John Rich Hurls “Blackmail” Accusations at “Sadistic, Wicked, Satanic” Music Industry

First rising to fame as a member of the band Lonestar, John Rich found success in the early 2000s as one-half of the country music duo Big & Rich. Their 2004 debut album Horse of a Different Color spawned four straight Top 40 country hits. Despite the source of his livelihood, Rich has never shied away from publicly criticizing Nashville and the music industry. Recently, he used the adjectives “sadistic,” “wicked,” and “satanic” when describing the industry at large.

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John Rich Hurls Accusations of “Blackmail,” “Extortion” At Music Industry

During a recent appearance on The Benny Show podcast, John Rich claimed that the music industry deploys some seriously shady tactics to keep successful artists under their thumb.

“There are tactics deployed, you know, in the entertainment industry where they will they will try to co-opt the big talent,” said the “Lost in This Moment” crooner. “They’ll try to put them in positions to compromise them, get pictures and video on them, basically as blackmail, as extortion, where then they can make that artist do anything they want them to do.

He continued, “It is the most sadistic, wicked, satanic stuff you’ve ever seen.”

🚨John Rich Explains EXACTLY How Diddy and The Rest of The Music Industry Operates Behind-The-Scenes:

"They will blackmail big talent and get them to do whatever they want. I didn't get invited… I know people who have been… they walked in and ran out. Dark situation." pic.twitter.com/yfW8KeTtTR

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) April 25, 2025

On Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Parties

By now, the legal saga of Sean “Diddy” Combs is widely known. The rapper/producer is currently awaiting federal trial on racketeering and sex trafficking charges at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York.

[RELATED: John Rich Says He Once Got Into an Altercation With “Punk” Kanye West for Disrespecting Gretchen Wilson]

Much of the case against Combs comes from the infamous “White Parties” that he hosted at his Hamptons home. And John Rich tells host Benny Johnson that he knows people who attended these parties. However, he says that he never received an invitation himself.

“Probably because they knew I would beat every last one of their a–es into the wall if they tried something like that on me,” said the country star, 51. He went on to add “that there would be teeth and fingernails laying all over that room.”

“And they knew that about me,” he said, “and so I didn’t get invited to those.”

Featured image by John Shearer/Getty Images for CMA