P. Diddy To Open For Britney Spears

NEW YORK (AP) - Sean "P. Diddy" Combs has been tapped to step in and open for Britney Spears on the last two dates of the Britney 2001 U.S. tour.
Combs replaces O-Town, whose stint as the opening act ended on December 10, and LFO, which has stepped in to open since then. Combs is scheduled to open for Spears at the American Airlines Arena in Miami on Wednesday (December 19), and at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C., on December 21.

Combs's opening slot was reportedly secured via his new management agreement with Johnny Wright, who has entered into a Combs co-management agreement with Phil Robinson, according to reports. Wright's other clients include Spears, *NSYNC, and newcomer Christina Milian.

In related news, Combs appears alongside Halle Berry, Billy Bob Thornton, and Mos Def in the Marc Foster-directed film Monster's Ball, which opens on December 26 in New York and Los Angeles. Combs plays Lawrence Musgrove, an inmate whose wife (Berry) is being romantically pursued by the prison's racist warden (Thornton). The Lion's Gate project was filmed in New Orleans.