(NewsNation) — “Karma” is the word former Bad Boy Records artist Mark Curry used to describe the investigation involving Sean “Diddy” Combs, adding that his best advice for the rapper is “to grow up.”
Curry and Combs’ former publicist Rob Shuter joined “CUOMO” on Tuesday to offer an inside look at the music mogul now at the center of a federal sex trafficking investigation. Both men said they were unaware of Combs’ potential involvement in criminal activity but agreed he could be challenging to work with at times.
“It’s just the chickens coming home to roost,” Curry said. “This is just what happens. It’s karma. I don’t wish no bad upon him…”
On Monday, federal agents searched two properties belonging to Combs in Los Angeles and Miami as part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation by New York federal authorities.
The raids come after Combs has faced several sexual assault lawsuits in recent months.
Combs’ attorney Aaron Dyer released a statement Tuesday saying any speculation about the raids “leads to premature rush to judgment of Mr. Combs and is nothing more than a witch hunt based on meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits.”
Combs, formerly known as Puff Daddy, is a major name in hip-hop. He is the founder of Bad Boy Records, launched his own clothing line and TV channel, and has worked alongside some of the biggest names in the industry.
Although Combs could be “terribly charming,” and someone who liked “to party,” Shuter said, the artist’s former publicist never had reason to believe Combs was interested in underage girls.
“I’m not here to defend Puffy as a good person,” Shuter said. “Working with him, he was very tough, he was very demanding. But I’ve worked with a lot of famous people who were equally as demanding. But I never saw any evidence of this.”
According to Curry, Combs’ fast-paced celebrity lifestyle didn’t allow him “to grow.”
“Him, as a person, does he talk to people any kind of way he feels he can? Does he do people any kind of way he feels and he doesn’t have to answer to anyone or anything in life? Yes,” Curry said. “He’s that kind of person. And he had plenty of time to change in his life but as a result, it’s coming back on him.”
Putting on a front for the public, however, doesn’t mean Combs has committed a crime, Shuter said, adding that he always suspected Combs’ swagger was “put on.”
“I know Puff,” he said. “I worked with him for a long time. I’m not defending him here, but what I am saying is he’s not going to go down without a fight.”