P. Diddy hosts Posh White Party in the Hamptons; launches campaign to get people to vote

Jet, July 26, 2004

Each year Sean "P. Diddy" Combs has one up on the previous year when it comes to throwing his much-talked about White Party.

This year during the 6th annual White Party, P. Diddy arrived with a historic "date"-an original copy of the Declaration of Independence-at the exclusive PlayStation 2 estate, a private, all-inclusive nine-acre retreat in Bridgehampton, NY.

To commemorate the significance of the Fourth of July, P. Diddy stressed the importance of voting in this year's election. He brought the rare, framed document to remind people of its magnitude.

P. Diddy used the affair to officially launch his Citizen Change, a nonpartisan voter-registration organization aimed at getting today's youth and more minorities to register to vote. Banners around the party read "Vote or Die" and T-shirts with the same logo were given out throughout the evening.

The rap mogul borrowed the document from veteran TV-film producer Norman Lear, who bought it four years ago for $8 million. Three armed security guards escorted the rare manuscript. Only around 25 of the 200 original copies made in 1776 are known to exist.

With an all-white dress code strictly enforced, more than a thousand white-clad guests attended the affair at the ritzy mansion in the Hamptons.

P. Diddy arrived by helicopter wearing a fedora, white linen pants and matching vest accessorized with diamond vest buttons and diamond cuff links and a silk ascot.

The award-winning rapper/producer is currently starring in the Broadway production of A Raisin in the Sun (JET, May 17). P. biddy, who uses his birth name, Scan Combs, as an actor, had just finished a matinee performance when he had two chartered helicopters fly him and fellow cast members to the lavish gala.

Phylicia Rashad, who made history recently when she became the first Black woman to win a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a play (JET, June 21) for her work in A Raisin in the Sun, was among the notables at the affair.

Others enjoying the festivities included boxer Lennox Lewis, model Tyson Beckford, NBA player Elton Brand, acclaimed songwriter Denise Rich, Kwame Jackson of "The Apprentice" TV fame, renowned socialite "The Simple Life" TV star Paris Hilton, Lisa Ling of "The View" TV fame and fashion designer Betsey Johnson.