Ana Gasteyer attends the “Once Upon A Mattress” broadway opening night at The Hudson Theatre on Aug. 12, 2024 in New York City.
Originally appeared on E! Online
Ana Gasteyer’s memories of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ "Saturday Night Live" appearance are not all that fond.
The 57-year-old, who was a cast member on the live sketch comedy show from 1996 to 2002, recently recalled one of Diddy’s musical guest appearances when he was promoting his 1998 song “Come With Me.”
“Famously, when P. Diddy came, he, of course, shut down the whole building,” Gasteyer shared on the Nov. 20 episode of the Las Culturistas podcast. “You know SNL, you can tell the five a--holes in the six years I was there. They’d be like, ‘So and so is in the building. Everybody stay in your dressing rooms.’ Which is applicable if you’re a presidential candidate, but apart from that, really it’s my house.”
However, the producer and rapper “demanded a totally closed set,” according to Gasteyer, who shared that he had recruited the New York Philharmonic to perform with him and had sealed off the stage.
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But that didn’t stop Gasteyer’s fellow cast member Will Ferrell from going into the room in a character he called Ron, pretending to be confused and walking across the stage. And according to the "Mean Girls" alum, the move didn’t play well.
“He really did not roll with it,” she noted of Combs. “He was very uncomfortable. The artifice of all the faux importance.”
E! News has reached out to Combs' attorneys for comment but hasn't heard back.
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Gasteyer’s recollection from his time on "SNL" come in the wake of numerous recent allegations against the music mogul. Combs is currently awaiting trial on sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution charges from jail.
Combs, who has been in jail since September, has maintained his innocence throughout his incarceration, pleading not guilty to the charges against him.
However, he has continued to face legal trouble since his arrest. Earlier this month, he was also accused of trying to sway potential witnesses in his upcoming trial.
In a motion filed on Nov. 15 and obtained by E! News, federal prosecutors claim the rapper made "relentless efforts to contact potential witnesses" by using telephone access codes known as PAC numbers belonging to other inmates to make calls to individuals who are not on his approved contact list.
Prosecutors also claim that the 55-year-old used a third-party communication service called ContactMeASAP and three-way calling with people on his approved contact list to "obscure his communications."
The prosecution listed an Oct. 4 call between Diddy and one of his adult sons—the details of which were redacted in court documents—as an example that "provides the clear inference that the defendant's goal is to blackmail victims and witnesses either into silence or providing testimony helpful to his defense."
E! News previously reached out to Diddy's attorneys for comment but hasn't heard back.
