Sean “Diddy” Combs: rapper, mogul… “Downton Abbey” actor? Yeah, says Diddy. No, says the show’s producers.
Wednesday afternoon (May 15), the artist tweeted to his 8 million followers that he had accepted a regular position on the Masterpiece period drama, which airs on PBS in the U.S. In addition, Diddy offered a sneak peek of his role on the show at midnight PST.
MY BIG NEWS: So happy to announce that Im a series regular on DOWNTON ABBEY-my favorite show+i’ll be debuting a sneak peek tonight 12am PST!
— Diddy (@iamdiddy) May 15, 2013
The rapper, who in another tweet called the show his “favorite,” has since posted photos to his Instagram account that he claims are stills of him on the show’s set. The pictures find Diddy dressed in fairly classy attire, though little else can be determined except for the fact that the photos definitely seem to be stills from some sort of video, be it from “Downton Abbey” or otherwise.
However, don’t be tuning in to see Downton Diddy just yet. A source from Boston’s WGBH, which produces Masterpiece, revealed that “[Diddy] hasn’t been cast in Downton Abbey.”
So what about Diddy’s tweets? It’s unlikely to be the work of hackers; the rapper’s account probably would have been recovered by now if that was the case. The tweets could also be a playful prank on Diddy’s part to which he’s incredibly dedicated, having changed his Twitter avatar, cover and background to something more suited to the show. Or the possibility remains that he’s simply gathering hype for a midnight announcement about something else, be it new music or perhaps a Downton-themed music video.