Cam’ron didn’t take kindly to CNN reporter Abby Phillip asking him questions about Sean “Diddy” Combs assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, even though he was well aware that he was booked to discuss it.
Instead of declining the interview in the first place, the rapper sipped his Pink Horsepower sex supplement and later called it “chess not checkers” and a way to get free promo.
Source: Thaddaeus McAdams / Getty
During a May 20 appearance on CNN Newsnight, the “Hey Ma” rapper slammed Phillip and his management team for scheduling him to discuss Diddy’s controversial video. At the beginning of the three-minute-long interview, Cam’ron flashed a look of frustration when Phillip began to question him on his thoughts about the harrowing surveillance footage, in which Diddy could be seen kicking, hitting, and dragging Cassie down a hotel hallway.
When Phillip asked if Cam’ron recognized any signs of “anger” from the rapper based on his personal interactions with the hip-hop giant, the Harlemnite replied in annoyance;
“What do you mean? Do I be recognize, did I recognize him? I seen him. What do you mean, my experiences? I seen him, and I thought it was disgusting. I didn’t do a zoom-in to see if it was really him or not. But he admitted it was him, so, yeah, it was him.”
Cam’ron continued to keep his response short and to the point, when queried on his thoughts about the Bad Boy Records CEO’s apology video published to Instagram on May 19, in which he admitted to being in a difficult period in his life when he committed the egregious attack on Cassie.
“The apology ain’t for me to decide. It’s for Cassie to decide… I told you how I feel. I said what I said,” the hip-hop star said.
Subsequently, Phillip shared a segment from the Dipset rapper’s widely watched YouTube show, It Is What It Is, featuring Mase and Treasure “Stat Baby” Wilson, where Cam’ron questioned Mase about why he opted to introduce him to Biggie Smalls rather than Diddy when he entered the hip-hop scene.
Phillip raised the question of whether this decision was influenced by previous rumors suggesting Diddy’s alleged unfair treatment of artists on his renowned Bad Boy Records label. Instead of politely declining the question, Cam’ron took a big gulp out of his sex supplement drink, Pink Horse Power, noting how he was going to get “some cheeks” after the interview.
“I’m just going off what Mase said. Mase took me to Biggie,” he continued. “I don’t really know Puff like Mase know Puff… I can’t really tell you how Puff moves or anything like that. Mase may know better than me because he was signed to Puff. I wasn’t.”
The interview abruptly concluded when Phillip inquired of the “Oh Boy” hitmaker whether his fellow hip-hop peers were discussing the accusations against Diddy.
“Who the talent agent for this joint? You think I be sitting around and watching what Diddy do and all this? I didn’t know this was a Diddy joint y’all invited me to. Y’all, who booked me for this?” Cam’ron asked.
Cam’ron Spoke About His Frustration With The CNN Interview On Wednesday’s (May 21) Episode Of It Is What It Is.
While chatting with co-hosts Mase and Treasure, the rapper and entrepreneur expressed that he was upset with CNN for not inviting him on to discuss the positive aspects of their show and community involvement.
“My thing about it was, they didn’t invite me on to [speak]about how successful our show is, all the positive stuff we do in the community. Every day five days a week, Mase talks to kids on a Zoom call. Mase doesn’t even promote this. I’m gonna promote this for Mase. Every day at five o’clock, no matter what’s going on, what’s happening, where he’s at, it could be money involved, it could be a photoshoot — it could be whatever. He stops what he’s doing to talk to kids around the world about being positive and doing what they believe in.”
Cam’ron continued and admitted to sabotaging the interview on purpose.
“That’s how serious he takes what he does. And we do all these positive things and you call me on CNN for the bulls***? I’m gonna give you the bulls***…So, we got some free promo. I teased the Horse Power. They tried to bring up when Mase brought me to Biggie instead of Puff, and I said, ’Yeah. If you seen it, then what you asking me about it for?’”
In the caption, the rapper and his co-hosts doubled down on their stance and offered some advice to Phillip.
”THIS SH*t CHESS NOT CHECKERS, N***** DO TO MANY POSITIVE THINGS TO BE GETTING ASKED ABOUT “BULLSH*t”… WE THE CULTURE… EPISODE 176 OUT NOW… & #ABBY YOU CAN COME WORK OVER HERE AT “IT IS WHAT IT IS” #BLACK OWNED. WE LOVE EMPOWERING OUR BLACK WOMEN…”
After the interview clip aired, social media platforms saw a surge of activity as users took to Twitter and Instagram to share their reactions. Many criticized Cam’ron’s behavior as “ignorant” and deemed it embarrassing for a national TV audience. Some placed blame on CNN for inviting Cam’ron to the interview, given his history of speaking candidly on live television. Others questioned why Mase, a former signee of Bad Boy Records, was not chosen for the interview instead.
Check out some of the reactions below.
