Nice Try, Diddy refers to the latest spam comment meme that makes fun of rapper Sean Love Combs, aka Diddy. Though it was originally used to ridicule his need to be involved in a million projects simultaneously, it has taken on a far darker meaning since his arrest on September 16, 2024, on accusations of sex trafficking and racketeering.
‘Nice Try, Diddy’ meaning
People spamming “nice try diddy” is the latest of memes surrounding the controversial rapper. It is especially popular in video advertisements on social media such as Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter) and spread in popularity since its inception in May 2024.
It quickly became a go-to catchphrase to comment underneath social media videos or ads of any kind, alongside other quippy phrases like “me when I lie” and “who is this diva?”
Originally Diddy had no actual relation to the posts “Nice try diddy” was being spammed under, and there was some confusion as to what the copypasta was referring to. Before Combs’ arrest in September 2024, the spammy meme made fun of the rapper for trying to be involved with dozens of different projects, potentially to pay off all the lawsuits he had been embroiled in concerning sustained public allegations of sexual assault and battery.
P. Diddy’s arrest, incarceration, and the resurgence of ‘Nice try Diddy’
Sean P. Diddy Combs was arrested in New York on September 16, 2024, on accusations of sex trafficking and racketeering. He is incarcerated and awaiting trial and has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
‘Nice try Diddy’ saw a resurgence across TikTok, particularly after Feds found 1,000 bottles of baby oil in the rapper’s homes, and unsubstantiated rumors of underground tunnels and grottos began to spread.
@nicetry_diddy This aged like rotten milk. “Aint no party like a diddy party” #pdiddy #puffdaddy #seandiddycombs #diddyparty ♬ original sound – NiceTry_Diddy
‘Nice Try Diddy’ origins
The first known instance of the phrase “Nice try Diddy” on social media seems to have been traced to an ad for Newsbreak’s Safety Map, a tool used to note the locations of known sex offenders. @raccoon2u2 noted this trend in a tweet with a screenshot of the Instagram post.
When someone asked what the phrase meant, @raccoon2u2 replied, “Google his name +sex offender and you’ll get your answer.” This is, of course, alluding to the allegations of the rapper being involved in the trafficking of minors.
What are the implications of the memes surrounding Diddy on his career and public perception?
The proliferation of memes and jokes about P Diddy, particularly those referencing alleged misconduct, has only served to negatively affect his already tarnished public image. While the copypasta was lighthearted before his arrest, teasing the rapper for his ubiquitousness in various projects within the music industry, ‘Nice try Diddy’ earned a deeply nefarious connotation.
Meme spread
This phrase has begun to spread under more paid ads on social media in the nearly two months since it was first noted, and the posts don’t seem to have any connection to the rapper and his fraught history.
“Nice try diddy” can be seen spammed in an ad for Piece by Piece, the LEGO-style movie about Pharrell Williams’s life and career, on an ad for Call of Duty, and even Apple Intelligence.
In the r/OutOfTheLoop subreddit post on June 10th, 2024 about the spam comments on Call of Duty, Redditor u/ explained, “The ‘nice try Diddy’ comments on things are part of a meme where people joke about P. Diddy trying to be involved in everything, following raids on his homes. It’s a silly internet joke implying he’s trying to sneak into unrelated situations, like the game’s release. It’s just a dumb joke lol”
Another person in the comments section, however, claimed that it was a play on the phrase “Nice try, feds,” which had been previously used as comment spam on ads for mobile games that seem to be more for data mining than actual interest in making a good game.
This is yet another claim that Diddy was an informant to law enforcement, a rumor that was spread by Kanye West back in March 2024.
