Diddy Responds to Reports That He’s Not Eating in Jail

This story has been updated on September 27 at 2 pm:

Has Diddy stopped eating in jail? A recent report from News Nation certainly implied this, reporting that the rapper and producer may not be eating while he stays at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York. Days later, however, TMZ confirmed that Diddy has been eating while in prison despite conflicting reports.

TMZ reported that Diddy is having his meals and is “not as paranoid about what’s going into his food as some have suggested.” According to the outlet, a source close to Diddy relayed that the reporting surrounding his eating was not true and that he is eating the normal food provided at the detention center like any other inmate.

The original report stemmed from source close to Diddy that “believed” that the rapper may not be eating while behind bars due to being “paranoid” and “scared.” Former inmate Larry Levine told the outlet, “There’s people out there that he has things on that do have a substantial amount of money.”

“Imagine if someone paid someone off on the inside to actually poison his food, give him a heart attack and he dies, and no one would really think anything of it,” Levine added. “So that may be one of the reasons he’s not eating.”

Levine also added that the food could have made him sick, leading to him refraining from eating. “It’s not coming to him warm like it would be in a regular housing unit, because they feed the people in the [SHU] last,” Levine said in the statement. “Maybe he got sick from the food. That’s another possibility.”

As The Root previously reported, Diddy was arrested by federal authorities last week, facing three charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution. Diddy was seen on Monday in Central Park as well as the streets of New York with fans mere moments before his arrest at the Park Hyatt Hotel.

Diddy is staying in a Special Housing Unit (SHU), due to his celebrity status and the high-profile nature of the case, as we reported last week. While he is reportedly in SHU for his own safety, he is not given “any special treatment” even though he is separated from the rest of the inmates. Combs mental health has become a concern, as he was placed on suicide watch last week as he awaits his trial.