Diddy’s Bad Behavior Was on Display During His Reality Series ‘Making the Band’
It seems like with each passing day there are more accusations and new lawsuits filed against Sean “Diddy” Combs. The music mogul, whose homes were raided on March 25, denies any wrongdoing. But some of the allegations against him are reminding many of his behavior decades ago and his cruel response to the trauma he put others through in his reality TV series Making the Band.
Diddy’s unreasonable demands for the show’s participants
One of the most memorable moments from Making the Band 2: Da Band, which aired back in 2002, was when Diddy demanded group members Sara Stokes, Lynese “Babs” Wiley, Dylan Dilinjah, Rodney “Chopper” Hill, Frederick “Freddy P” Watson, and Lloyd “Ness” Mathis walk from Midtown Manhattan to Junior’s in Brooklyn and get him a slice of cheesecake. Diddy made it clear anyone who opted not to do the walk would be sent packing.
What was an unbelievable ask then, likely wouldn’t fly in today’s world as the group had to walk five miles at night in the middle of winter to get their boss food. Oh and when they returned from their six-hour journey which included walking over the Manhattan bridge, Diddy, who was so set on having a piece of strawberry cheesecake, wasn’t even at the studios when they got back. That left many viewers wondering if he ever had any intention of waiting that long for a cheesecake to begin with.
But the Da Band members weren’t the only ones who felt Diddy’s wrath when he used his power over them.
Diddy’s response to using his ‘power’ over hopefuls who appeared on the show
Several Making the Band alum have since spoken out about their unpleasant experiences working with the music executive and accused him of using and abusing his “power.”
Dawn Richard, who was part of the girl group Danity Kane in Making the Band Season 3, told the Huffington Post: “It gave him an excuse. It was to let you know, ‘This is my show. This is my s*** and I want to prove to you that it’s my s***, and I’m going to show you how much power I have over you by saying I’m going to control your lives.’ It’s so much bigger than that … it was extremely sexist.”
Her bandmate Aubrey O’Day, who was fired for rebelling against Diddy’s rules, said: “Puff plays one of the dirtiest games there is around, and that’s what we were exposed to at 17 years old.”
On an episode of the No Jumper podcast, O’Day insisted there were plenty of “witnesses” and “victims” under Diddy’s power saying: “There are so many witnesses. There are so many victims … a lot of people that know things or are building things or whatever, do reach out, do tell you everything.”
Moreover, Freddy P took to social media and got candid about how participating in Diddy’s show changed his life, but not for the better posting: “I done had it all and I fell to the bottom. How do you come back from that when you battling a giant?”
In 2022, Diddy responded to some of the backlash and comments via his Instagram Story writing: “STOP ALL YOUR CRYING, B******* & MOANING. HUSTLE HARDER OR GET THE F*** OUT OF OUR WAY.”
How to get help: In the U.S., call the RAINN National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 to connect with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area.
