Did Sheila E. Actually Testify in Diddy's Trial, or Is Someone Drumming up Rumors About Her?

Although instruments shouldn't be gendered, there is a joke amongst musicians about women usually playing the bass guitar because it's supposedly easy to learn. Perhaps the issue here is not that women can't figure out how to master a more complicated instrument but rather, the boys won't let them into their clubhouse. Fortunately, there are plenty of glass-ceiling examples we can point to, such as Sheila Escoved.

If that name doesn't ring a bell it's probably because you're more familiar with her stage name: Sheila E. The singer-songwriter and instrumentalist is widely regarded as one of the greatest musicians of her generation. She can sing, dance, and play the heck out of a set of drums. In fact, she famously played drums for Prince. Decades later, her name was brought up in connection to Sean "Diddy" Combs's sex trafficking trial. Did Sheila E. testify? Here's what we know.

There are quite a few name drops happening at Diddy's trial, including but not limited to Kid Cudi, Michael B. Jordan, and Kanye West. As of the second week of the trial, Sheila E. has not been mentioned and by all accounts never even met Diddy. This rumor started with a viral video posted to the YouTube Channel WhatsMyStarWorth, and warns the viewers that this is for "educational and entertainment purposes only."

The video's narrator claims that the following information was taken from Diddy's trial based on reporting done by the Inner City Press X account, which is run by journalist Matthew Russell Lee. This is not the first time the people behind the WhatsMyStarWorth YouTube channel claimed to create content from the trial, via Lee's reporting. A previous video alleged that an audio recording made by Prince was played during Diddy's trial.

Lee addressed the Prince video in a post to X, writing that "no Prince audio played in the U.S. v. Sean Combs trial last week." He has yet to comment on the Sheila E. video, but a quick look shows that Lee has not mentioned Sheila E. testifying at the trial. The WhatsMyStarWorth video is clearly fake and piggybacks off of the previous Prince video. The subsequent Sheila E. content asserts that Prince confided in her and feared for his life.

The very same day the WhatsMyStarWorth video claiming Sheila E. was testifying at Diddy's trial dropped, the Queen of Percussion was in San Francisco promoting her latest album. We are not experts in space and time, but can a person be in two places at once? Sheila E. stopped by KRON 4 to chat about her Grammy Award-winning salsa album "Bailar Deluxe."

Unfortunately, most people in the comments under the WhatsMyStarWorth YouTube video don't seem to understand that Sheila E. did not testify at Diddy's trial. "Sheila E.'s testimony was powerful," wrote one person. "Thank you, Queen, for protecting the truth and Prince’s name." Thankfully, there are folks who are still committed to the truth. "I love Prince and Sheila E.," said another, "but she did not testify today or any other day. Google." There you have it. When in doubt, Google.