THE DIDDLER

Given that Joker: Folie à Deux, the sequel to Todd Phillips' 2019 Joker, is released today in cinemas nationwide, I thought it might be a good time to remind everyone that the definitive Joker is not, as you might assume, Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, or Joaquin Phoenix, but Sean Combs, aka P Diddy, now commonly known as "The Diddler."

I'm happy to say that I had barely given Sean Combs/Puff Daddy/P Diddy/The Diddler any thought whatsoever until I saw him dressed up as Heath Ledger's Joker for Halloween in 2022. Diddy appeared on various social media while he cruised the streets of Los Angeles as the iconic DC villain and "terrorised" various event parties, all without once breaking character. In fact, so convincing was he as the Joker that it prompted feverish suggestions online that he should be considered for future cinematic portrayals of the character.

Though while many saw his dressing up as a performance, I saw it more as an unveiling of the true monster behind the P Diddy facade. The ease with which he took to the role was hugely revealing of the darkness pervading the bottomless well that is his soul. There was an excitement and freedom he found in playing the Joker that immediately set off my "spidey" senses, and I realized that this was a form of liberation for Diddy—this was his way of being his true self. In a way, it makes sense that while most people are dressing up for fun on Halloween, he was dressing up to be "real," a costume confession, if you will.

I also remember that P Diddy had "beef" with Kanye West at the time over his "White Lives Matter" T-shirt stunt, which had thrown some of the black celebrity establishment power players into meltdown, forcing them to publicly renounce the man now known as "Ye."

And yet, it seems strange that while The Diddler is now facing numerous federal charges and potentially looking to spend the rest of his life behind bars, it's Kanye who is currently enjoying the adulation of fans in Asia (Korea, China) and preparing to record a new solo album titled Bully.

Perhaps it's Kanye (who has worn numerous masks of his own) who is now having the last laugh on the Joker, aka The Diddler.