Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs was “only playing” when he recently announced he was changing his name to Love.
The rapper took to social media over the weekend and told fans that he would be going by the moniker Love, or Brother Love, from now on, and wouldn’t be answering to any of his older names, such as Puff Daddy, P. Diddy or Puffy. However, he backtracked on Monday, posting on Instagram that he was joking all along.
“Well, ladies and gentlemen, today I’ve come to the conclusion that you cannot play around with the Internet,” he said into the camera as he walked down a garden path and sat down.
“Due to the overwhelming response from the media out there and just due to there not wanting to be any confusion, I was only joking. Okay? I didn’t change my name. It’s just part of one of my alter egos. One of my alter egos is Love.”
“But to set the record straight, because I have a lot of press to do in the next couple of weeks, you can address me by any of my older names. But, if you still wanna call me Love, you can call me Love, baby. But, I was only playing,” he concluded before bursting into laughter.
In the caption, he wrote, “I see you can’t play with the internet (love heart) be calm. Spread LOVE.”
Combs originally announced he was changing his name on his 48th birthday and admitted during the video that he knew the new moniker was “risky” as some people might consider it corny. Explaining the change, he said: “I’m just not who I am before. I’m something different.”
