Sting recently stated that he wasn’t worried that the accusations against Diddy would impact his famous hit ‘Every Breath You Take.’
Sting opens up on Diddy
Diddy had famously used a sample from the 1983 song by Sting’s band, The Police, for his track ‘I’ll Be Missing You’ in 1997.
In September, he was arrested on charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. Diddy has pleaded not guilty to charges that he coerced and abused women for years, using a network of people to silence victims through blackmail, kidnapping, arson, and physical assaults.
During an interview with Los Angeles Times, Sting was questioned whether the accusations against Diddy had changed his feelings about the song. “I mean, I don’t know what went on [with Diddy],” he explained. “But it doesn’t taint the song at all for me. It’s still my song.”
Diddy released ‘I’ll Be Missing You’ 14 years later as a tribute to rapper Notorious B.I.G. The song also included a sampled chorus, sung by Biggie’s wife, Faith Evans.
Sting had previously sued Diddy for using the sample without permission. He won the lawsuit and received 100% of the royalties until last year as per the reports. The two musicians later made peace and performed both ‘Every Breath You Take’ and ‘I’ll Be Missing You’ together at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards.
The Police guitarist Andy Summers had a different view on the song. “He actually sampled my guitar, and that’s what he based his whole track on,” Summers said in a 2012 interview with AV Club.
“Sting’s not on it. I’d be walking around Tower Records, and the f*cking thing would be playing over and over. It was very bizarre while it lasted.”
Diddy has been turned down bail several times since his arrest. On November 8th, a judge rejected his request for a restraining order against his alleged victims and their lawyers, claiming they were making ‘inflammatory extrajudicial statements aimed at assassinating Mr Combs’s character in the press.’
Diddy has also faced new lawsuits, including one accusing him of raping a 13-year-old girl at a VMAs afterparty. In October, five new civil lawsuits were filed against him in the Southern District of New York. The plaintiffs accuse Diddy of sexual assault or rape in separate incidents from 2000 to 2022. A couple of the plaintiffs are men, and three are women.
Diddy is currently awaiting a trial set for May 5th at a federal detention center in Brooklyn.
