The Fall of Diddy revisits ‘traumatizing’ crime involving Shyne and Diddy

The shocking club shooting involving Sean “Diddy” Combs, Jennifer Lopez, and Moses “Shyne” Barrow is revisited in the new ID documentary The Fall of Diddy, with survivor Natania Griffin sharing her side of the story and how it’s impacted her life. 

Diddy is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York, awaiting a trial on charges of racketeering and sex trafficking, with a date set for May 2025. He faces life in prison if convicted and has denied all allegations against him. 

His September 2024 arrest arrived after a string of civil lawsuits were filed by men and women accusing the rap mogul of sexual assault and physical violence, in acts that date as far back as the ‘90s. 

ID’s The Fall of Diddy tracks Combs’ upbringing and his rise to fame while examining a string of controversies and incidents he’s been involved in, including a shooting in the now-defunct Club New York on December 27, 1999.

Diddy accused of framing protege Shyne for club shooting

ID

The night of the incident, Combs and Lopez, who were dating at the time, headed to the club and ran into Shyne, Combs’ protege at the time and Bad Boy rapper. There was an altercation that ended with gunfire, with three patrons being injured. 

Shyne was arrested and sentenced to 10 years in prison before being deported to his home country, Belize. However, Natania Griffin is one of numerous people who accuse Diddy of being the perpetrator. 

Natania appears in ID’s true crime docu-series, saying she felt compelled to share her story after the allegations against Diddy were made public. “I’ve spent a quarter of a century with my name and integrity in doubt,” she says. “In light of the lawsuits, I knew it was time to speak up.” 

Natania explains that she hadn’t even wanted to go out that night but felt compelled to in order to support her friend, who was a club promoter. She remembers the crowd started to turn on Diddy and the mood switched. 

She saw Diddy and Shyne heading towards the door before reaching for their waist. “I see them both holding guns, and God said to me, ‘Be still, you’re about to get hit,’” she continues. 

“I just see the muzzle flash and I grab my face because I instantly feel this hot torching flame on my face. I was certain I was gonna be dead, because I didn’t think a human couldn’t lose that much blood and still be alive. I just knew my life was never gonna be the same again.”

Natania maintains that Diddy was the one who shot her and left her traumatized. “I have nine bullet fragments that remain in my face and my head,” she says, accusing Diddy of taking her “peace of mind” and her “sense of safety.”

Diddy’s personal driver at the time, Wardel Fenderson, also appears in The Fall of Diddy, accusing the rapper of trying to bribe him to take ownership of his gun. Before it all kicked off that night, he says he picked Diddy and J-Lo up from the studio and recalls the former had a handgun. 

Wardel didn’t say anything and just drove them to the club. After the shooting, Diddy, J-Lo, and bodyguard Anthony “Wolf” Jones piled into the car and told Wardel to floor it to evade the police, at which stage he remembers Diddy opening the car window. 

According to his account, he later found out this was when Diddy allegedly dropped the gun out the window. Wardel claims Diddy later offered him $50,000 and a $300,000 diamond ring to tell the police the gun belonged to him. 

Initially, he went along with it but not because of the “bribe”. As he says, “The phrase on the street is ‘snitches get stitches.’” However, he retracted this statement. 

Despite this, Combs and Lopez were acquitted of all charges and Shyne was done on criminal possession of a weapon, first-degree assault, and reckless endangerment. 

Shyne himself accused Diddy of lying in the 2024 Hulu documentary The Honorable Shyne, alleging he “was absolutely set up to be the fall guy” in the shooting. 

Where is Shyne now?

Hulu

Following his early music career, Shyne – real name Moses Michael Levi Barrow – is now a politician in Belize. He currently serves as the Leader of the Opposition in the country’s House of Representatives, and the leader of the Belize United Democratic Party.

Although Shyne was born in Belize City, he moved to New York as a child, where he discovered his talents as a rapper. 

As well as his 2000 singles ‘Bad Boyz’ and ‘Bonnie & Shyne’, he wrote for and performed on albums including The Notorious B.I.G.’s ‘Born Again’, Diddy’s ‘Forever’, Usher’s ‘Confessions’, and Lil Wayne’s ‘Tha Carter IV’.

Shyne was on the cusp of releasing his self-titled debut album under Bad Boy Records when the Club New York incident unfolded. The album was still released in 2000, just under a year before he was sentenced. 

During his incarceration, he converted to Orthodox Judaism, and was eventually freed in 2009, when he was deported back to Belize. In the following years, he studied his religion, was appointed the Belize Music and Goodwill Ambassador, and got into politics. 

If you want to keep tabs on what he’s up to, you can follow Shyne on Instagram, where he has nearly 450k followers. You can also learn more in Hulu’s documentary The Honorable Shyne. 

The Fall of Diddy Episodes 1-2 are streaming on Max now, with the final two airing on ID at 9/8c on January 28. You can also find more new documentaries streaming this month.