‘We could find some women to have sex with.’
That was Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ idea of the perfect ‘straight-guy date’ with Russell Brand, according to a resurfaced video recorded aboard a private jet heading to Las Vegas in 2009.
‘That is our conclusion,’ Brand replied after Combs introduced him as his ‘new best friend.’
Seventeen years on, both men are behind bars. Brand, 51, was jailed on Monday for rape and sexual assault, while Combs, 57, is serving a 50-month sentence for prostitution-related offenses.
Brand, who once attended one of Combs’ notorious White Parties, has increasingly distanced himself from the music mogul in recent years. However, reports suggest Combs is ‘planning to make contact.’
An insider has now told Our News Outlet that Diddy ‘has sympathy for Russell,’ although contacting him is ‘not top of the list.’
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is reportedly ‘planning to make contact’ with his former friend Russell Brand, who was jailed for rape this week (Brand and Combs pictured in 2009. Source: Russell Brand/YouTube)
The source said Combs ‘obviously hasn’t seen or talked to Russell in some time.’ Although he ‘would like to reach out in the future to show support,’ they added, there is no certainty that will happen.
‘Who knows what life will be like for both of them when Sean gets out of prison,’ the source said.
Brand was convicted at Southwark Crown Court last week of raping a 21-year-old fan in 2009 and sexually assaulting three other women between 2004 and 2009. He was acquitted of two additional rape charges and one count of attempted indecent assault.
He denied every allegation, maintaining that his sexual relationships were consensual. He is reportedly considering an appeal.
During Monday’s sentencing, Judge Joel Bennathan described Brand as a ‘sexual predator’ whose celebrity status had shielded him.
Brand is expected to serve two-thirds of his 10-year-and-six-month sentence. He will also remain on the sex offenders’ register for life.
Combs, meanwhile, is awaiting his release from FCI Allenwood in Pennsylvania following a hospital stay for a head injury. His projected release date is February 6, 2028.
For Combs, the insider said, the situation feels ‘almost like a death of a friend, that you had good times with and knew him in a different world.’
And the world they once shared was certainly a different one.
The pair’s friendship dates back at least to 2009, before they appeared together in Get Him to the Greek (pictured at the film’s 2010 premiere in Los Angeles)
The private-jet journey took place a year before the two appeared in the 2010 comedy Get Him to the Greek. Brand played the reckless rock star Aldous Snow, while Combs portrayed the volatile record executive Sergio Roma.
They were flying to Las Vegas for the 2009 bout between Ricky Hatton and Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand. Brand later uploaded footage from the trip to his YouTube channel.
With his arm around Brand, Combs introduced the comedian as ‘Rusty Rocket,’ a variation on Brand’s well-known nickname. He then added: ‘Also known as Russell Brand. Very, very, very dear friend of mine. We go way back.’
Brand offered a somewhat different account of their relationship while promoting the film in May 2010.
‘Diddy, he’s new to me,’ Brand told BlackTree TV. ‘He looked after me. He took me on an enforced holiday to Vegas.’
Describing Diddy as ‘a very intense man,’ Brand said his co-star was so ‘influential’ that when he wanted someone to do something, ‘It’s really hard not to do that thing.’
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‘Imagine if you get very friendly with him, he might ask you for loads of favors and then you can’t say no, that’s my worry,’ he said.
He then added a joking warning: ‘I don’t want to be nobody’s b****. I’ve worked too hard in life – not even Diddy’s b****.’
The tone changed in November 2023, when Combs’ former partner Cassie Ventura filed a high-profile lawsuit accusing him of years of abuse, including rape. Combs denied the allegations, and the case was settled the following day. A series of additional lawsuits soon followed.
In May 2024, CNN broadcast surveillance footage showing Combs attacking Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel corridor in 2016. He was arrested four months later, in September.
A jury acquitted Combs in July 2025 of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking, but found him guilty on two counts of transporting people to engage in prostitution. He denies all allegations of sexual misconduct.
Brand, meanwhile, began speaking publicly again about his past association with Combs.
In a TikTok posted in December 2024, he acknowledged that he ‘did go to a Diddy white party once.’ Brand said he spent most of the event speaking with fellow comedian Tom Green and left at around ‘6 or 7 o’clock’ because he was married.
‘[I’m] pretty glad I did actually, because it turns out that stuff went on at those Diddy parties that I was not qualified to handle as a person that is craving a deep and profound connection to God,’ he said.
Brand and Combs pictured together at a White Party in 2009
A second source said Combs’ family wants the Diddy brand kept as far away from Brand’s as possible (pictured in March 2009)
In April 2025, Brand revived another old joke while discussing how he and Combs had encountered a teenage Justin Bieber at the Grammys.
‘We had this ongoing joke about keeping this kid and all his subsidiary rights,’ Brand said in a video posted to X.
Bieber’s representatives have previously rejected any implication of wrongdoing, saying: ‘Justin is not among Sean Combs’ victims.’
Then, last November, Brand compared Combs’ parties with Jeffrey Epstein’s island.
‘Powerful people are compromised through sexual temptation that’s been used to blackmail them, isn’t it? That’s what Epstein Island amounts to. But then you think of that, the Diddy parties in Hollywood. You know, everyone there is sort of compromised and kept in line,’ he said.
Combs’ camp, however, appears eager to create distance between the two men.
A second source told Our News Outlet that Combs’ sons are worried about comparisons with Brand while their father continues to face civil litigation.
Dozens of lawsuits remain pending, all of which Combs denies.
Combs’ sons Quincy, 35, Justin, 32, and Christian ‘King’ Combs, 28, have remained outspoken in their support for their father.
After the verdict, Christian said outside court that ‘my Pops is coming home.’ As recently as August, he urged viewers during a livestream to ‘Free Pops.’
While Brand’s wife, Laura Gallacher, 39, adjusts to a difficult new reality with the couple’s three young children, Combs’ family has had two years to prepare and appears determined to close ranks.
‘They want the Diddy brand to stay as far away from Russell’s as possible,’ the second source said.
Our News Outlet has contacted representatives for Combs and Brand for comment.
