Singers remove Diddy’s name from songs following his arrest on sex trafficking charges

Sean P. Diddy Combs was arrested on September 16, 2024, facing charges of sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation for the purpose of engaging in prostitution.

These serious allegations have led some artists to distance themselves from him by removing his name from their lyrics.  

Kesha altered the lyrics of her hit song "Tik Tok" during a Coachella performance with Renee Rapp in April 2024. Fans and media quickly noticed that Kesha had changed the lyrics, originally mentioning Diddy.  

The original version, released on August 7, 2009, stated: "Wake up in the mornin' feelin' like P. Diddy/ (Hey, what up, girl?)/ Grab my glasses, I'm out the door, I'm gonna hit this city (Let's go)."  

According to Newsweek Magazine's report on October 2, 2024, Kesha performed the song with the revised lyrics: “Wake up in the morning like, ‘F*** P. Diddy.’”  

Kesha and Renee Rapp reportedly raised their fingers while singing the altered line. 

On September 19, 2024, Maren Morris made a similar change by modifying the lyrics of her hit song "Rich," which originally referenced Diddy.  

The country-pop track, released in June 2016 on her debut album HERO, contains lyrics alluding to Diddy's wealth: "Boy, I'd be rich, head to toe Prada/ Benz in the driveway, yacht in the water/ Vegas at the Mandarin, high roller gambling/ Me and Diddy drippin' diamonds like Marilyn/ No, I wouldn't be drowning in all your IOUs."

During her performance at the Bourbon & Beyond Music Festival on September 19, 2024, Morris deliberately left out Diddy’s name from the lyrics.
  
As reported by The US Magazine on September 21, 2024, Morris reposted a clip from her performance on her Instagram Story on the same day, captioning it, “F*** Diddy.”  

After Joe Jonas performed with The Jonas Brothers on September 28, 2024, there was speculation among fans and media that he may have excluded Diddy’s name from the lyrics of his hit song "Cake By The Ocean."  

The R&B track, released in November 2016 as part of DNCE’s debut EP SWAAY, features lyrics that reference P. Diddy: "Walk for me, baby (Walk for me now)/ I'll be Diddy, you'll be Naomi, woah-oh/ Let's lose our minds and go fu**in' crazy/ I-I-I-I-I, I keep on hopin' we'll eat cake by the ocean, uh."

The chorus originally refers to Diddy and Naomi Campbell’s past relationship, but during this performance, it’s rumored that the lyrics were changed to something else that fans are still debating.  

US Weekly Magazine reported on October 1, 2024, that footage from Jonas' Paris performance at the LDC Arena was shared online. The audio was unclear, but some fans speculated that he replaced Diddy’s name with Watts, referring to actress Naomi Watts.  

Others guessed the name was swapped with “Martin.” Prior to this, the Jonas Brothers had performed the song in London and Madrid earlier in the month without making any changes to Diddy’s name.