When it comes to Diddy’s federal trial and numerous sexual assault allegations, Cuba Gooding Jr. says he has been praying for everyone who’s involved.
Catching up with TMZ at LAX on Wednesday, Gooding said he’s been keeping up with the ongoing trial because “you turn your TV on, and see it everywhere.” But the Academy Award winner said he’s praying for the disgraced founder of Bad Boys Records, Cassie Ventura, and all the alleged victims.
“Like I said, I pray for the brother, and I pray for the victims, and I pray for Cassie and her family,” Gooding said. “That’s all I can do from a bystander’s point of view.”
When asked if he feels sorry for Diddy’s perilous predicament, Gooding said that he does, but also “conceding that it can be difficult to feel that way at the moment.” Quoting a passage from the Bible, he explained that he could not be judgmental of anyone because he has had his public issues.
“You know, it’s hard to, but yeah, I feel sympathy,” he said. “They say he, without sin, cast the first stone. I don’t judge anybody.”
Gooding Jr. was named in producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones’ lawsuit against Diddy in 2023, but he was later dropped as a defendant.
Appearing on the PBD Podcast in May, Gooding described the suit as “an alleged cash grab.”
“This guy who’s suing him [is] going after the money, man,” he alleged. “I’m sure, and by the way, I don’t know P. Diddy’s life. I don’t know what he’s going through […] We were acquaintances, just like I just showed you. Two–three times I’ve seen him.”