'Free Puff' post amid Diddy sex trafficking case after Bianca Censori stunt
- Have YOU got a story? Email [email protected]
- READ MORE: Diddy 'raped two women in Trump hotel penthouse,' lawsuits claim
- Diddy's legal team said he's 'never sexually assaulted, or sex trafficked anyone'
Kanye West posted the phrase 'Free Puff' on his social media Thursday - urging the president to release Sean 'Diddy' Combs amid sex trafficking allegations - days after he pulled a stunt in which his partner Bianca Censori bared her nearly-nude body at the Grammys.
West wrote the phrase 'Free Puff' on both his Instagram and X/Twitter accounts, later adding that he felt the Black community needed to rally around Combs, as well as Chris Brown, amid their respective troubles, past and present. He also tagged President Donald Trump into a post, writing, 'PLEASE FREE MY BROTHER PUFF.'
West added, 'ALL THESE CELEBRITY N***** AND B****** IS P**** YALL A WATCH OUR BROTHER ROT AND NEVER SAY S***. WE ALL WATCHED TAKE CHRIS BROWN AND AINT NOBODY DO NOTHING I WAS P****THEN TOO CHRIS BROWN ITS TO THE WHEELS FALL OFF.'
West on Thursday also began selling merchandise from Combs' Sean John brand - in an endeavor in which he said would send half of the proceeds to Combs - on his Yeezy.com website.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking charges after his September arrest. He has remained incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn awaiting a May 5 trial, after he was refused bail on multiple occasions.
Attorneys for Combs, who was hospitalized last week, told Dailymail.com in a statement Wednesday that the entertainer 'is confident he will prevail in court.'
Kanye West posted the phrase 'Free Puff' on his social media Thursday - urging authorities to release Sean 'Diddy' Combs amid sex trafficking allegations - days after West was pulled a stunt in which his partner Bianca Censori bared her nearly nude body at the Grammys
Diddy and Kanye West posted in NYC at Diddy's birthday bash at Cipriani's in 2004
Said Combs' legal team: 'No matter how many lawsuits are filed, it won't change the fact that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted, or sex trafficked anyone - man or woman, adult or minor.
'We live in a world where anyone can file a lawsuit for any reason. Fortunately, a fair and impartial judicial process exists to find the truth, and Mr. Combs.'
Prosecutors in Combs' federal case say the music mogul used blackmail and violence in his efforts to silence victims.
Among the claims made against the entertainer is that he persuaded women to participate against their will in group sexual exhibitions referred to as 'Freak Offs.'
The Can't Nobody Hold Me Down performer remains in federal custody nearly five months after his September 16 arrest in Manhattan in connection with sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
Combs, who is also charged with transportation to engage in prostitution, has made a trio of attempts in vain to be granted bail, amid concerns from the court he would attempt to flee or tamper with his case.
Prior to his arrest he was in the headlines for much of 2024 year after raids on multiple properties in March; and video of him assaulting his ex-girlfriend Cassie surfacing on CNN in May.
Amid Combs' legal issues, West's social media followers on both X/Twitter and Instagram had a predominantly negative reaction to the suggestion to free the embattled music mogul from his ongoing incarceration.
West generated a reaction with the bold statement on social media Thursday
West wrote the phrase 'Free Puff' on both his Instagram and X/ Twitter accounts, later adding that he felt the Black community needed to rally around Combs, as well as Chris Brown, amid their respective troubles, past and present
In response to Kanye, a post that read, 'Keep Diddy locked up BUTTON>>>' pointing to Instagram's like button had thousands of likes
West also tagged President Donald Trump, writing, 'PLEASE FREE MY BROTHER PUFF'
West, pictured in the Oval Office in 2018, appealed to Trump to release Diddy from custody
A post that read, 'Keep Diddy locked up BUTTON>>>' pointing to Instagram's like button had thousands of likes.
'You are trying SO HARD to be relevant by being controversial,' a separate user said of West's motives in making the remarks about Combs.
Some users said they were upset that West was maligning his musical legacy with statement's such as the one about Combs.
'I can't believe this is the same guy who made graduation,' referring to his Grammy-winning 2007 album, while another echoed, 'he made graduation… he made graduation.'
Amid years of controversial remarks, one user said that 'Free puff is the craziest thing Ye has ever said in his entire lifetime.'
Said another user, 'He went from anti semitism to want to free Diddy2.'
Some users felt that West's comments were made in jest, with replies such as 'C'mon man,' 'This gotta be a joke' and 'Puff… as in Daddy… that’s now Diddy?! Are you serious? Hmmmm.'
Multiple users suggested West catch up on his medication dose, while some users said that decades of wealth and celebrity had considerably warped West's worldview.
West also announced on social media he was selling Sean John merch, with half of the proceeds going to Combs
West said he and Combs 'DISCUSSED' the business endeavor 'BEFORE THEY LOCKED HIM UP'
On his Yeezy website, West featured a series of Sean John shirts - in red, white, blue, black and gray - for $20 apiece in what he said was a business arrangement between him and Combs discussed prior to Combs' incarceration last fall
West said Thursday, 'I’m selling the Sean John collaboration that me and my brother spoke about before they locked him up we splitting the profits 50/50'
One user said, 'Wtf you’ve lost the plot' while another asked, 'Is this what happens when you surround yourself with yes boys?'
Said another user, 'Bro mine as well say free Charles [Manson] too.'
One user said West needed to take things back to basics and focus on creating music instead of controversy.
'Bro gtfo with this man say something useful ... you always making them hate you ... you could be so powerful ... shift the culture again,' said the user.
West on Thursday also began selling merchandise from Combs' Sean John brand - in an endeavor that he said would send half of the proceeds to Combs - on his Yeezy.com website.
On his Yeezy website, West featured a series of Sean John shirts - in red, white, blue, black and gray - for $20 apiece in what he said was a business arrangement between him and Combs discussed prior to Combs' incarceration last fall.
'YEEZY SEAN JOHN COLLAB AVAILABLE @ YEEZY.COM ME AND PUFF SPLITTING THIS 50/50 LIKE WE DISCUSSED BEFORE THEY LOCKED HIM UP,' he said on Instagram.
He said in a concurrent tweet: 'I’m selling the Sean John collaboration that me and my brother spoke about before they locked him up we splitting the profits 50/50.'
In addition to his sentiments on Combs, West rattled off a number of controversial tweets Thursday evening, deleting some shortly after
Amid Combs' legal issues, West's social media followers on both X/Twitter and Instagram had a predominantly negative reaction to the suggestion to free the embattled music mogul from his ongoing incarceration
West faced an especially hostile reaction upon announcing his latest fashion endeavor involving, and financially enriching, Combs as multiple social media users were quick to condemn the idea.
'Think about the victims for a second bro,' one user said, while another referenced West's late mother, asking, 'What would Donda think about this?'
West is father to four children with ex-wife Kim Kardashian, 44: daughters North, 11, and Chicago, seven; and sons Saint, nine, and Psalm, five.
Some users referenced his children with one saying, 'This is wild. You have TWO daughters;' while another said, 'You got daughters Ye this is disrespectful.'
Another said of the merchandise, 'No one wearing this ye keep diddy in jail; while one tweeted, 'Bro who’s gonna go around wearing a "Free Diddy" shirt?'
Fans of West's musical talents said that he was continuing to torch his own reputation in showing moral and financial support for Combs amid the federal allegations of sexual assault and coercion he faces.
One said, 'It’s hard being a ye fan,' another said, 'You're alone on this one,' and another said, 'Ye… i give up man. You will always be a musical genius but you going off the rails man.. Find God.'
Said one frustrated fan: 'Years of defending you, ENDLESS debates, no I’m talking really actually defending you though, till I run out of breath toward the end of my sentences, actual endless heated debates spread across years.'
West faced an especially hostile reaction upon announcing his latest fashion endeavor involving, and financially enriching, Combs as multiple social media users were quick to condemn the idea
Diddy's son King Combs endorsed the 50/50 business venture with six flame emojis
One user said in reference to Censori, 'This is somehow worse than u posting ur wife naked.'
West's post comes amid news Combs has been sued by a man who said the rapper drugged him and sexually assaulted him at a Southern California nightclub in 2015, effectively ending his career in the music industry.
The man accusing Combs, 55, in Monday's court filing in New York County Supreme Court, filed under the pseudonym John Doe, and is represented by Houston-based lawyer Tony Buzbee, who is also representing a number of Combs' other accusers.
Doe said in court filings that he was 23 when he crossed paths with Combs at the Montebello, California nightclub QC's 20/20, USA Today reported Tuesday after reviewing court filings.
Doe told the court that after he got 'multiple invitations to open for well-known artists at venues across California,' the incident occurred after the New York City native showed up to a performance under the premise he was scouting him for his record label.
Doe said in court filings that a 'longtime and well-known associate' of Combs told him prior to his outing that three-time Grammy winner 'had heard of his talent and would be watching him perform - hinting at the possibility of 'studio time with Combs himself.'
Doe said in legal documents that at an afterparty, the I'll Be Missing You artist sent him an alcoholic beverage that contained Ciroc, a vodka brand owned by Combs.
Doe told the court that 'quickly felt lightheaded' and passed out after consuming the alcoholic beverage Combs sent him.
Sean 'Diddy' Combs (pictured 2018 in NYC) has been sued by a man who said the rapper drugged him and sexually assaulted him at a Southern California nightclub in 2015, effectively ending his career in the music industry
West and Diddy pictured at a Vibe Magazine and Ciroc party in 2006
West and Combs pictured at Madison Square Garden for the 2016 MTV VMA Awards
West and Combs pictured at a Power 105.1 FM event on October 27, 2005 in NYC
'While drifting in and out of consciousness, Doe observed Combs and his entourage engaging in group sexual activity, often with other attendees who appeared either drugged, unconscious, or as if they were paid escorts,' Doe's court filing read.
Doe said in the court filing that he was awoken by 'a physical jolt' and found that his pants had been taken off and Combs was groping him.
Doe told the court 'believes Combs had been performing oral sex on him during the alleged encounter,' the newspaper reported.
Doe said in court filings that when he tried to stop Combs, the music mogul reminded him of the power balance.
Combs informing him that he could 'easily contact his manager and ruin any chances he had of succeeding in the music industry,' Doe told the court.
Doe accuses the Coming Home performer of sexual battery and is seeking damages for physical and emotional distress he suffered due to Combs' alleged transgressions.
Combs and West attended the GQ Magazine 50th Anniversary Party at Cedar Lake on September 18, 2007 in NYC
Combs as seen in a court sketch from an October 10, 2024 hearing in Manhattan Federal Court
Prior to his arrest, Diddy was in the headlines for much of 2024 year after video of him assaulting his ex-girlfriend Cassie surfaced on CNN in May
In the court filing - one in a spate of lawsuits the Bad Boy Records founder faces alleging past sexual abuse - Doe's legal team, led by Buzbee, said that 'the conduct described herein is shockingly typical of how defendant Sean Combs conducted himself for many years.'
Doe's attorneys added, 'Sean Combs believed he was above the law. He is not.'
Doe - who named Combs' subsidiaries Bad Boy Records and Daddy's House Recordings the the lawsuit - said in legal documents that Combs demanded he have sex with a woman there who he never met before, but left the venue discreetly.
Doe's legal team told the court he suffered 'pain and suffering, mental anguish, physical impairment and emotional torment' due to his exchange with Combs.
'This assault greatly affected Doe's passion for music, leading him to abandon his aspirations for many years,' Doe's lawyers said. 'The reality and dark underbelly of the industry, as revealed through his encounter with Combs, ended his desire and dreams to pursue a career in that world.'
