Did "5 celebrities" -- Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lopez, celebrity couple Beyoncé Knowles and Jay Z Carter, Kanye West and Usher Raymond -- flee the United States after Sean "Diddy" Combs' arrest on sex crimes charges in September 2024? No, that's not true: News reports with photographs and social media posts show DiCaprio, Lopez, Knowles, Carter and Raymond all were in the United States after Combs' arrest. West and his wife were traveling outside the U.S., but they were doing so before Combs was arrested.
The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on Facebook on October 17, 2024. It opened with a voice and caption that both said:
5 celebrities who have fled the U.S. after P Diddy's arrest
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Mon Oct 21 19:08:04 2024 UTC)
Combs was arrested on September 16, 2024 (archived here), in New York City on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation for purposes of prostitution. He pleaded not guilty.
The video that is the focus of this fact check has a voice narration that claims "five" celebrities have fled the U.S. after Combs' arrest, with Beyoncé and Jay-Z apparently counted as one. No proof was offered.
We will break down the claim by celebrity.
Jennifer Lopez
The video claims, "JLo has reportedly fled to Italy after canceling several tour dates." People magazine reported (archived here) that Lopez vacationed in Italy in June 2024. She canceled her tour dates in May 2024, as USA Today reported (archived here). Both events happened months before Combs' arrest.
Lopez was photographed in Los Angeles on October 18, 2024, according to images and details published in The New York Post (archived here). People magazine (archived here) published photos of and an article about Lopez in Los Angeles on September 24, 2024, just days after Combs was arrested, as this screenshot shows:
(Source: People magazine screenshot taken on Mon Oct 21 19:13:34 2024 UTC)
Usher Raymond
The video claims Usher was "spotted at the airport" and was "keeping a low profile abroad." No airport location was given.
Usher attended a campaign event with Vice President Kamala Harris at Lakewood Amphitheater in Atlanta on October 19, 2024, as the official transcript from the White House (archived here) of the event stated. Local news station 11 Live published an article that included a video of Usher's remarks here (archived here). Harris posted a video from the event on her official YouTube page with Usher appearing at 12:37:
Leonardo DiCaprio
The video claimed, "he's been in Europe for a while now," and that "he hasn't set foot in the U.S. since the scandal broke." DiCaprio and his girlfriend Vittoria Ceretti went on a date in New York City on October 20, 2024, as Page Six reported (archived here), with a photo of the actor in the city on October 18, 2024:
(Source: Page Six website screenshot taken on Mon Oct 21 19:24:16 2024 UTC)
Beyoncé and Jay-Z
Beyoncé and Jay-Z supported her sister Solange Knowles where she conducted her "Eldorado Ballroom" show at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on October 19, 2024, as multiple news outlets reported, including E! News (archived here) and Harper's Bazaar (archived here). Beyoncé posted photos on her Instagram account (archived here) showing her with her husband at the event:
(Source: Beyoncé Instagram screenshot taken on Mon Oct 21 19:13:22 2024 UTC)
On October 8, 2024, Beyoncé attended the Glamour Women of the Year event in New York City where her mother Tina Knowles received an award. Her attendance was reported by Glamour (archived here) in an article that included pictures from the event.
The video claims there was a rumor that Beyonce and Jay-Z would be appearing at Kanye West's "audition" in China. West was in China in September before Combs was arrested and there is no proof the couple was there.
Kanye West
West and his wife Bianca Censori were photographed in Tokyo on October 18, 2024, Yahoo! reported (archived here). The article noted that the couple had been traveling around the world together, going to South Korea in August, before Combs was arrested.
Published reports in the New York Post also show that West and his wife were traveling around the world before Combs was arrested on September 16, 2024. The couple were photographed (archived here) in South Korea in an article dated August 23, 2024. West and his children were in China on September 15, 2024, on stage at the Wuyuan River Sports Stadium, the newspaper reported (archived here) and according to a video published on X (archived here):
KANYE WEST PERFORMED "EVERYBODY" ALONG WITH YE's KIDS(North, Psalm, Chicago, Saint) pic.twitter.com/HWP1xqS6Ld
-- Ye (@ye_world_) September 15, 2024
Lead Stories reached out to the representatives of each celebrity and will update the story when a response is received.
Other Lead Stories fact checks on claims concerning each of the celebrities in this fact check can be found here: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lopez, Beyoncé and Jay Z, Kanye West and Usher.
