In 2024, rapper and music/fashion mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs was charged with sex trafficking, amongst a number of other serious federal crimes. But as Puff Daddy/Puffy/P. Diddy has been a prominent fixture in the hip hop scene since the ‘90s, rumors about his “freak off” parties, shady business dealings, and controlling nature circulated long before his fall from grace.
These celebrities who crossed paths with or worked with Diddy hinted at or straight-up called out his behavior – in many cases well before it was public knowledge.
The rapper has publicly feuded with Diddy since the early ’00s, and has had plenty to say about him over the years. In 2010:
In an old interview that resurfaced after the allegations against Diddy came to light, the That’s So Raven star was asked about requirements and necessities of Hollywood, replying:
Brown had previously referred to Diddy as one of his “best friends” but said:
In a 2019 interview with Variety, the Danity Kane singer reflected on the trauma she endured working under Diddy’s management on Making The Band:
Hip hop trio The Lox signed with Diddy’s Bad Boy Records in the ‘90s. By 2005, they were so fed up with him they took to live radio to air their grievances. The group felt they had been taken advantage of as young artists by Diddy and his lawyers, said that more than half their earnings were taken from them, and expressed their desire to be released from their contract after ten years since their initial record with Bad Boy. Lox member Jadakiss told host Angie Martinez:
As Martinez continued the conversation with the rest of the group, Jadakiss piped in with an apparent idea on how one could get rid of Diddy:
Diddy subsequently called into the show, irate, particularly about the refrigerator comment, and a shouting match ensued, which included The Lox calling the Bad Boy founder “a coward” and “a thief.” They also brought up Diddy’s track record with other allegedly exploited artists, saying, “You had a bunch of artists whose careers never went right with you.”
The “Me & U” singer’s public lawsuit against Diddy in November of 2023 was the beginning of the end for the rapper, as it was followed by a slew of allegations and a leaked video of hotel footage showing Diddy beating Cassie. (He had previously refuted her claims of abuse.)
In a statement following her lawsuit, Ventura said:
Ventura signed with Diddy’s record label, Bad Boy records, after meeting him in 2005 as a 19-year-old (he was 37). She claimed in her complaint that he subsequently pressured her into a relationship and took “complete control” over her life, “thereby ensuring her inability to escape his hold.”
The complaint detailed nearly a decade of terror Ventura allegedly faced under Diddy’s thumb, including coerced drug use, sex acts, sexual assault, and repeated violence and physical abuse, stating:
Following the release of the video, Ventura wrote on social media,
Usher spoke to Howard Stern about his year spent living with Diddy as a 13-year-old at “Puffy’s Flavor Camp”:
Williams and Diddy have feuded and reconciled over the years, most of the tension seemingly stemming from Williams’s claim in her 2004 memoir that he “single-handedly tried to ruin” her career. Williams believes Diddy had a role in her 1998 firing from a radio show after she spoke about him on air. Williams wrote, “The hell he put me through, I will never forget. But I don’t hate him.”
Williams has also suggested that Diddy sent the girl group Total to attack her while she was working on the radio show:
The talk show host also commented on the power dynamic between Diddy and Cassie when they briefly broke up in 2015, saying on The Wendy Williams Show:
In October 2024, Williams responded to the sentiment that she had been “right” about the music mogul:
Music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones was hired in 2022 to work on Diddy’s first studio album since 2006, The Love Album. In February of 2024, Jones filed a lawsuit against the rap mogul, alleging he’d been sexually assaulted and forced to engage in drugs and other sexual acts. The suit includes claims that there were hidden cameras in Diddy’s house, allegations against Diddy’s son Justin and his chief of staff Kristina Khorram, and says Mr. Combs once “threatened to eat Mr. Jones’s face…”
In a rare 2024 interview with Rolling Stone, Jones said of Diddy:
In a since-removed interview on the Drink Champs podcast in 2022, West went on a tirade against Diddy, who he labeled a “
In a resurfaced 1995 interview, Shakur was asked if he believes Puffy was involved in a shooting in which he was the target.
Shakur also wrote “Hit ‘Em Up” as a diss track directed at Diddy and Bad Boy Records.
Comedian Katt Williams made remarks about Diddy while appearing on the Club Shay Shay podcast in January of 2024, which only became more illuminating in the months that followed:
Rapper Mase was a former Puff protégé turned disgruntled Bad Boy Records artist. He claimed the rapper owed him money, penned a diss track about him, and spoke of their falling out on a podcast in 2022:
Amir ‘Prince’ Motamedi
After video was released of Diddy beating Cassie Ventura in a hotel hallway, hip-hop producer Amir “Prince” Motamedi took to Instagram to describe an encounter where he says Diddy made a pass at him, elaborating that the rapper and mogul tried to blackball Motamedi after he rejected his s….. advance. Motamedi said:
Moses “Shyne” Barrow was the born rapper who was imprisoned after the night club shooting in 2009 that Diddy was implicated in. While Barrow spent almost nine years behind bars, Diddy went free. Barrow was deported when he was released.
Barrow recalled his time with Diddy, essentially being mentored by him, but said “I didn’t have the opportunity to engage with him to see any of those things [related to recent charges]” he still sees what Diddy did to him as unforgivable:
Once back in his native Belize, Barrow entered politics and, as of 2024, is a leading member of the opposition party. Barrow was the subject of a documentary called The Honorable Shyne in 2024