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Hip-hop moguls Jay-Z, real name Shawn Carter, and Sean “Diddy” Combs go way back. However, when federal agents arrested Combs in September 2024 for racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution, Jay-Z didn’t publicly acknowledge their past friendship. Here’s what Kim Porter once said about a photo showing Jay-Z and Combs’ close relationship.

Kim Porter commented on a photo of Jay-Z and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

For decades, Kim Porter and Sean “Diddy” Combs had a notable on-again, off-again relationship. The couple started dating in 1994 and ended their romance for good in 2007. They had three kids: Christian “King” and twins Jessie and D’Lila. Combs also helped raise Porter’s son, Quincy Brown, from a previous relationship. Sadly, Porter died in 2018 at 47 years old from pneumonia.

A resurfaced interview with the video news network Young Hollywood shows the reporter asking Combs about a photo with Jay-Z. The image shows Combs talking into Jay-Z’s ear. Jay-Z is facing away from the camera but looks like he’s smiling.

“That was at one of my birthday parties, and I was just telling him how much I appreciated him coming,” Combs explained. “He was on tour, and he flew in private after one of his shows just to come to the party, and he had to fly back out. I was just telling him how much I appreciate it. You know how much I value our friendship.”

Combs added that the industry saw him and Jay-Z as competitors. But he noted that he deeply appreciated Jay-Z, who felt the same about him. While standing next to Combs, Porter added a tidbit about the photo.

“We call that picture a secret society; all we ask is trust,” she said.

Kim Porter’s former attorney said Porter would ‘never speak’ to the mogul again if she knew of the allegations

Kim Porter poses with Sean 'Diddy' Combs. She wears an orange and blue shirt and he wears a blue polo and a Yankees hat.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and Kim Porter in 2005 | Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

Kim Porter’s death in 2018 deeply affected Sean “Diddy” Combs. However, her former attorney told Entertainment Tonight that if Porter were alive to hear of the allegations against Combs, she’d “never speak to him again.”

“If she knew what was going on right now; if she heard about that, she would never speak to him again,” Suzanne Bracker stated. “She would never let him touch her children or have any visitation with their children. She would say to him, ‘Don’t ever touch me, don’t ever go near me, don’t ever speak with me. Do not speak to our children. Any visitation will go through a court system. And I want you to leave me alone. Just send me that check.'”

Bracker noted that she and Porter were “very close friends” through the years. She called Porter’s death “terrible” and “all too soon.”

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs once said he’d ‘love to have’ a relationship like Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s

Sean 'Diddy' Combs in a yellow blazer holding a glass of champagne next to Jay-Z in a pink suit also holding up a glass of champagne. The men are outside surrounded by trees and grass.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and Jay-Z attend 2020 Roc Nation The Brunch on Jan. 25, 2020 | Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Roc Nation
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Sean “Diddy” Combs admired Jay-Z’s relationship with Beyoncé. He once told the Daily Mirror that he’d “love” to have their type of romance.

“I’d love to have what Jay and Beyoncé have,” Combs said, according to the Daily Express. “My ideal woman has to have intellect and soul. I don’t woo them with flowers; I need to know they like me for real.”

While Combs might’ve admired Jay-Z and Beyoncé, both stars now want nothing to do with him in light of his arrest.

“What P. Diddy has allegedly done is just plain evil, and they have nothing to do with it, but that’s not stopping the assumptions people are making,” a source told In Touch Weekly. “At first, they were taking the stance that it was better to ignore it. But they’re now fighting back because they just can’t stand by and let their reputations get dragged into the mud over lies and conspiracy theories.”

How to get help: In the U.S., call the RAINN National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 to connect with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area. 

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