Rapper Too $hort apologized in a video posted Oct. 5 for telling The TMZ Podcast he would attend a coming home party for Sean “Diddy” Combs, saying he did not know the full extent of the allegations against Combs when he spoke. The apology came five days after TMZ’s video of the podcast appearance went online.
What Too $hort said on The TMZ Podcast
Too $hort appeared on The TMZ Podcast with co-host Towanda to promote his album “Sir Too $hort Vol. 2.” TMZ’s video of the conversation is dated Sept. 30, and TMZ published its write-up on Oct. 1. “I’m going to the Puff Daddy coming home party,” Too $hort said, according to TMZ’s account of the interview.
TMZ reported that Too $hort also said Combs should not be in prison. He said the one act he judges Combs for is the hotel surveillance video showing Combs kicking Cassie Ventura, which he called unacceptable. He described the parties he had attended as ordinary gatherings with music and weed, and he pointed out that Combs was not tried on domestic violence charges. He also said the jury found Combs not guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking.
Too $hort also gave Combs advice about a comeback. He cited Bill Cosby’s comedy tour after Cosby’s release from prison as the example to avoid, TMZ reported, and he suggested Combs test the waters first or move to Bali with Russell Simmons.
The apology and what it covers
TMZ reported Oct. 5 that Too $hort posted a video retracting the remark. In it, he said he did not condone abuse “in any kind of way,” and he apologized for putting his words out there. He called his phrasing a little insensitive and said he did not know the full extent of the allegations when he made the comments.
He also changed what he said he meant. According to TMZ, he told viewers he was not referring to a party with explicit content, and that he had in mind a gathering he would throw for friends. He repeated that he had been to dozens of Combs’s parties and never saw a naked person or a sex act. He said he hoped Combs would no longer be an abuser when he gets out.
Too $hort’s two accounts differ on one point. On the podcast, he said he was going to the Puff Daddy coming home party, which refers to an event for Combs. In the video, he described the party he meant as one he would host himself. TMZ’s write-up of the apology does not say whether he would still attend an event held for Combs.
What the case record says about the allegations
The Sept. 17, 2024 indictment announcement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York listed three counts against Combs: racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and transportation for purposes of prostitution. The office noted that the charges were allegations and that Combs was presumed innocent.
The indictment itself described what prosecutors called “Freak Offs,” which it said were produced sex performances that Combs allegedly arranged and directed. It alleged that Combs gave victims controlled substances in part to keep them compliant and used recordings as leverage. It also alleged that agents recovered Freak Off supplies in March 2024 searches, including more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant.
Those are the allegations Too $hort said he had not fully understood. They are allegations in a charging document, not findings of fact, and TMZ’s Sept. 29 report says the jury did not convict Combs on the racketeering or sex trafficking counts.
The same TMZ report states that Combs was convicted at his 2025 federal trial on two counts of transporting people across state lines for prostitution, and that he received a 50-month sentence. Prosecutors released a statement on the verdict on July 1, 2025. In it, U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton and Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel said they wanted the “scourge stopped.”
Diddy’s release date and the party Too $hort mentioned
The party Too $hort mentioned has a date range attached to it. TMZ reported Sept. 29 that Federal Bureau of Prisons records now list Combs’s projected release from FCI Fort Dix as Jan. 21, 2028. The earlier projection was Feb. 5, 2028, and before that it was Feb. 20.
Each change moved the date up by 15 days, so the projected release is now 30 days earlier than it was at the first of the three dates TMZ cited. From Oct. 7, 2026, to Jan. 21, 2028, is 471 days. TMZ’s article did not give a reason for the changes, and it noted that the projection has shifted several times. Counting from the Sept. 30 video date, the current projected release is 478 days away. Counting from the Oct. 5 apology, it is 473 days away.
Too $hort’s album and what comes next
Too $hort was on the podcast to promote “Sir Too $hort Vol. 2,” as TMZ’s account of the interview states. TMZ did not report whether the apology changes any promotional plans for the album.
Neither TMZ’s Oct. 1 write-up nor its Oct. 5 report names any other critic who responded to the remark, and neither reports a statement from Combs or his representatives. The apology video is Too $hort’s own statement and stands as his final word on the subject so far.
