December 5, 2010; Source: New York Post | It cost $80,000 to get Sean “Diddy” Combs to agree to host a “Pink Party” fundraiser in October at the Glo nightclub on Long Island for two New York breast cancer charities. Diddy got his fee, but the two charities claim they “never got a penny,” according to Carolyn Spector of the Long Island Plastic Surgical Group Foundation (which provides breast reconstruction operations for underprivileged patients). And a spokesperson for the Long Island Breast Cancer Action Coalition said, “We haven’t seen anything yet.”
The theme was to wear something pink, which Diddy didn’t do and claimed not to have known he was supposed to have done. With capacity for 2,000, Glo was packed with guests who paid $10 to get in and $1,000 to hobnob with Diddy personally. The idea for the Pink Party, modeled after Diddy’s famous “White Party” in the Hamptons, came from the son of the owner of Glo itself.
The charities thought they were getting the proceeds, probably after expenses, for the party. A spokesperson for the club disagreed, saying, “If there was a profit, a portion of it would be given to the charity.” Although claiming to be a big time supporter of breast cancer research, Diddy, who is reportedly worth $380 million and earned $30 million last year, said he was actually unaware of any charity deal between Glo and the two breast cancer nonprofits and the $80,000 was just an appearance fee.
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One wonders what he thought when the club was full of people wearing pink stuff. Anyhow, in dealing with celebrities making themselves available for charitable fundraising, there was a lesson learned here. According Spector of the Long Island Plastic Surgical Group Foundation, “Nothing was written down, but we were told we would get part of the take.”
The founder of Bad Boy Records, Diddy is a talented rapper, promoter, and actor, but his rep has long been a little questionable. He has been charged with running a sweatshop manufacturing operation in Honduras where his Sean Jean clothing line is manufactured and he has fathered at least five children out of wedlock. It seems to us that P. Diddy did just fine at the party, but breast cancer research didn’t. Next time, when you’re dealing with a character with Diddy’s history, you better get it in writing.—Rick Cohen
