Shyne Tells Stephen A. Smith He Wasn’t Offered Money to Take the Fall for Diddy

Shyne isn’t finished talking about his relationship with Diddy.

During a recent appearance on The Stephen A. Smith Show to promote his Hulu documentary The Honorable Shyne, the rapper-turned-politician again spoke on his relationship with his former Bad Boy label boss Diddy and why it was the right time to do a documentary about his journey and second chance at life.

First, Shyne revealed that he’s been asked to make a documentary about his life for 20-plus years, and he revealed that actor and producer Mark Wahlberg had once offered him $1 million to do one. “I had been inundated with solicitations to do a documentary for the last 22 years, to be factual,” the Leader of the Opposition in the Belize House of Representatives told Stephen A. Smith. “Mark Wahlberg offered me, I think, a million-dollar deal back in 2004 and I have that proposal, I can share it with you. I just was always looking for the right partner and it had to make sense fiscally.”

Shyne also said he waited this long because he didn’t want the documentary to just be about Diddy. “I didn’t want to tell the Diddy story, because that’s not my story,” he said. “My story is ‘next Prime Minister of Belize.’ My story is power. My story is victor. My story is triumph over tragedy. That’s my story.”

Stephen A. pushed back, though, and asked Shyne to explain exactly what happened to him and why he’s been reluctant to talk about that fateful night in 1999 and its aftermath. “In my words, I said so many years ago back in 2001,” he said, referring to his first of six XXL covers entitled Death Before Dishonor. It was me talking about not snitching on Diddy and not getting him in trouble to get myself out of trouble. I said that 20-odd years ago.

He added: “I’ve always maintained in every interview I did until recently when I healed and I moved on and I forgave, but for years I was saying what a creep I thought he was and how he destroyed my life and at one point, I thought he was the devil,” he said. “But because of the power of Diddy, which is so loud as far as a pop culture icon, nobody listened. So I moved on. And I pivoted my life to healing, to forgiveness and to taking accountability for what I can control.”

He then continued by claiming he was made the fall guy without being offered compensation for the pain and suffering he endured during his 10-year sentence. “And I can’t control what someone did to me decades ago. I can’t control them not wanting to pay reparations, not wanting to make it right,” Shyne admitted.

“People say, ‘Oh, Diddy gave me millions to go to jail.’ Nothing! Probably made two what I thought were offensive contributions over the last 20-something years, which led to a breakdown in the relations. But I moved on. So yes, was I the sacrificial lamb? Of course. Did I take the fall? Yes. There was no quid pro quo. There was not, ‘Listen, we’re gonna have $10 million waiting for you when you come out,’ or just do the right thing. I did that on my own. I’ve been saying that, it’s not anything new.”

However, he did give Diddy credit for teaching him the entertainment business and referred to the fallen mogul as a “professor” and referred to his label as “the University of Bad Boy.”

Billboard reached out to Diddy’s team for comment and received this message: “Mr. Combs categorically denies Mr. Barrow’s allegations, including any suggestion that he orchestrated Mr. Barrow to ‘take the fall’ or ‘sacrificed’ him by directing witnesses to testify against him. These claims are unequivocally false.

“Mr. Combs was acquitted of all charges related to the 1999 Club New York incident and has consistently maintained his innocence. He cannot accept or condone any characterization of his actions as ‘demonic’ or malicious.

Mr. Combs appreciates the path Mr. Barrow has pursued and wishes him continued success. It is unfortunate that Mr. Barrow has chosen to revisit these allegations. Mr. Combs trusts that responsible journalism will weigh both the established legal outcomes and Mr. Combs’ positive, longstanding support for those he has worked with.”

You can watch the full conversation below.

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