Online users shared a meme in September 2024 claiming the NBA superstar commented to reporters about federal charges against Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Image courtesy of @WallStreetSilv/X
Claim:
NBA star LeBron James said he prefers not to speak about Sean “Diddy” Combs “freak-off” parties in light of Combs being charged with sex-trafficking until James knows “how much information becomes public knowledge.”
A rumor circulating online claims NBA superstar LeBron James remarked in late September 2024 about sex-trafficking charges against Sean “Diddy” Combs that, “I prefer not to speak on this matter until I know how much information becomes public knowledge.”
For example, @WallStreetSilv — a user on X with over 1.4 million followers — posted (archived) a meme displaying a photo of James taking questions from reporters and another picture of James posing with Combs. The post and meme referenced “the fine print” of the meme, which said James’ quote constituted a response to an unidentified reporter who asked about “how many ‘Diddy’ party ‘freak-offs’ has he attended.” The post received over 3 million views.
The meme also appeared in a popular TikTok video with over 1.4 million views, as well as in another TikTok video and on americasbestpics.com and ifunny.co. Prominent comments with the most likes that appeared under the former TikTok video showed users believed the quote was genuine. For example, one comment with nearly 40,000 likes referred to the purported James quote, “That’s the most guilty comment I’ve ever seen outside of a confession.”
However, our online search turned up no record of James ever saying the words in the meme. No sports news websites — big or small — published any articles about the quote, nor did any online users post videos of James making any such remark to reporters. As of this writing, it’s unclear who started this rumor. We have yet to find any trace of the meme originating from a satire or parody account. We therefore have rated the claim James made the remark appearing in the meme about Combs as false.
Further, as for the two photos appearing in the meme, according to the Getty Images website, photographer Christopher Polk shot the picture showing James and Combs posing together at the ESPY awards show on July 17, 2013. Meanwhile, photographer Ethan Miller captured the picture of James taking questions from reporters in Las Vegas on Oct. 5, 2022.
The Charges Against Combs
The fake James quote spread online in the days following Combs’ arrest on Sept. 16. The U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York charged Combs with various counts of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.
The Associated Press reported on Sept. 21:
Sean “Diddy” Combs created a hit-making empire with big name performers, earning his place as a savvy music mogul and becoming a three-time Grammy winner while securing high-profile deals across other industries.
But now, Combs’ kingdom is collapsing under charges of sex trafficking and racketeering. He was arrested in New York on Sept. 16 and accused in an indictment of using his “power and prestige” to induce female victims and male sex workers in “Freak Offs” along with allegations of abuse dating back to 2008.
If convicted, Combs could face at least 15 years in prison. He is awaiting trial after pleading not guilty.
‘Freak-offs’
The meme’s mention of “freak-offs” referenced alleged sexual marathons between female victims and male sex workers. The New York Times reported the sex acts allegedly involved drug use and coercion, and that Combs purportedly told victims he’d use films of those acts against them if they spoke out:
The 14-page federal criminal indictment of Sean Combs, the music mogul known as Diddy and Puff Daddy, accuses him of participating in many crimes including arson, bribery, kidnapping and obstruction of justice. But the heart of the government’s case is the premise that the criminal “enterprise” he ran as an alleged racketeer was responsible for coordinating these “freak-offs,” and then covering up any damage to hotel rooms, or people, when they were over.
In the government’s portrayal, they were horror shows — “elaborate and produced sex performances,” according to the indictment — that involved copious drug use and coerced sex, leaving participants so exhausted and drained that they were given fluids intravenously to recover. Then, the government said, Mr. Combs weaponized the videos he had shot to keep any participants from complaining.
James Reportedly Unfollowed Diddy in May 2024
On May 22, 2024, Vibe.com published that James was one of several celebrities to unfollow Combs on Instagram. James reportedly unfollowed Combs days after CNN released a hotel surveillance video from 2016 showing Combs physically assaulting his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura.
The story continued, “The pressure to disassociate himself with Diddy may have been intensified after fans recently pulled up an old clip of LeBron co-signing how legendary Diddy’s parties were. ‘Ain’t no party like a Diddy party,’ Bron could be heard saying in the video. It looks like he won’t be attending any more from now on.” (Many YouTube users have since reposted this clip from a previous live and public Instagram broadcast. This user’s clip presents one of the clearer looking versions of the video, as opposed to others shared at a lower quality.)
We previously published an article reviewing the claim James said on the day of Diddy’s arrest, “It’s crazy, I was bumping to ‘Mo Money Mo [Problems]’ earlier today in the car and I had a weird feeling today was the day the feds will catch Diddy.”
