NEWSSean 'Diddy' Combs 'Demanded a Closed Set' When He Rehearsed for 'SNL' in 1998, Ana Gasteyer Reveals: 'The Artifice of Faux Importance'
Ana Gasteyer was on 'Saturday Night Live' from 1996 to 2001.
Saturday Night Live alum Ana Gasteyer shared memories of when Sean "Diddy" Combs appeared on the show in 1998 in the wake of his arrest and scandal.
While on the Wednesday, November 20, episode of Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers’ "Las Culturistas" podcast, the Mean Girls actress recalled how the disgraced rapper acted like a diva from day one.
Ana Gasteyer said Sean 'Diddy' Combs acted like a diva when he appeared on 'Saturday Night Live' in 1998.
The actress, 58, revealed that for rehearsals, Combs, 55, "shut down the whole building" and "demanded a totally closed set."
"You can tell the five a------- in the six years that I was there when they would be like, ‘So-and-so is in the building. Everybody stay in your dressing rooms!'" she spilled. "Which is applicable if you’re a presidential candidate, but apart from that, it’s really my house."
The 'I'll Be Missing You' vocalist 'demanded a closed set' for his rehearsals, which Gasteyer said was unusual.
With the cast being full of jokesters, costar Will Ferrell, 57, was encouraged to do his recurring backstage bit of imitating a fired crew member named Ron and interrupt Diddy while he was performing — but it didn't go over well.
"I have the video from the control room where Sean Combs is rapping with like, 'Da-na-na, da-na-na, da-na-na, da-na-na' behind him. And Ron's walking around, looking really disoriented [in character]," Gasteyer said.
In light of Combs sexual assault scandals, Gasteyer now finds the memory more funny than awkward.
"It is the greatest thing that’s ever happened because what a deserved person to have their ‘Kashmir’ moment interrupted by Ron. And he really did not roll with it. He was very uncomfortable," she noted. "But it was also just like, the artifice of all that faux importance. Like, what’s going to happen? You're gonna walk into the studio and you're gonna be like, 'I'm in the studio. I work here."
- 'Saturday Night Live' Accused of 'Toxic' and 'Silencing' Culture — as 17-Year-Old Jane Doe Who Accused Horatio Sanz of Sexual Assault Slams Cast Members for Not Intervening
- Former 'Saturday Night Live' Star Chris Kattan Claims Lorne Michaels Made Him Have Sex With Director Amy Heckerling
- Disgraced Star Sean 'Diddy' Combs Accused of Drugging and Raping Both Men and Women in 5 New Lawsuits
Want OK! each day? Sign up here!
The actress claimed Combs was 'uncomfortable' when Will Ferrell jokingly interrupted his rehearsal.
As OK! reported, Combs has been in the headlines lately after he was arrested in September on charges of racketeering conspiracy, s-- trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution. The father-of-seven, who's currently in prison, pleaded not guilty, with his trial set to begin in May 2025.
Combs is currently in jail on charges of racketeering conspiracy, s-- trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Since his arrest, countless individuals — both men and women — have sued him for sexual assault, with many of them claiming they were drugged before attending a party with the star. More than one person claimed the assault took place when they were minors.
Court papers claimed Diddy "abused, threatened and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his conduct" for years.
While there is said to be footage of other celebrities participating in sexual acts at one of Combs' gatherings, no one has been named thus far.
