Jay Pharoah recalled walking away from a potential deal with Sean “Diddy” Combs’ lawyer.
The topic came up during an episode of the Adam Carolla Show published on Thursday. Around the 25:22 mark in the video linked above, the men briefly discussed Katt Williams’ explosive interview with Shannon Sharpe for his Club Shay Shay podcast in January. Pharoah specifically pointed to the part where Williams said that in 2024 “all lies will be exposed.”
Carolla took the opportunity to ask Pharoah if he had any insights of his own on Diddy in light of the 54-year-old’s ongoing sexual assault lawsuits.
“I mean, I met him before,” Pharoah said. “He gave me creep vibes … He was trying to get me to sign to his lawyer and I didn't.”
Pharoah explained that Diddy’s lawyer was trying to sign him as a client. The unnamed lawyer spoke with Pharoah’s sister, who manages the comedian, who told the lawyer that they were going to “weigh our options.”
The lawyer apparently spoke to Diddy, who was set to be a guest on a December 2010 episode of Saturday Night Live, where Pharoah was a cast member until 2016.
“Once I found out what was happening, I was like, ‘Yeah, I don't really rock with this,’” he said of the situation. “Do you know any Bad Boy [Records] artists who had a career after they got signed to Bad Boy? Besides Faith [Evans] who really didn't even have a luxurious career like some other R&B singers. None of them. So why would I sign with you, or anything affiliated with you?”
“I know when you're telling me your deals never get screwed. Yeah, your deals never get screwed. But me as an artist, I'm a sacrificial lamb when it comes to you and you might try to clap my cheeks,” he added.
“I don't want that shit to happen. You know what I'm saying? You're a cheek clapper. You clap cheeks,” he jokes.
Further into the interview, Pharoah and Carolla discussed how power and wealth have led specific individuals down these dark paths.
“It is a power thing with him. From everything that I have heard and of course, who knows? You hear all types of stuff, but when you get to that level, a lot of these guys who are in those positions—not just Diddy, let's talk about people across the board,” he said.
“Everybody of power who has got that type of influence," he continued. "They get tired and they're like, ‘I want to use my power to make people do things because I am who I am,’ and that's the problem. That's why Harvey Weinstein and all these other folks have been going down.”
Pharoah joked, “I don't know if I'll ever get to the point where I'll make so much money, I'll be like, ‘Hey, man, you know what? I done had enough coochie, I'm so sick of vagina. I wanna try some butt, because you know what? I've had everything else. So bring on the booty baby.’ I don't know if I'd ever get to that. Matter of fact, I know I’ll never get to that point. Never.”