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Diddy recently told Vibe magazine that Nightline Host Martin Bashir's question about him giving his son a Maybach for his birthday was racist:
"There were times in the interview when I had to give him an ultimatum," Diddy told Vibe. "The questions weren't being handled the right way. In hindsight, when I saw him, I shouldn't had done the interview because I know the style of interview that he does . . .. The whole thing about giving a Maybach to my son, that's really like a racist question."
"You don't ask White people what they buy their kids," he continued. "And they buy 'em Porsches and convertible Bentleys, and it ain't no question. It's really a racist question and put things back in perspective with money and the way that people still look at you. And I'm not saying that consciously he's a racist. But he probably don't even realize that he would not ask Steve Jobs that. He would be like Steve Jobs has that money and that's the gift his kid is supposed to get."
I think Diddy was right about one thing: Most journalists would never question a wealthy white person like Steve Jobs or Warren Buffet about a car they may have bought their children.
I think, though, he is missing a critical difference between himself and men like Steve Jobs. Men like Jobs and Warren Buffet and Bill Gates have not made a fortune promoting luxury lifestyles and defining themselves by them.
A tenet of hip-hop is ostentation and glamour and luxury. Diddy's image, probably more than any other entertainer, is built on throwing wealth in the faces of others who look on with a mixture of awe, envy and delight. He brags at every opportunity about his wealth, so why shouldn't it be fair game in an interview? The image of boundless wealth, big mansions and fancy cars is how hip-hop has defined itself, and whether he wants to admit or not, Diddy is one of the main architects.
I bet a reporter wouldn't ask Bob Johnson or Kenneth Chenault about a car they bought for their children.
I believe the question was less about race and more about the fact that he is not taken seriously.
You can't be a media whore and then get mad if someone asks you a question you don't like. If you don't want to be questioned about what you give to your children, don't do it on TV. You can't have it both ways, Diddy. I can't remember the last time Bill Gates bragged to the world about how much money he had.
I also think that the question is more relevant to Diddy than to America's wealthiest business leaders, because of the impact that his lifestyle has on young people.
Many young people want to be like Diddy, because he's rich. Not because he worked hard and built a mega-empire from nothing. Unfortunately, the message of hard work and the story behind Diddy's rise to power is lost on a generation who believe they are entitled to big Sweet Sixteen parties and Maybachs without lifting a finger.
We have collectively failed as a community in this regard. Diddy, along with the rest of us, are culpable in raising a generation who just want to be "rich." They don't want to work hard, they don't want to excel in school. They just want be a baller. And if they can't be rich, at least they can look rich, even if it means begging, borrowing and stealing to accomplish it. Somewhere along the line, we forgot to teach our young people the most important four letter word of all: WORK.
And a small part of that is Diddy's fault. If he spent as much time talking about the hard work it took the get to where he is as he does rattling off the brand names in his closet, perhaps he could be taken more seriously as a business leader and not just some rich hip-hop buffoon. Isn't he the one who said, "It's all about the Benjamins?"
BTW, Steve Jobs probably wouldn't buy his son some stupid sh*t like that anyway.
Watch Diddy's full interview with Bashir here:
Comments: (176)
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By: summerfield01 on 8/01/2010 10:10AM
Diddy aint right on this one, whenever anything aint how we like it we scream racism, it's making us look stupid. Until we blacks can stop being racist ourselves against whites then I don't feel we should be pointing out their racism. We must first cast the stone out of our own eye before we can see clearly to cast the stone out of their eye. We have evolved to be more racist than whites and thats a fact. We hold grudges for something we never experienced. I don't see jewish people committing crimes and standing in welfare lines blaming the germans. We could possibly face our own demise if we continue down this road of hatred. I'm tired of blaming others for my own shortcomings....are you?
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By: clarke on 8/01/2010 2:35PM
BLACKS CANNOT BE RACIST TOWARDS WHITES, WE ARE NOT IN POSITIONS OF POWER THAT EFFECT THEIR LIVES. YOU NEED TO LOOK UP THE DEFINITION OF RACISM, OR STOP USING THE WORD IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO CORRECTLY.
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By: msmack500 on 8/01/2010 3:12PM
The Jewish community is able to use their white skin to avoid racism that Blacks are subjected to. They also received reparation payments for the Holocaust from Germany. Unless you are so light-skinned that people confuse you for white or can "pass" then you are not in the same boat as Jews. And not all Blacks qualify for or receive welfare payments, and since anyone deemed to have the lower income and resources, regardless of race, can get welfare, then welfare is not some reparation for Blacks. I wish that white bigots and others would stop acting like welfare is only for Blacks. How come Blacks are made to feel ashamed for asking for welfare, when other groups come here and demand money, food stamps, and Medicaid? And you better have a translator available for them, too, regardless of how long they have been in the US!
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By: Bruce C. on 8/01/2010 10:17AM
This is interesting and yes, Diddy should put much more emphasis on the hard work it took to get to where he is but in my opinion if you are not gong to ask a white person who was born rich or a white person who earned millions what they bought their child, then don't ask Diddy.
Also, if you are not going to ask a black person who was born rich or a black person who earned millions by being an executive for American Express(Kenneth Chenault) these same questions then don't ask Diddy. Let's not make classism ok where it is ok to treat the wealthy one way and the poor another way, even if the poor earn there way out of being poor, do we still treat them as being the poor class?
I am not a huge fan of Diddy but he has earned the money and not just in entertainment. He has earned the money and can do with it as he pleases.
Bruce
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By: G. E. N. on 8/01/2010 10:29AM
So what he bvougfht his kid a Maybach.I do agree that he should talk about how hard he worked to achieve his fianacial status, maybe if he did more public service work promoting education, in business, music and dance (like our people need more entertainers, but he is an entertainer and fashion stylist that know how to promtoe himself and his workers ( simiklar to Oprah, and Don King), Maybe if he would push our people tgo go into elctronics, computers, cybernetics, medicine food production and mechaized industries, instead of into dresing up and looking cool after a few of his Vodka drinks, without the hard work involved in gaining fame and fortune. Maybe Mr and Ms. Will and Jada Smith should also take note. Braggards get tire to those who watch.
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By: Sincere on 8/02/2010 11:08AM
Do your research. Diddy does a lot of school charities and donated his time and money to help get people out to vote. Jada and Will have founded a school that uses unique teaching methods to help students excel in their studies. You problably haven't heard these things because the media doesn't consider them newsworthy. They're too busy bombarding us with Chelsea Clinton's wedding, Wesley Snipes taxes and other things that don't affect us.
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By: DeVersaint on 8/01/2010 10:45AM
I am really concerned of the certain people who are mostly being unable to make the right analysis without reflecting their points on RACISM, which is extremely inappropriate. Therefore, it's the time for those who might do better to make a difference by talking and writing toward the neo-analystic skills for an eventual dialog on the social and political issues! As well as the racial matters may be debated when it's necessary, and only because we are living in a multi-racial country, where first of all the momentum requeres a serious re-education for both sides to make America better than the skin and category aspects. GBA
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By: clarke on 8/01/2010 2:44PM
WHAT YOU TALKIN BOUT WILLIS?
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By: vincint on 8/01/2010 10:58AM
The whites reacting to this act as if Mr. Combs is calling them racist. With white priviledge comes white guilt.LOL.
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By: Gail on 8/01/2010 11:00AM
i agree...maybe diddy needs to spend that money on an education instead, because it shows in his comments...
and that's what's wrong with a lot of these kids today...they have expensive cars and no education...and they don't know what it means to earn it....pitiful!!!...yeah i pity these kids of today....who do they have to look up to?......diddy???????
diddy is a fake...and he does flaunt his wealth around....
question?....does diddy share his wealth? does he give back? does he have a charity?.....anybody know?
also...i think diddy is gay. yeah i said it...he's a gay blade!!!
oh and...martin bashir is wrong too for asking the question, when he wouldn't ask it of a rich white person....let's keep this thing all the way real.
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