‘You Mad?’ Rapper Cam’ron’s CNN Interview About Diddy Sparks Mixed Reactions

May 22, 2024 4

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Cam’ron on June 20, 2023, in New York City. | Source: Shareif Ziyadat / Getty

UPDATED at 9:10 a.m. with Cam’ron’s comments addressing the CNN interview.

CNN’s interview Monday night with Cam’ron live on the air was either “an absolute disaster” or a rousing success, depending on who you ask.

That’s because the rapper-turned-podcaster was 100% on-brand while being questioned by Abby Phillip about disgraced hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs and the video that CNN unearthed showing him violently attacking his longtime girlfriend Cassie Ventura in 2016.

MORE: What Cassie Experienced Being Abused By Diddy Is Not An Anomaly

But perhaps CNN was unfamiliar with Cam’ron’s brand, or brands, as the interview quickly devolved into something that the segment’s producers clearly did not intend it to be.

What did Cam’ron do?

In case you missed it, Phillip asked Cam’ron hius opinion of the video, and Cam’ron quickly denounced it and was very clear that he did not approve of such actions.

“Everything in the video was egregious,” Cam’ron told Phillip before adding that he is “totally against” domestic violence.

Cam’ron was deliberate to tell Phillip that while he knows Diddy, “he’s not necessarily a friend.”

Things quickly went south from there.

When Phillip asked if he recognized that type of behavior from Diddy, Cam’ron appeared to be slightly agitated, if not outright offended at the question and made it clear that he was confused why CNN had him on to talk about another man.

“He ain’t do nothing to me,” Cam’ron said. “I told you how I feel, I said what I said.”

Then, after CNN showed a brief clip from Cam’ron’s hit podcast, It Is What It Is, likely realizing none of the questions he was going to ask would be about him, Cam’ron redirected attention to his own personal and professional interests by shamelessly plugging one of his products on live TV – a sex supplement drink called Pink Horse Power.

As Phillip asked how Diddy treated his artists – something that Cam’ron never was – Cam’ron took a shot of the drink, causing a few seconds of awkward silence on live TV, and apologized: “Sorry, I’m about to go get some cheeks after this Horse Power drink.”

“Cheeks,” of course, is slang for having sex.

(Ironically, in April of last year, Cam’ron posted on his Instagram page a video of Diddy trying Pink Horse Power.)

The rest of the interview was just additional various iterations of Cam’ron explaining that the Diddy situation has nothing to do with him. He went on to plug his podcast before asking Phillip his own series of questions.

“Who the talent agent for this joint?” he wondered aloud. “You think I be sitting around watching what Diddy do?”

Watch the interview below.

So Cam’ron went on CNN tonight and it was an absolute disaster pic.twitter.com/xm3tCe9O7N

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) May 21, 2024

The response to the interview made Cam’ron a top trending topic into Tuesday morning, when people sounded off on social media with a fine blend of support and disgust for the rapper.

Journalist Philip Lewis called it “an absolute disaster.”

An account on X, formerly Twitter, posted that Cam’ron showed he had “NO HOME TRAINING!” and that they were “embarrassed for his momma.”

Yet another called the interview “AWFUL” and suggested, “Someone please get this man some media coaching.”

But others more familiar with the rapper – particularly his past major network interviews – all asked a variation of the following question posed on social media: “Why in the world did they invite him there to talk about Diddy?!?!?!?”

Cam’ron speaks out about the CNN interview

Hours later on Tuesday morning, Cam’ron appeared on the set of It Is What It Is and addressed the interview.

He said the media loves to focus on negativity instead of the positive things that rappers like himself and It Is What It Is co-host rapper Ma$e do.

“They didn’t invite me on to say how successful our show is,” Cam’ron said.

“You call me on CNN for the bullshit, I’mma give you the bullshit, that’s just what’s gonna happen,” he added, noting that he “got some free promo” out of it.

Cam’ron reiterated his stance condemning the video and domestic violence but suggested CNN should have known better than to invite him on Phillip’s show given his prior interviews on major cable networks.

“I don’t know why they didn’t watch 60 Minutes,” Cam’ron said through chuckles. “They didn’t watch Bill O’Reilly. That’s what I do on them joints!”

“You call me on CNN for the bullsh*t,” Cam’ron reacts to his CNN interview, and Mase reveals there is a documentary coming soon where he will share his take on the Diddy/Cassie situation.

( It is What It is/YouTube) pic.twitter.com/y4Ih7nzBnM

— The Art Of Dialogue (@ArtOfDialogue_) May 21, 2024

Cam’ron’s past media appearances

To be sure, Cam’ron told anyone who was listening a long time ago that he doesn’t traffick in gossip, even – and especially – if it deals with a sensitive topic like domestic violence.

After all, he’s the same person who told Anderson Cooper during a 60 Minutes segment in 2007 that he wouldn’t report a serial killer to the police even if the killer lived next door because that would violate the “stop snitching” code of conduct that reigns supreme in hip-hop.

Four years before that, Cam’ron appeared on Fox News to be interviewed by Bill O’Reilly and flexed his trolling muscles when he and then-mogul Damon Dash were accused of not setting a positive example for children because of explicit lyrics in hip-hop.

When O’Rielly refused to accept that rappers becoming CEOs and millionaires through legitimate business was a positive thing, Dash and Cam’ron famously mocked O’Rielly through laughter with accusations that he was “mad.”

The moment spawned a timeless social media meme of Cam’ron shaking his finger at O’Reilly while saying, “You mad!”