Outside the doors of the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills, celebrities and musicians graced the red carpet for the Los Angeles screening of Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: A Bad Boy Story on Wednesday night. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Tyrese were among the famous friends and family of Sean “Diddy” Combs as well as talent from his Bad Boy Records label who came out to show their support for the documentary.
For director Daniel Kaufman, working with Combs was a surreal, yet educational experience. Despite having Combs give orders to all of the head executives on the tour to obey Kaufman’s directions, Kaufman considers the Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop experience one holistic moment. “Like he says in the movie, he talks a lot about that struggle with overcoming fear and approaching everything you do with that sense of faith, and for me, that was kind of the lesson of the experience.”
The documentary also added Andre Harrell, acclaimed record producer, to the credits as an executive producer. Harrell, who famously fired Combs as an intern from Uptown Records in the early ‘90s, said that watching the difficulties Combs faced in the film reminded him of when the artist was young and trying to make it big. “Before, he was fighting for people to listen to him. Now, everyone just listens,” Harrell said.
Bad Boy artists including Lil’ Kim, Ma$e, Total and Carl Thomas showed their support at the L.A. event. Thomas, R&B singer, credits Combs for his success in music and considers his role in the film a collective act. “It’s like being a letter that’s a part of the word, you have no idea if you’re going to be parts of books or magazines, but you know that the word is going to be used here and there,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “So I would definitely consider this a celebration, a peak moment.”
As celebrities like Usher, Mario Winans and G-Eazy strolled down the carpet, with a surprise arrival from Vin Diesel, Combs made his appearance earlier than expected. His family, including his six children, walked before him. The singer, and director of Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop, revealed a moment of vulnerability as he talked about the hardships shown in the film. “There was so much that we had to deal with,” Combs said. “We came back together, and I think it was time for me to discuss it. And I’m glad I did it in this film.”
Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: A Bad Boy Story will be released on June 25 through Apple Music.
