Producer Lil Rod spoke out for the first time since he sued Diddy in a Rolling Stone interview published on Tuesday (August 27). Lil Rod revealed his ongoing safety concerns after accusing Diddy of sexual assault, sex trafficking and racketeering, among other allegations, in a bombshell lawsuit.
“There have been too many people trying to figure out where I’m at,” the producer said. “I moved locations, moved states. Everything is private. My mom doesn’t even know where I live. It’s been like that pretty much all year.”
Lil Rod claimed he received threats. He needed to hire security for public performances, which hampered his ability to work with other artists. He was able to do a gig with T-Pain in Los Angeles in June. He also attended 50 Cent’s Humor & Harmony festival in Shreveport in August.
“I’ve never had so [many threats] hitting me at once,” Lil Rod said. “Diddy has a lot of people on his payroll in a lot of different positions. He’s very connected. It’s made me nervous traveling. Going to hotels, I ask if there’s any way to remove my name. [The last time] I landed in L.A., I knew he had connections there. I got off the plane worried. I masked my face and changed my outfits, trying to disguise myself. For sure I was uncomfortable, paranoid, afraid. But I told myself, you can’t keep living like this. I’ve got three therapists.”
Lil Rod believed he was blackballed for suing Diddy. The producer struggled with suicidal thoughts and financial woes. He praised T-Pain as one of the few people in the industry who didn’t shun him.
“I’m broke,” Lil Rod said. “I have no source of income right now. Every month I’m trying to figure out how the bills are going to get paid. I had my phone turned off for like 24 hours. And a lot of people just sit back and watch. But T-Pain is a real friend. His team worked to make sure it was safe for me [to work the show in Los Angeles]. That felt good. But there should be more artists like T-Pain having my back.”
Lil Rod and multiple women sued Diddy for sexual assault and other misdeeds over the past year. Diddy, who’s under federal investigation for sex trafficking, asked a judge to dismiss Lil Rod’s lawsuit on Monday (August 26). The Hip-Hop mogul’s lawyer described the lawsuit as “pure fiction.”
