A week after Sean “Diddy” Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami were raided by federal agents in a reported sex-trafficking investigation, Kelly Ripa was seen on her morning talk show this week begging for an invitation to join him on his yacht.
Ripa made the “fawning” request during a “Live with Kelly and Mark” interview with singer Mary J. Blige, which aired on Tuesday, Page Six reported. But while viewers may accuse Ripa of very bad timing and extremely bad taste, they should keep in mind that that the interview originally aired in June 2023. The show was rerun this week because Ripa and her co-host husband, Mark Consuelos, are on vacation.
Still, Page Six surmised that some “Live with Kelly and Mark” staffers will be in big trouble for not vetting the episode and letting it get back on the air. “It’s not a good look for Ripa,” Page Six said.
What’s made matters worse for Ripa, Page Six said, is that the show tried “to cover its tracks” by pulling the clip off YouTube after the site reached out about the gaffe.
On the rerun, Ripa and Consuelos complimented Blige on a photo of her looking fabulous in her bathing suit while posing on a yacht, Page Six reported.
“I was in Capri, and I was actually visiting my big brother Puff’s boat,” Blige said.
An eager Ripa replied, “Next time you go on Puff’s boat, we’d like to!”
Not too long ago, when the interviewed originally aired, Combs was still perceived as a successful music mogul and former rapper who had skated past a spate of legal troubles throughout his career, including lawsuits, allegations of assault and a high-profile arrest and trial related to a 1999 nightclub shooting in New York City. Some would say he had even become respectable, with MTV honoring him in September with a Global Icon Award, Page Six said.
Combs’ fortunes soon began to change, starting with a lawsuit filed in November by his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura, who accused him of rape, sex trafficking and physical abuse. The next day, Combs and Ventura settled the case on undisclosed terms. But other lawsuits followed, accusing the Bad Boy Records founder of various forms of sexual violence. Last week, Homeland Security agents raided Diddy’s homes, as part of a federal inquiry into sex trafficking allegation.