Sean "Diddy" Combs is "shocked."
The hip-hop mogul issued a pointed statement Monday denying the details in a web-exclusive Los Angeles Times report tying him, via interviews and FBI records, to the 1994 beating and shooting attack on Tupac Shakur at a New York recording studio.
"The story is a lie. It is beyond ridiculous and completely false," Combs said in response to the article by staff writer Chuck Philips, who reported on "newly discovered information" implicating two former Combs associates—talent manager James Rosemond and promoter James Sabatino—in the assault.
Sources said Combs knew in advance that the men were plotting an ambush on Shakur, who they believed had disrespected the Bad Boy Records founder by showing reluctance to join his label, per the Times article.
According to FBI accounts, Shakur was pistol-whipped and shot four times by his assailants. He also accidentally shot himself in the groin.
The Nov. 30, 1994, attack on Shakur, who said at the time he thought the beat-down had come at the hands of Combs and his pals—has been singled out as the start of the East Coast-West Coast feud that culminated in the 1997 shooting death of Combs compatriot Notorious B.I.G. in Los Angeles.
"Neither [Biggie] nor I had any knowledge of any attack before, during or after it happened," Combs' statement continued. "I am shocked that the Los Angeles Times would be so irresponsible as to publish such a baseless and completely untrue story."
Combs, Sabatino and Rosemond declined to comment for the Times story, but Rosemond's lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, pointed out that his client was never charged or questioned in connection with the attack.
In a post-publication statement, however, Rosemond called the report "a libelous piece of garbage."
"In the past 14 years, I have not even been questioned by law enforcement with regard to the assault of Tupac Shakur, let alone brought up on charges," he said. "Chuck Philips, the writer…has reached a new low by employing fourth-hand information from desperate jailhouse informants along with ancient FBI reports to create this fabrication. I simply ask for all rap fans and fans of Tupac to analyze this fiction for what it is."
Shakur was gunned down in Las Vegas on Sept. 13, 1996. His murder, like that of Biggie Smalls', remains unsolved.
Per the Times, Rosemond was convicted of unrelated weapons and drug charges in 1996 and spent three years in prison. He's currently on probation for assaulting a radio deejay in Washington, D.C. Sabatino is currently serving an 11 1/2-year stretch for wire fraud and racketeering after using fake credit cards to fund his Bad Boy entourage's lavish touring lifestyle in 1997.
Three men identified by the FBI as those who actually assaulted Shakur in 1994 are all serving time for other crimes and have not been charged in the Still I Rise rapper's attack.
Meanwhile, Forbes puts Combs' estimated net worth at $23 million and his empire has expanded to include fashion and fragrance lines, an Atlanta restaurant, TV production and other multimedia mogul-type enterprises.
He most recently appeared in an ABC production of A Raisin in the Sun, in which he reprised the role he played on Broadway.