'We live in 2018, and it's the first time that the film industry gave us a fair playing field on a worldwide blockbuster,' the rapper says in a new interview.
- July 12, 2018
AceShowbiz - Sean 'Diddy' Combs called Black Panther a "cruel experiment".
The Marvel movie, starring Chadwick Boseman and Michael B. Jordan, and directed by Ryan Coogler, was praised for having a predominantly black cast, and has grossed more than $1.3 billion (£984 million) at the box office worldwide.
However, the rapper and music producer is skeptical about what the critically-acclaimed film did for the future of diversity in Hollywood.
"Black Panther was a cruel experiment," the 48-year-old told Variety. "We live in 2018, and it's the first time that the film industry gave us a fair playing field on a worldwide blockbuster, and the hundreds of millions it takes to make it."
Diddy went on to complain about the financial discrepancies that result from powerful companies across the world turning black culture into successful products.
"We only get 5 per cent of the venture capital invested in things that are black owned – black-owned businesses, black-owned ideas, black-owned IP," he said. "You can't do anything without that money, without resources. But when we do get the resources, we over-deliver.
"When Adidas invests in Kanye and it's done properly, you have the right results. When Live Nation invests in artists and puts them in arenas the same way U2 would be, you have the right results. Black Panther, Black-ish, fashion; it's all about access. If you're blocked out of the resources, you can't compete. And that's my whole thing – to be able to come and compete," he explained.
The music producer, who founded label Bad Boy Entertainment back in 1993, also blasted the music industry for its lack of diversity, and told Variety that "there's no black CEO of a major record company."
He continued: "For all the billions of dollars that these black executives have been able to make them, (there's still hesitation) to put them in the top-level positions. It makes sense to give (executives of colour) a chance and embrace the evolution, instead of it being that we can only make it to president, senior VP."
