“He’s recording people”: Conspiracy theory claims Jay-Z wore a camera ring at a party with Diddy
A new conspiracy theory claims that rapper Jay-Z was wearing a tiny camera in the form of a ring at a 2020 pre-Grammys brunch. Video of P. Diddy giving a speech while Jay-Z stands awkwardly holding his glass, pointing the ring outward, spread on TikTok and X in June.
What is the Jay-Z camera ring conspiracy theory?
In January 2020, Jay-Z and many other celebrities attended the annual Roc Nation pre-Grammys brunch. Some may remember the event from the infamous mauve and not-pink suit the rapper wore.
Cut to June 2025, and a clip from the brunch began to spread in which Diddy gave a toast. Jay-Z stood next to him as he scanned the crowd. Like Diddy, he held his glass by the stem so that his black onyx ring remained in full view.
Jay-Z's hand moves a bit during the clip, leading some to claim that the flat surface of the ring must be a camera lens, and he was filming each attendee's face.
One of the first to spread the conspiracy theory this summer was TikToker @moon03051. They gained 8.3 million views with the clip, posted on June 3 and asking, "do yall think Jay Z’s ring was recording?"
@moon03051 Replying to @luhzizzy904???? do yall think Jay Z’s ring was recording? #fyp #DiddyTrial#dontfreediddy #CassieTestimony#Diddy5#kevinhart#alexfine#tmz#kevinhart#frenchmontana#jayz#meekmill#kraft#DiddyParty#PuffDaddy#PDiddy#HipHopNews ♬ original sound - moon03
The video's hashtags connected the supposed camera ring to the Diddy trial in which Sean Combs was accused of racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation for purposes of prostitution. He was acquitted of the more serious charges last week but faces up to 20 years for the latter.
Of course, the Roc Nation pre-Grammys brunch was not and never was an infamous "Diddy party." While it's not technically impossible that Jay-Z's ring was a camera, there was no reason to record anyone there while normal cameras were rolling everywhere. Furthermore, no one has legally established that Jay-Z had anything to do with the Diddy parties.
Of course, that hasn't stopped the speculation.
"Can't unsee"
Since June 3, multiple TikTok videos have gone viral by spreading the Jay-Z camera ring conspiracy theory. On June 6, @true_story718 posted his version explaining the theory and giving his take on the party clip.
"It looked like a camera, and he was pointing it at everybody," the TikToker claimed. "Why would you be recording people if nothing wrong is going on?"
@true_story718 TRUE STORY ???? #itsnotagame #stopplayingwithme #truestory #rocnationbrunch #jayz #pdiddy ♬ Creepy piano, ghost story horror ambient：L(1025873) - cowaii - Fear music encyclopedia
You could ask the same from whoever recorded the original clip, but then again, we're not trying to get millions of TikTok views.
A month later, on July 6, X user @djrosegawd brought up the theory in a quote tweet featuring the Roc Nation video.
"I can’t unsee Jay Z looking like he’s recording ppl with his ring," they wrote. Whoever said that was on point."
Many commenters agreed.
"His facial expression not helping," @9FourTil pointed out.
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