Mary J. Blige just announced her next tour, which sounds like it’s going to be a love letter to her fans. But the announcement itself turned into a conversation starter about the reckoning that’s roiling the music industry after last week’s federal indictment of music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.
“When it’s all said and done, it’s never all said and done, I owe my fans a gratitude I can’t put into words, so I put it into a show,” the “Family Affair” singer said Monday on Instagram, announcing the upcoming outing and the presale that starts Thursday.
The tour is slated for 2025 and will feature R&B superstars Ne-Yo and Mario. No confirmed dates have been announced yet.
In a Monday appearance on the season premiere of “Sherri,” Blige told host Sherri Shepherd that she will go on tour in January and has a new album on the way, “Gratitude,” which drops Nov. 15.
“If you are a Mary J. Blige fan, this is for you,” she said, later adding, “I mean, look at my life right now. I’m in a constant state of gratitude. I feel good. I have jobs and opportunities. I’m healthy. My family’s healthy. I have people around that care for me and love me and I have amazing fans. So I’m so grateful to my fans for all the years of love that they’ve given me and support.”
The “No More Drama” and “Real Love” hitmaker is next scheduled to perform Oct. 26 at the AZ Jazz Fest in Glendale, Ariz., according to her website, which now bears a teaser for her For My Fans Tour. The actor and singer, who famously performed with hip-hop legends Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg at the 2022 Super Bowl, last embarked on a solo tour in late 2022. That tour, called Good Morning Gorgeous, was timed to her album of the same name, her first since she finalized her protracted divorce from record producer Kendu Isaacs. The couple had been married for 15 years.
Representatives for Blige did not immediately respond Monday to The Times’ requests for comment.
With a dearth of details accompanying her tour announcement, the nine-time Grammy Award winner’s followers took to the comments section of her post to do their own guesswork. And much of their speculation not-so-subtly referred to the “Mudbound” star’s apparent silence on the allegations ensnaring Bad Boy Entertainment co-founder Combs and on some problematic rumors swirling this year around Ne-Yo.
“Auntie I hope & pray you had nothing to do with that Diddy crap!” one Instagram user wrote on Blige’s tour announcement.
“Trying to get that money before she go ‘DOOOWWNNNNNN,‘” another said.
“This is not the time to be kicking it with Neyo Auntie,” another wrote.
“Take neyo off. He’s not a good look right now,” a follower demanded.
“Auntie you could have done this tour by yourself no need for the other two,” a user replied.
“Hopefully it won’t turn into a ‘for legal fees’ tour,” another mused.
Blige, 53, who worked with Combs when he was a producer at Uptown Records at the beginning of her career, has been friends with him for years. She remained mum after the hip-hop mogul’s arrest last week and his subsequent federal indictment on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. But back in March, after two of Diddy’s homes were raided, Blige posted a cryptic note that appeared to allude to the mounting allegations against Combs and tried to distance herself from his legal woes.
“Unfortunately, a lot of you all met me when I lacked boundaries and was a people pleaser,” she wrote. “Let me reintroduce myself, I burn bridges as needed.”
The indictment, unsealed last week, alleges that Combs and his associates lured female victims, often under the pretense of a romantic relationship. Combs then allegedly used force, threats of force, coercion and controlled substances to get them to engage in sex acts with male prostitutes during sessions Combs referred to as “freak offs.” Combs is accused of giving the women ketamine, ecstasy and GHB to “keep them obedient and compliant” during the performances. Combs has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and his attorney has asserted that he is innocent.
Like many celebrities who have been associated with Combs or attended his famous parties, Ne-Yo, 44, was pulled back into the Diddy news cycle last week when an April video resurfaced in which ex Sadé Bagnerise, the mother of his two children, referred to him as “Diddy Jr” and accused him of partaking in “freak offs.” Bagnerise, who shares two children with the “So Sick” singer, also accused Ne-Yo of “body slamming” her, neglecting their kids and emulating Combs’ alleged misconduct, according to the Atlanta Black Star. However, after Bagnerise sounded off on her ex in April, she took back her statements later that day and apologized for “putting yall in our business,” the Shade Room reported at the time.
Representatives for Ne-Yo declined to comment on the allegations when reached Monday by The Times.
Ne-Yo, real name Shaffer Chimere Smith, was also mentioned in a civil lawsuit against Diddy that was brought by former Danity Kane singer Dawn Richard earlier this month. In her complaint, Richard alleged that in late 2009 or early 2010 Ne-Yo, singer Usher and Jimmy Iovine, who was chief executive of Interscope Records at the time, were present at a Combs-hosted dinner in West Hollywood. While there, she said, she witnessed Combs punch his then-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura in the stomach. She argued that that made the musicians and record label “complicit in Mr. Combs’ behavior.”
Meanwhile, some of Blige’s fans remained loyally in her corner, celebrating the tour announcement if not celebrating its unexpected timing.
“As always. When have yall ever known Mary to address internet gossip and rumors? Never! That’s why she remains successful,” one user wrote.
“Mary said she booked and busy don’t bother her with that other mess,” another said.
“If you don’t like the line up keep it moving. Leave Mary alone. We won’t be canceling her for any reason. True Mary fans will always support,” another wrote.