Diddy Denies Stories

Diddy had nothing to do with it.

That's the statement coming from Sean "Diddy" Combs, who denied a news story linking him to the beating of rapper Tupac Shakur nearly 15 years ago, E! News said.

The Los Angeles Times published a story tying him, via interviews and FBI records, to the 1994 beating and shooting attack on Shakur at a New York recording studio.

The story also implicates two former associates of Combs's.

"The story is a lie. It is beyond ridiculous and completely false," Combs said.

According to the Times story, Combs knew in advance that the men were plotting an ambush on Shakur, who they believed had disrespected the Bad Boy Records founder by showing reluctance to join his label.

According to FBI accounts, Shakur was pistol-whipped and shot four times by his assailants. He also accidentally shot himself in the groin.

The 1994 attack on Shakur lit the spark that set off a long-standing feud between rappers on the East Coast and West Coast. Another popular East Coast rapper, the Notorious B.I.G., was killed in a shooting three years later.

"Neither [Biggie] nor I had any knowledge of any attack before, during or after it happened," Combs's statement continued. "I am shocked that the Los Angeles Times would be so irresponsible as to publish such a baseless and completely untrue story."

Combs is a giant name in the country's entertainment industry.

He is the CEO of Bad Boy Records -- a part of the Warner Music Group -- and has an Atlanta restaurant and TV production enterprise, according to E! News. He also founded Sean John, a clothing line.

Combs most recently appeared in an ABC production of A Raisin in the Sun, a role he also played on Broadway.