Farage called for release of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and praised effort to free drug trafficker

Nigel Farage called for the release of the imprisoned rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs and commended the efforts to free a former Honduran president jailed in the US for drug trafficking.The Reform UK leader was paid to make the remarks on the personalised video platform Cameo, which allows users to commission celebrities and public figures to record short video clips.Farage’s use of the platform has already come under scrutiny after a Guardian investigation revealed he had recorded videos supporting a rioter, repeating extremist slogans, and endorsing a neo-Nazi event.Farage’s spokesperson said his Cameo videos should “not be treated as political statements or campaign activity”.The latest videos unearthed by The Guardian were recorded in early 2025, after he was elected as an MP.Users of Cameo are required to write a short “prompt” for their chosen celebrity. They then pay a fee in exchange for a video.In January 2025, a Cameo user paid Farage £84 to produce a 26th birthday message for a woman from Honduras. “Please commend her for her efforts to free Juan Orlando Hernández from prison,” the customer wrote.Hernández was president of Honduras from 2014 to 2022. Weeks after he left office, he was arrested and extradited to the US. In June 2024 he was sentenced to 45 years in an American prison for drug trafficking and fined $8m. Prosecutors said he had worked with drug traffickers and taken millions of dollars in bribes.Despite Hernández’s conviction, Farage’s recorded message told the woman: “I’ve got to commend you for your efforts to free Juan Orlando Hernández from prison. You are working hard. You are a campaigner for justice and truth.”Hernández was later pardoned by Donald Trump, who claimed he had been asked to release the former president by “many of the people of Honduras”, adding that he had been told the prosecution was a “Biden setup”.Trump has not granted a pardon to Combs (also known as Puff Daddy) despite saying the rapper had requested clemency after he was found guilty of prostitution-related convictions in July 2025 and given a four-year sentence.Months earlier, when Farage was asked by a Cameo user to use a slogan supportive of Combs’ release, the rapper was being held without bail at Brooklyn’s metropolitan detention centre, while he awaited trial.The user paid £82 for a birthday message for “Kieron”, who was turning 17 in March 2025, and requested Farage say “Free Diddy, eat Shankly”. The user also asked the Reform leader to use a hardline anti-immigration phrase, “if in doubt kick ‘em out”. Farage said: “I’ve got to roast Newcastle and say Free Diddy, eat Shankly.” He added: “And if in doubt, let’s control our borders.”Farage’s spokesperson added: “Mr Farage has recorded many thousands of videos for genuine supporters to celebrate weddings, congratulate friends or send novelty messages. At that scale, the occasional mistake can occur.”