As Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal indictment and mounting legal issues continue to play out in the court of public opinion—there’s one singer whose opinion is now in the spotlight.
Suggested Reading
That artist would be none other than The Police frontman and activist Sting who recently spoke on Diddy in a new interview for the Los Angeles Times on Monday. In it, Sting was asked whether or not all the mess surrounding the disgraced Bad Boy music mogul has tainted his 1983 hit song “Every Breath You Take”—which Diddy famously sampled for his own popular 1997 hit song “I’ll Be Missing You.”
“No,” Sting put curtly. “I mean, I don’t know what went on [with Diddy]. But it doesn’t taint the song at all for me. It’s still my song.”
Conversations about whether or not Diddy’s music and all the songs he produced will leave a sour taste in people’s mouth in light of his salacious allegations have been ongoing for months now. It should go without saying that the longtime producer has worked with everyone from Biggie to New Edition to The Lox to 112 and more. So it may be hard for some to want to part ways with some of their most beloved songs just because the person who produced it is in a whole world of trouble.
It’s also a conversation that’s not just exclusive to Diddy. Artists with their own checkered pasts like Dr. Dre, Chris Brown and most notably—R.Kelly—are also points of contention with music lovers who feel like it’s both doable and necessary to separate the art from the artist. And if people like Sting can separate someone like Diddy’s mess from something good—maybe it’s a sign that others will start to do the same.
Straight From 
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.