Just follow the bouncing ball in chronological order…
How many of y’all out there are Downton Abbey fans?
— Diddy (@iamdiddy) May 15, 2013
I’m going to be making a big announcement in the next hour-im excited for yall to hear!
— Diddy (@iamdiddy) May 15, 2013
I have to admit that Downton Abbey is one of my favorite shows- and thats why Im so excited today @downtonabbey
— Diddy (@iamdiddy) May 15, 2013
MY BIG NEWS: So happy to announce that Im a series regular on DOWNTON ABBEY-my favorite show+i’ll be debuting a sneak peek tonight 12am PST!
— Diddy (@iamdiddy) May 15, 2013
Sneak peek from the set of Downton Abbey. Stay tuned for a special preview tonight 12am PST #downtonabbey instagram.com/p/ZWTT75plzr/
— Diddy (@iamdiddy) May 15, 2013
Another shot of me in action from the set of Downton Abbey-cant wait to share the preview tonight!… instagram.com/p/ZWeT78plyp/
— Diddy (@iamdiddy) May 15, 2013
Still with me?
Alright, so apparently, the above series of tweets ignited a rush of excitement and commentary from Diddy fans, traveling across the blogosphere since Diddy *broke* the news, with many believing it to be true. Lots of folks even congratulated him on Twitter.
I saw it all, but didn’t believe any of it, which is why I didn’t bother posting any of it earlier today, waiting for the producers of Downton Abbey or PBS to respond first, before saying anything.
And respond they have…
According to an email response to the Telegraph in the UK about an hour or so ago, PBS spokesman Carrie Johnson said it’s not true.
So is it really not true, or is PBS being coy, some might probably ask?
I’m leaning towards the former, and that Diddy probably shot some kind of Downton Abbey spoof (given the photos he shared), and the “preview” he says he’ll be sharing at midnight tonight, is just that.
There can only be one black person on Downton Abbey (I don’t make the rules), and that slot has already been filled.
UPDATE 5/16/13: See below…