The announcement of actor Gary Carr joining the cast of PBS’ Downton Abbey as its first black character didn’t sit well with one fan. Self-proclaimed “Abbey-head” Sean “Diddy” Combs surprised his followers on Wednesday when he announced on Twitter that he is headed to Highclere Castle to become a series regular on the cult British drama series. “I am the first black cast member on … Downton Abbey,” Diddy later explained in a spoof video posted to the site Funny or Die, adding, “and I got the scenes to prove it.”
In the 5-minute video, Diddy appears in a string of actual scenes from the wildly-popular British period drama set in the early 1900s as Lord Wolcott, the new owner of Downton Abbey. As he plays cricket, hosts the estate’s first official “white party”, drinks Ciroc (the Vodka brand he sponsors) with Mrs. Crawley and Dowager Countess, and even lets the much-despised servant Thomas Barrow get frisky with him, Diddy proves he fits right in on the show. Even Mrs. Crawley admits, “he strikes me as a very interesting addition to the family.” Then again, she always did have a weakness for outsiders.
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Diddy’s announcement initially confused fans and sparked speculation as to whether his page had been hacked. “It’s not true,” PBS spokeswoman Carrie Johnson said in an email to Reuters. Obsessive watchers of the show might have suspected something fishy too, as Diddy struggles to get the series’ name right, repeatedly referring to it in the video as Downtown Abbey.
The fourth season of Downton Abbey premieres — without Lord Wolcott — on January 5, 2014, but Diddy wants Abbey-heads to know that they can find the Lord Wolcott edition … well he’s not entirely sure where, but he’ll be in it. Definitely.
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