Déjà vu. Sean “Diddy” Combs took steps to change his name again after several previous alterations to the moniker.
According to multiple reports, the rapper, 49, filed a petition in Los Angeles County Superior Court. He wants to legally change his name from Sean John Combs to Sean Love Combs.
Diddy previously went by “P. Diddy,” “Puff Daddy” and “Puffy” before switching to strictly “Diddy.”
The entrepreneur announced his decision to make the amendment in November 2017. “I’ve been praying on this, and I decided that — I know it was risky ‘cause it could come off corny to some people, like yo — I decided to change my name again,” he explained in a video shared on Twitter at the time. “I’m just not who I am before. I’m something different. So my new name is Love, a.k.a. Brother Love. I will not be answering to Puffy, Diddy, Puff Daddy or any of my other monikers but Love, or Brother Love, OK?”
Diddy later claimed that he did not mean for the declaration to be taken seriously. “Due to the overwhelming response to the media out there, and just to not wanting there to be any confusion, I was only joking,” he said in a follow-up post. “I didn’t change my name. It was just part of one of my alter-egos, and one of my alter-egos is Love.”
He added: “To set the record straight, because I have a lot of press to do in the next couple weeks, you can address me by any of my older names, but if you still wanna call me Love, you can call me Love, baby. But I was only playing.”
Diddy’s latest name change comes amid split speculation with rumored girlfriend Lori Harvey. The 22-year-old unfollowed the music producer on Instagram earlier this month. She made the move days after he was spotted at L.A. restaurant Nobu with actress Nicole Olivera.
Diddy and Harvey first sparked romance rumors in July when they stepped out together in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City. They then took a vacation to Italy with her stepfather, Steve Harvey, in August.