By Roman Wolfe
Czar Entertainment CEO Jimmy "Henchmen" Rosemond has responded to an apology issued by the Los Angeles Times, claiming the article not only libeled him, but also put his family at risk.
A March 17 article written by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Chuck Phillips titled "Blood Feud" claimed that Sean "Diddy" Combs and Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G." Wallace had advanced knowledge that Tupac Shakur would be assaulted at Quad Recording Studios in 1994.
The article also claimed that Shakur was assaulted at the Quad at the behest of Rosemond and a previously unknown character, James Sabatino.
The controversial story was found to have been based on fabricated FBI documents which were introduced into court by Sabatino himself, as part of a $19 million dollar lawsuit against Sean "Diddy" Combs.
The Los Angeles Times’ Russ Stanton , Deputy Managing Editor Marc Duvoisin and author Chuck Phillips have all issued apologies to readers over the story.
"While we are gratified that the L.A. Times has acknowledged basing their article on fabricated FBI reports, their apology does not go far enough," Rosemond’s lawyer Jeffery Lichtman told AllHipHop.com. "Too often public figures are libeled and thought to be unwilling to defend themselves from the lies of bullying, publicity-hungry journalists."
While both Rosemond and Combs have promised lawsuits against the Los Angeles Times, Tupac Shakur’s mother is taking a different course of action.
"We will continue to work to save the lives of our young people and to offer peaceful alternatives to violence and conflict resolution," Afeni Shakur told AllHipHop.com in a statement today (March 28). "That is what we have done since the murder of my son, and that is exactly what we will consciously continue to do."
Rosemond’s attorney was more aggressive, stating that the article has endangered the life of his client, due to his association with one of the most infamous incidents the history of the music business.
"The fact is that Chuck Phillips placed Mr. Rosemond and his family in a potentially dangerous situation due to his actions which amounted to more than mere neglect: his actions were done with reckless disregard for the truth and for that the L.A. Times will be held responsible," Lichtman promised.