Gooding went on to say that “only time will tell who was involved, who had been a frequent guest in these places and areas.”
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“My lawyers said, you know, ‘every outlet in the world wants to talk to you,’” Gooding said. “[But] I’m not defining myself from some headline in the press. So I stayed quiet.”
Gooding went on to say that he hadn’t met Combs until 2019 or 2020 and that he only casually interacted with him on a limited number of occasions, despite the characterizations of his relationship with Combs that have circulated in popular media.
Gooding also brandished a photo of himself alongside Combs at a New Year’s Eve party on Combs’ yacht, emphasizing that he was only there briefly and that many people were in attendance.
“But this guy who’s suing [Combs] is going after the money, man,” Gooding said of Jones. “And, by the way, I don’t know P. Diddy’s life. I don’t know what he’s going through. I don’t know what the police are gonna find on all of that stuff.”
Gooding suggested that he became part of the lawsuit against Combs because of his past sexual misconduct allegations. In April 2022, Gooding pleaded guilty to forcibly touching a woman at a New York City bar in a 2018 incident. He served no jail time. In June 2023, he settled a rape lawsuit stemming from allegations of sexual assault in 2013.
Going on to speak about his recent turn toward faith-based films, Gooding expressed that the pandemic highlighted the enthusiasm of Christian moviegoers.
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“Who was never afraid to go and sit amongst the congregation? Christians,” Gooding said. “I don’t care if we had to wear a mask—or if we didn’t wear a mask—we went to church. And what Hollywood keeps forgetting [is] that…we get up every Sunday, put our best clothes on, and we listen to the pastor.”
