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Piers Morgan edits out Jaguar Wright's claims about Beyoncé and Jay-Z's ties to Diddy

Malia Mendez, Los Angeles Times on

Published in Entertainment News

Piers Morgan is explaining his out-of-character move to censor a guest's comments on his "Uncensored" YouTube show.

Last week, the British broadcaster interviewed singer-songwriter Jaguar Wright — whom he dubbed a Diddy "whistleblower" — on his show. While discussing the Bad Boy Records founder's alleged decades of misconduct, Wright "unexpectedly made several serious allegations about Jay-Z and Beyoncé," Morgan said at the top of his Tuesday show.

"As I said in the moment, they were not present to respond or defend themselves, but now they have [responded]," the 69-year-old former CNN host said, adding that his production had complied with the Carters' lawyers' request to remove Wright's claims, which they called "totally false."

"Editing interviews is not something we do lightly at a show called 'Uncensored,' but like the proverbial cries of fire in a crowded theater, there are legal limits on us too," Morgan said. "And we apologize to Jay-Z and Beyoncé."

Wright, who previously worked for Jay-Z as a backing singer, has for years speculated about Sean "Diddy" Combs' alleged criminal behavior. In late 2022, she made headlines after positing in an interview with RealLyfe Productions that the fallen music executive was behind the deaths of former Uptown Records figures.

"I think he's one of the most dangerous people I've ever met," she told Morgan last week, adding that Combs has long been "protected" by other industry leaders. "Until him and his cohorts are all held to account publicly and legally, the victims, they're not safe."

And there are thousands of victims, Wright alleged — hundreds of whom she said she has spoken to about purported exploitation at the hands of Combs and others.

 

"I have my own tapes," she said. "I've seen what they do: the ritualistic behaviors, the drugging, putting girls into suitcases. Dumping them in alleyways, it's horrifying, and it's all done under the protection of, 'This is gonna be paid off. There's another NDA.'"

While Morgan included in his Tuesday statement the Carters' legal team's assertion that Wright's allegations had "no basis in fact," he also seemingly defended her appearance on the show, saying that "the reality of the modern world is that pretty much everyone has a platform as long as they have something to say that other people want to hear."

"The people making these claims have an audience with or without shows like mine," he said.

Combs was arrested last month on charges of racketeering and sex trafficking, with federal prosecutors alleging a yearslong criminal enterprise that preyed on women, plied them with drugs and forced them to participate in sex performances.

The rapper-producer, who has denied any criminal wrongdoing, is currently in custody after being denied bail.

Investigations into Combs, his high-profile social circle and his popular white parties have led to rampant conspiracy theorizing online, with many speculating about A-listers supposedly involved in or victimized by his alleged schemes.


©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

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