Diddy was a legendary party host. His star-studded “white parties” were glittering displays of wealth and social capital that started in the world of hip-hop, and ultimately expanded far beyond it. But after a criminal indictment alleging sex trafficking, Diddy is now locked up, fighting to prove his innocence, stuck in a place that couldn’t be more different from the luxury he’s used to. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
What made Diddy's white parties legendary?
In the summer of 2009, everyone was paying attention to Sean Diddy Combs. He wasn't on the top of the Billboard charts anymore, but he had become a fixture of American pop culture. The flashiest example was his annual star-studded white party. It was an exclusive event and everything had to be white, from the decor to the dress code. This was the early days of smartphones.
Imagine every celebrity worth an Us Weekly headline with a bedazzled smartphone in their hand. It was before TikTok and Instagram, when tabloid coverage claimed to break juicy celebrity stories. Compared to the prominence of video and social media today, private celebrity parties were much more private. But one bit of Diddy's 2009 white party was captured on video.
Rapper and record producer Jay Blaze caught it on camera and posted it to YouTube for the world to see. Actor Ashton Kutcher grabs onto a swing strung over the pool and tarzans across it. Diddy is emceeing in a sea of white suits, dresses, linen, and sunglasses. By the summer of 2009, Diddy had won three Grammys.
He had five songs hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and three of his albums had gone platinum. He was successful and rich. Four months from turning 40, Forbes magazine put Diddy's net worth at $30 million. He'd presented himself for a long time as a champion and model of black excellence. and he was feeling patriotic after the U.S. elected its first Black president.
So he decided this year's white party would be held on Independence Day. He gave Marie Claire magazine a sneak peek before the party started. The pool, draped in gauzy white curtains and chandeliers, platters of shrimp, crab cakes, and barbecue were served.
Spreading love, Fourth of July. You know, I'm out here making movies and meeting new people, and that's what the white party's about, about people meeting new people.
A sommelier explained that all the wine served would be, of course, white.
We are going to be pouring some wines from the south of the Burgundy region, a Macon Village and a Pouilly-Fuissé.
Two of the biggest songs of 2009 were Lady Gaga's Poker Face and I Got a Feeling by the Black Eyed Peas. None of Diddy's music was at the top of the charts, but this was the year he rapped Making the Band, the show that made him a reality star. And reality shows were hot.
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