As more shocking allegations against Sean “Diddy” Combs become public, it looks like we’re seeing the downfall of one of music’s most successful moguls in real time. With the Bad Boy founder currently involved in multiple sexual assault and sexual harassment lawsuits, Rolling Stone released a bombshell investigative piece on his history of alleged abusive behavior, dating back to his days at Howard University.
The outlet notes that it worked on the story for six months and talked to his “former friends, acquaintances, employees, and Bad Boy artists as well as industry insiders.” The stories behind his public controversies are detailed, while incidents of alleged abuse, sexual assault and sexual harassment are all revealed. He’s painted as a volatile, narcissistic, unpredictable personality.
A former classmate who remained anonymous because they were afraid of retaliation, detailed an alleged incident from Diddy’s Howard University days when he showed up to his then-girlfriend’s dorm and stood outside screaming “in a ‘belligerent’ manner” for her to come down. Soon after, the other women in the dorm were banging on doors and panicking. “They were sounding the alarm that Combs, known then by his nickname ‘Puff,’ was attacking the young woman outside.” The classmate recalled how the other students were saying, “Puff is out here acting crazy. He’s beating her.”
Another witness who stayed anonymous “due to the sensitive nature of the incident,” stated that he used what looked like a belt to hit her “all over the place.” The witness claimed that Diddy was “screaming at the top of his lungs” and he “whupped her butt — like really whupped her butt.” She explained that “She was trying to defend herself a little bit. She was crying. And we were telling him, ‘Get off of her.’ We were screaming for her.”
The piece also discusses his reaction to the death of Christopher Wallace a.k.a. the Notorious B.I.G. Nineties hip-hop photographer Monqiue Bunn noted that Biggie was planning to leave Bad Boy and was negotiating for his publishing rights. “[Biggie] was absolutely about to leave Puff,” Bunn said. “I know for a fact [because] he told me that.”
In the aftermath of Biggie’s death, he pressured Bad Boy employees to focus on marketing and album sales for the late rapper’s upcoming release “Life After Death,” not grieving. Diddy was obsessed with the album being “Number one, number one, number one, number one, number one. Top 10, top 10, top 10,”
Though some aspects of the piece weren’t overly surprising, it’s still shocking to see how long Diddy’s inappropriate behavior has been going on. Of course, social media had thoughts on the article, with Black Twitter shaming Combs.
While we understand Rolling Stone taking its time to do the story justice, some users wondered why the outlet needed so much time with the piece, with one person writing on X, “What took yall 6 months, we’ve heard our whole lives and we’re just random people. Imagine what the industry saw & was scared to speak on.”
Another user pointed out that one of Bad Boy’s most famous artists has been telling on his former boss for years, writing on X, “Mase was saying this for decades.”
One person commented on how the piece details that there were signs of his alleged abusive behavior during Combs’ time at Howard University, posting, “It’s the fact that he showed signs of being an abusive, power hungry & outrageous narcissist even during his brief stint at Howard….Every year all of his exes got together for holidays like he was a saint. What is the story behind the grand illusion? Years of blackmail?”
As many users wondered how he’s been able to get away with these alleged misdeeds for so long, one person wrote on X, “Rolling Stone’s article on Diddy is so detailed and in-depth! That man HAS to go down! He has been terrorizing women, girls, and his peers unchecked for DECADES! I need him to go to PRISON!”
Combs’ lawyer, Jonathan Davis, responded to Rolling Stone with a statement:
“Mr. Combs cannot comment on settled litigation, will not comment on pending litigation, and cannot address every allegation picked up by the press from any source, no matter how unreliable,” Davis said. “We are aware that the proper authorities are conducting a thorough investigation and therefore have confidence any important issues will be addressed in the proper forum, where the rules distinguish facts from fiction.”
As if this wasn’t enough bad news for the rapper/producer, according to CNN, its sources say the Department of Justice may be preparing an indictment against, as “Possible witnesses have been notified by investigators that they could be brought in to testify in front of a federal grand jury in New York City.”
If the DOJ is really mounting a federal grand jury against Combs, this could be the moment where the “Last Night” artist finally deals with the consequences of his actions.