By this point, Sean “Diddy” Combs’ legal and personal issues are public knowledge, and they’re still being discussed as he remains in prison. Various pundits with ties to the legal profession have weighed in on Combs’ situation, though only a handful of high-profile celebrities have spoken in depth about it. Now, Steve Harvey is sharing his two cents on Diddy and the drama that’s surrounded him in recent years. Also, Harvey has advice for anyone who might want to follow in the rapper’s footsteps.
Diddy (56) came up during a conversation Harvey had on a recent episode of One on One with Kris Fade. The 69-year-old Family Feud host was talking about the importance of young men being gentlemen when he mentioned the artist formerly known as Puffy. Eventually, Harvey began to discuss the 2016 hotel footage of Combs assaulting his then-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura. Harvey denounced the embattled hip hop mogul’s actions and provided thoughts on seeing the video for the first time:
When that video came out…. you sitting up her going, 'Wait a minute. Hold on, man. What you doing?' Bro, for you to be a public figure, wrap a towel around yourself and run down a public hallway, not knowing who's at that elevator, it could’ve been other people at that elevator. But you go around there, and there’s no one at the elevator, and that's your reaction to this girl? That's what we caught on tape. That's the one that's on tape. That's the one that's out in the public in front of the elevator. My goodness, what's been going on when you ain't in front of the elevator?
The video was released in the spring of 2024, and it shows Ventura leaving a hotel room and trying to make her way to an elevator, while Combs, who’s wearing a towel around his waist, follows her. Combs then proceeds to throw Ventura to the ground by her neck and kick her while she’s lying on the floor. Ventura’s husband, Alex Fine, posted a message about domestic abuse after the video dropped but did not directly mention the footage. Combs later apologized for his actions, though his apology was criticized as being insincere.
On the topic of the footage, Harvey shared more thoughts about the ramifications of such a video being revealed to the public. The father of seven also weighed in on the cost of “sin”:
Now, you know it's got to have been magnified back there. So, now, you're just not a good person, you know? You can't run it like that, ‘cause now you got to pay. And the thing about sin is: sin cost you more than you want to pay and make you stay longer than you want to stay. And that's what [Diddy’s] in now. And he had the power to do whatever you want to do. But just ‘cause you can do something don’t mean you should.
Steve Harvey also mentioned Combs’ imprisonment, also saying that “he was getting away with a lot” prior to this legal saga. Up to that point, various rumors and reports swirled around Combs and, in recent years, many have made claims about his reported Freak Off parties and Wild King Nights. Later in his interview, Harvey admitted to knowing Combs but also said he avoided his parties as he’s done with other stars. Also, when addressing anyone who’d seek to emulate the “Bad Boy for Life” rapper, Harvey said this:
You have to practice acts of kindness. You've got to be a gentleman through it all. I’m not saying — Look, man, dude's going to have more than one chick. Okay, cool. I got that right there. But you don't have to be abusive with it and abrasive with it.
Diddy was arrested in late 2024 following a federal investigation and eventually went on trial, beginning in May 2025. Ultimately, he received a mixed verdict, which saw him convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution but acquitted of racketeering and sex-trafficking. The “Bad Boy for Life” performer was later sentenced to four years (or 50 months) in prison. As of late, Diddy and his legal team have been seeking to appeal his sentence, as his lawyers have argued that the judge’s decision doesn’t hold up.
As for what lies ahead for Sean Combs, sources allege he’s planning a major comeback, but that’s far from confirmed. Before Steve Harvey made his comments, some stars, including Danity Kane’s Aubrey O’Day expressed concerns as to whether Combs would change his ways whenever he’s released.
