Fact Check: Video Doesn't Show Harris at Party Alongside Sean 'Diddy' Combs

Claim:

A video from 2001 authentically showed Kamala Harris attending an event with Sean "Diddy" Combs.

Rating:

Context:

The man alongside Harris in the video was Montel Williams, a television host and actor, not Sean Combs.

On Sept. 17, 2024, an X user posted a video they claimed showed a young U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris attending a party with Sean "Diddy" Combs, the rapper and hip-hop mogul who was arrested the day before on sex trafficking charges.

"Here is P Diddy with Kamala Harris. P Diddy has been arrested for sex trafficking," the user wrote in a post that has since been deleted. The footage showed Harris standing alongside a man and a woman while posing for photographers at an event.

(X user @JDunlap1974)

Similar posts seemingly claiming the man in the clip was Combs appeared elsewhere on the platform in July and September 2024.

However, the above posts were incorrectly captioned. They did not show Harris standing alongside Combs; rather, the man she was with was Montel Williams, an actor and television host.

Harris and Williams were attending a red-carpet event in 2001 alongside the TV host's daughter, Ashley Williams. Newsmagazine TV program "Inside Edition" posted the old footage on YouTube in November 2020.

According to the caption of a Getty Images photo from that day, the event was the Eighth Annual Race To Erase Multiple Sclerosis Benefit at the Century Plaza Hotel in Century City, California.

On Sept. 17, 2024, Williams also responded to the now-deleted X post claiming he was Combs, with his own X post stating: "Here they go again with 'all black people look alike…'"

Social media users also shared a photo from the same event that had been altered to replace Williams' face with Combs'.

Snopes has covered rumors about Harris and Williams' relationship before, including verifying the same photographs of them at the 2001 event. In 2020, Williams said the following about Harris: "Kamala Harris and I briefly dated about 20 years ago when we were both single. So what? I have great respect for Sen. Harris. I have to wonder if the same stories about her dating history would have been written if she were a male candidate?"

Combs was arrested in mid-September 2024 on suspicion of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and interstate transportation for prostitution. In March 2024, his properties were raided as part of an ongoing investigation. He also faced a number of court cases over sexual assault allegations. The rapper and mogul is in jail and awaiting trial as of this writing.

Sources:

"A Look Back at Kamala Harris From 2001." Inside Edition, Nov. 9, 2020, YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbDK0z5V0UQ&t=42s. Accessed 18 Sept. 2024.

"Ashley Williams, Montel Williams and Kamala Harris Attend Eighth..." Getty Images, 16 Nov. 2020, https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/ashley-williams-montel-williams-and-kamala-harris-attend-news-photo/1285988530." target="blank">https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/ashley-williams-montel-williams-and-kamala-harris-attend-news-photo/1285988530.">https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/ashley-williams-montel-williams-and-kamala-harris-attend-news-photo/1285988530. Accessed 18 Sept. 2024.

Evon, Dan. "Do Photos Show Kamala Harris With Montel Williams?" Snopes, 13 Nov. 2020, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/kamala-harris-montel-williams/." target="blank">https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/kamala-harris-montel-williams/.">https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/kamala-harris-montel-williams/. Accessed 18 Sept. 2024.

Oxford, Dwayne. "Sex Trafficking and Racketeering: The Charges against Sean 'Diddy' Combs." Al Jazeera, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/18/sex-trafficking-and-racketeering-the-charges-against-sean-diddy-combs. Accessed 18 Sept. 2024.