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Diddy once claimed he wasn't afraid of clowns— until Ellen DeGeneres sent him flying out of his seat

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, known for his bravado, was once scared out of his pants on ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show.’

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, known for his bravado, was once scared out of his pants on ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show.’ As the hip-hop mogul confidently denied any fear of clowns, comedian, and host Ellen DeGeneres had the perfect plan to test his claim. DeGeneres asked, “Halloween is coming up. Is this a true story? I want to know. I heard you are scared of clowns.” Diddy, with unwavering confidence, shot down the rumor. He quipped, “No. Impossible … because I am a Black man. I have so many other things to be fearful of— a clown is not going to scare me.” 

DeGeneres unconvinced, pressed further, “Really?” to which, Diddy responded, “Yes. I am not afraid of clowns.” Just then, a clown with wild red hair, red pom poms, and a frilly collar leaped out from inside the coffee table taking Diddy completely by surprise. The rapper jumped out of his seat, kicked his leg up in the air, and performed an impromptu dance move that had the audience roaring with laughter. He quipped, “Yeah, I got you. Oh, you wanna play?” 

As per People magazine, he exclaimed, “You know, I woke up this morning, and I said, ‘I want my life to be full of surprises.’ Ellen, I thank you. Thank you.” The ever-playful host, known to scare guests on set, was clearly satisfied with her work. She said, “That was so gratifying.” Diddy joked, “You really affected my street cred with that, all right?” He acknowledged that the clip would likely live on the internet forever. And he was right— the video quickly went viral, cementing itself as one of the most memorable pranks on the show.

But beyond the laughs, the episode was significant for another reason— Diddy used his platform to announce a $1 million donation to the Capital Preparatory Schools network. Reflecting on his childhood, he remarked, “We are really fighting the battle to give our kids...the communities I come from, a fighting chance. We have a curriculum of leadership and also social justice. We do coding. We do all of the other things. But it’s really about working with kids that were like me. To read a book, I have to read a book three times. Some people are like that. You have to give that extra attention to the kids. So we work with at-risk kids.”

As per Metro, days later, Diddy dressed up as Pennywise for Halloween. In a video posted to Instagram, he channeled the eerie yet oddly charismatic energy of the infamous Stephen King character, flaunting his signature dance moves. While DeGeneres managed to get the last laugh with her prank, Diddy made sure to reclaim it with his transformation.