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More than one month after bi-coastal Homeland Security Investigation raids on Sean “Diddy” Combs’ properties in Los Angeles and Miami, a new documentary explored the dramatic unraveling of one of hip hop’s most influential power players.
A slew of Combs confidants and former associates recalled their relationships with the music mogul in “The Downfall of Diddy,” with legal experts weighing in on what is to come for the billionaire Bad Boy Records founder.
The raids on March 25 were in connection to a federal human trafficking investigation, of which it is unclear if Combs is the target of the federal agency’s probe. In February, Combs was named in another sexual abuse lawsuit, marking the fourth case filed against the rapper since November.
We take a look at a few of the biggest bombshells in the latest Tubi series.
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal investigation was highlighted in a recent documentary on Tubi. (Getty Images)
I’LL BE MISSING YOU
Combs’ lifestyle as the go-to player in the music industry was highlighted throughout the hourlong expose, which featured interviews with Aubrey O’Day, rapper Mark Curry, producer Stevie J and Suge Knight.
Combs was known for his Rolodex of high-profile friends and hosting some of the biggest parties across the globe. One common theme discussed during the documentary was the silence heard round the world when it came to any allies speaking in support of the “All About the Benjamins” singer.
“Hollywood is eerily and noticeably quiet about all of the Diddy controversy right now,” BET News host Marc Lamont Hill said. “I think there’s a very simple reason for it; People in glass houses don’t want to throw stones.”
“The radio silence around this case, in my opinion, is highly unusual,” Tracy Walder, a former CIA officer, said. “Even if you look at, say R. Kelly – someone who is very much maligned and should be given what he’s convicted of – he did have supporters early on. Diddy has none. It’s crickets.”
Sean Combs’ fall from grace was heavily focused on in the hourlong episode. (Getty Images)
Stevie J, Diddy’s longtime friend, noted, “A lot of these cats, first of all, they don’t have the hearts. Second of all, it’s like, I can’t be seen standing next to him while that’s going on. I don’t want people to look at me funny. So, you’ve got those that just won’t come near it cause they don’t want to be effected, and that’s just the way it is.”
Curry claimed Combs’ friends may be silent due to surveillance systems in Combs’ homes.
“If they have 250 cameras from his home, they have a whole bunch of images or footage of things that were going on in his house,” Curry said. “You name it, he’s connected to them. If we start unraveling the thread of Diddy’s networks, you’re gonna find a lot of people – and like Jeffrey Epstein, some of them might be implicated.”
Former bodyguard Gene Deal claimed, “I don’t think it’s only celebrities that are gonna be shook. He had politicians in there; he had princes in there; he also had a couple of preachers in there.”
Stevie J was seen outside of rapper Sean Combs’ home in Miami on Wednesday, April 3, 2024. (Mega for Fox News Digital)
Shortly after the raids, Mary J. Blige shared an ominous Instagram post alluding to possibly cutting ties with Combs after more than 30 years working together. “Unfortunately, a lot of you all met me when I lacked boundaries and was a people pleaser. Let me reintroduce myself. I burn bridges as needed.”
DANITY KANE
O’Day gave insight into the alleged abuse she suffered after years of working with the famed music producer. O’Day was famously fired from Danity Kane, the girl group Combs created through his MTV series, “Making the Band.”
“The mistreatment was enough to have changed the course and direction of my entire life,” she said. “The mistreatment was enough for me to have to spend a good amount of time in the hands of professionals to learn what grooming is and unlearn the grooming. The treatment was so bad in some regards that im not ready to speak about it, but I will.”
SEAN ‘DIDDY’ COMBS ASSOCIATE PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO DRUG CHARGES FOLLOWING ARREST AMID HOME RAIDS
Aubrey O’Day admitted she was not ready to discuss how badly she was allegedly treated during her time with Danity Kane, Sean Combs’ girl-group. (Getty Images)
When asked if O’Day was verbally or physically abused, she admitted she was not prepared to delve more into the topic, but offered a glimmer into the harsh reality of her experience working with Combs.
“Does it matter? I’ve been in physically abusive situations. The verbal ones hurt me way more,” she said. The abuse was significant enough to change the course of my life.”
She alleged, “On ‘Making the Band’ alone, we experienced intimidation tactics, we experienced body-shaming, beat-downs, and then when we thought we were absolutely nothing … it was very like training us to be good soldiers.”
HAIL MARY
One of the most shocking confessions came from Knight, the Death Row Records founder allegedly responsible for the revenge murder of Combs’ most prominent client, The Notorious B.I.G.
Knight’s own reaction to the Combs raids and subsequent public downfall even shocked him.
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“My first reaction, it’s not the reaction I thought I’d had when it came to Puffy,” the former music executive said in a phone interview from California’s Ronald Donovan Correctional Facility. “I thought it’d be a reaction, like, he got what he got coming ’cause everybody knows what’s been going on.
“My reaction was actually different because I felt like, damn, the first thing came to my mind was, you know, he has his sons, he has his daughters … My reaction was first about the kids. Andthe things is, I feel it’s a bad day for hip-hop, it’s a bad day for the culture, because it makes us all look bad.”
From left to right, American rappers Notorious BIG, Nate Dogg, Snoop Dogg, and Sean Combs attend the premiere party for “Murder Was the Case,” directed by Dr. Dre and Fab Five Freddy, in 1995. (Nitro)
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Knight added, “I’m not the type of guy to cheer for people’s downfall, and if somebody get killed or something happened to them, I’m not going to pop champagne bottles. And if I have a problem with, with Puffy, that’s for him and I to sit down in a room and resolve it. So for the tragedy on both sides, to the victims, to him, that’s definitely not nothing to cheer about.”
When it came to silence in the industry, Knight was convinced “they’re signs of guilt.”
“If they walk like a duck, quack like a duck, it’s going to be a duck. I don’t think one person around who was hanging with Puffy, who was not acting like Puffy,” he said. “Birds of a feather flock together. What you think? They all going to stick together to keep everything swept under that rug, ’cause they lift that rug up, you’re going to find a whole bunch of s— that you don’t want to see.”
Suge Knight founded Death Row Records, and is currently serving a 28-year sentence after pleading no contest to voluntary manslaughter. (David McNew)
Knight also weighed in on the accusations stemming from the lawsuit Diddy’s ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, filed in November. She withdrew her suit one day after filing.
“I don’t think Cassie’s a liar because we know what type of stuff goes on. And I just say it like this … I don’t think Puffy needs to be destroyed, or hung or put to death,” he said. “I think that Puffy or if it’s me or anybody else, we should be able to tell our truth.
“By telling our truth, we can’t change the past, but we can help the present and we can help the future. So if Puffy tells his story uncut, it can help everyone. Let him tell the truth.”
Knight is currently serving a 28-year prison sentence after pleading no contest to voluntary manslaughter for a 2015 hit-and-run death while filming “Straight Outta Compton.”
In addition to the federal investigation, Combs is also being sued by Liza Gardner, Joi Dickerson-Neal, Jane Doe, and music producer Rodeny “Lil Rod” Jones. Combs has denied each of the claims.
A rep for Combs did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Tracy Wright is an entertainment reporter for Fox News Digital. Send story tips to Tracy.Wright@fox.com.
