Diddy's Former Bodyguard Says the Rapper Sacrificed a Live Bird

Diddy's former bodyguard claims the embattled rap icon sacrificed a live bird ahead of his 2001 acquittal on gun possession and bribery charges in the 1999 New York shooting incident that involved Diddy and the Belizean rapper Shyne, among others, and ultimately resulted in three bystanders being injured.

Add the strange story to the growing list of reports and revelations emerging about Diddy, the famous rapper, producer and hip-hop record executive otherwise known as Sean Combs. Diddy was arrested and indicted in September on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and more, and is awaiting his trial in May 2025 from a cell in Brooklyn.

Now, the dead bird story comes from a new Hulu documentary about Shyne, called The Honorable Shyne, and it details the mysterious ritual allegedly performed by Sean "Diddy" Combs ahead of the court verdict in the shooting case, as TMZ said Monday (Nov. 18).

According to the former bodyguard, Gene Deal, Diddy made an unplanned stop in Central Park on his way to court in 2001, where he met a man holding what appeared to be a Bible. Deal claims the man conducted a ritual involving prayers, sage, and a caged white bird.

His account continues that Diddy then knelt before the man as smoke swirled around him, apparently coming from some burning sage. The man then prayed, placed his hands on Diddy, and instructed the rapper to grab a white bird from a cage. Subsequently, Diddy "threw the bird in the air and it dropped to the ground like a brick," according to TMZ.

Understandably, the bizarre sequence, as described by Deal, has sparked intrigue and speculation as it surfaces through the documentary.

Hours after the apparent avian sacrifice, Diddy and another bodyguard, Anthony Jones, were acquitted by a jury after two days of deliberation on the charges stemming from the shooting, as The New York Times reported at the time. Also present during the 1999 shooting incident was Diddy's then girlfriend Jennifer Lopez, though she wasn't charged.

Diddy Breaks His Silence From Prison

Earlier this month, Diddy broke his silence for the first time from jail in a video that showed his kids wishing him a happy birthday over the phone, the rapper responding over the line. The rapper turned 55 on Nov. 4.

In the clip shared on Instagram by his 30-year-old son Justin, Diddy can be heard telling his children that he's proud of them and "looking forward to seeing them" after they sing him "Happy Birthday." A birthday cake is centered on the table to celebrate. Watch it below.

On the call, Diddy's heard saying, "I love y'all so much. I can't wait to see y'all, I can't wait to see y'all — and I just wanna say I'm proud of y'all, I'm proud of y'all. Especially the girls. I mean all of y'all. Just for being strong. Thank y'all for being strong, and thank y'all for being by my side and supporting me."

Tags

Diddy, Music