O-Town says they have no contact with Diddy despite forming the band

O Town He explains that they have no connection to him Sean “Diddy” Combs.

“Of all the teams out there Making the band“We are the only ones not related to him,” the original member said Jacob Underwood He said in an interview with Hollywood Reporter On Tuesday, January 14th. We make our living touring and can't afford to have bookers Google us to find the latest Diddy clickbait.

Underwood, 44, noted that he had never met the 55-year-old rapper.

O-Town was formed during the inaugural season of the O-Town Making the bandWhich was broadcast in 2000 on ABC. During season 1, Lou Perlman — who was the notorious mastermind behind the Backstreet Boys and 'NSync — was searching for the next great boy band. underwood, Eric Michael Estrada, Trevor Bennick, Ashley Parker Angel and Natural strength They were chosen first. However, Kahoano left the group and the current member Dan Miller He was brought in as a replacement. (Angel later exited the group for good in 2003.)

After the first season ended, O'Town was signed to a record label. After the success of O-Town, a new season of O-Town was released Making the band It was in the works. However, the show left ABC and then aired on MTV. The MTV version brought Diddy on to talent scouting where he has shaped musical acts Danity Kane, Da Band, Day26 and solo artist Donnie Klang.

While O-Town did not participate in Diddy's version of the singing competition series, the group claimed to be suffering repercussions amid the rapper's current legal situation. Didi remains behind bars awaiting trial after being charged with sex trafficking and extortion last year. Diddy has denied all the accusations and has pleaded not guilty.

“We've already inherited our infamous producer/manager from our version of Make the Band, and now another version and its mogul are influencing us.” Estrada, 45, said: Hollywood Reporter“, referring to Perelman Legal scandals. In 2008, Perelman was sentenced to 25 years in prison on charges of conspiracy, money laundering and making false statements during bankruptcy proceedings. he He died of a heart attack In 2016 at the age of 62 while in prison.

Band agent Raval died He added that O-Town's shows were “pulled due to the perception of the group's connection to Diddy” despite clarifying that there was no connection between them and Diddy.

“I cannot play the victim because there are people who have suffered atrocities from this person who will be scarred for life,” Estrada told the outlet. “We have financial pressures and booking pressures, but they have emotional pressures. We just have to take this on the chin and keep going.”