All language subtitles for FD E01-ENGCP

Back in 2010,
it was Grammy weekend,

Here we go.

And we were doing
a photo shoot with Cas
during the day.

Puff and Cassie were dating.

There was a party.

Diddy,
I love you, Diddy!

And she was staying
at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

The Beverly Hills Hotel
is like a one bedroom suite.

I fall asleep on the couch
because I don't go out.

And he storms in,
"Where the is she?"

I like, wake up all of a sudden

like a... like what the?
Who? Who let...

"Who are you talking about?"

And then they go into the room.

Shuts the door.

All I hear is,
"Get the
out of here.

Get the
out of here."

He's like, on a rage.

He's being Puff.

And at this point

I'm just thinking of her safety.

And so I'm packing her stuff up.

Once he leaves, I see
the aftermath on Cassie.

She shows knots on her head,
bruised eye, busted lip.

It was horrific.

And so all I can think of was,

"We need to get back
to my house.

You need to get
the out of here."

We can't call the police.
We can't go to the hospital.

We're scared of Puff.

We're always scared of him.

If we call the police
what would happen?

He's a very powerful person
in the business,

and he can do things
that will to make you go away.

And many people
are afraid of him
'til this day.

So what were we supposed to do?

We just had to, like, fix
whatever was happening
at that moment.

And that's kind of like
how the business is.

I called my friend
who's a doctor,

and I'm like,
"You have
to take care of Cas

'cause this is not okay."

You have to be a witness to this

because we can't call anyone.

But I felt like this has
happened before

because she was
so nonchalant about it.

Cassie and I
never spoke about
that incident after.

It's like family business.

We just don't talk about it.

What I witnessed was in 2010s,

and then in 2024,
I watched the CNN video

and I was completely triggered

because I did not know

that this was going on
for all these years.

Tonight,
music mogul
Sean Diddy Combs...

Sean Diddy Combs...

Sean Diddy Combs facing
a slew of allegations,

including rape
and sex trafficking,

in a stunning new civil lawsuit

filed by his
longtime partner,
singer Cassie.

Sean Diddy Combs
is now the subject

of a federal
criminal investigation.

FBI agents raided his homes
in Los Angeles and Miami.

Sean Diddy Combs,

has been arrested
after a grand jury

indicted the music mogul.

Cassie, coming forward
was the tipping point.

Several new accusers
coming forward

against Sean Diddy Combs.

Very serious allegations,

rape, physical abuse
and sex trafficking.

He was very good
at standing in the limelight

without us actually
taking a look deeper

and seeing who he is
and what he is about.

Thing about hip hop,
it's not just the music,
it's a lifestyle.

Combs has built
an empire.

There's his
Sean John's fashion line,

his Ciroc vodka
and the TV network
he founded.

He didn't change
to adapt to the world.

He changed the world
to adapt to him.

Here he is a shining example

of what he likes
to term black excellence.

Meanwhile, there's
all this violence

and trauma happening
in the background.

I realized I wasn't
the only one.

I have a one of one story
that no one else has.

That reckoning, it's coming.

Everybody
is demanding to know.

How far did this go?

Time is up.

Sean "Puffy" Combs' power

has led to one of the most
successful careers

in the history of American pop.

And it has led to some

really, really, really
awful other things.

I've been knowing
Combs for just about

the entirety of my career

as a journalist
and as an editor.

I was the first woman editor
in chief of Vibe magazine.

A large reason for me
sharing my story

with everyone today,

It's because it's my duty.

And I'm also sharing it
because of my unique position

in music history.

This is where
I'm supposed to be.

It was very difficult

to work in the music media,

without having to deal with

or work with or hang out with

or negotiate with
Sean "Puffy" Combs,
was impossible.

The first time I had a real
conversation with him

was a cover shoot for a vibe.

And that would have been
right around September 1997.

It was to be
the December-January

double issue of Vibe magazine.

Everybody was
at the photo shoot,

a bunch of people from Vibe,

a bunch of people from
the Bad Boy universe.

The idea was
to get Mr. Combs

into some angel wings.

After the shoot,

Mr. Combs wanted
to see the covers

before they were published.

It was policy for us
not to show covers

to anyone before
they were published.

He called me at my office.

I told him again,

We don't show the covers,
we don't share the story.

I told him that I wouldn't
be making an exception.

And he said that he would
see me dead in the trunk

if I did not show it to him.

I said to him, "You need
to take that back."

And he said something
to the effect

because, you know,
he wasn't taking shit back.

So then I said,
I'm calling my attorney.

And my attorney
called him to say that

if he didn't immediately
fax over an apology,

My attorney was
going to reach out
to law enforcement.

And I think it took about
90 minutes to two hours

and I received
that faxed apology.

What I've only recently
come to realize

through members of the staff.

At that time was that
he had, actually,

in the days before come up
to the Vibe offices,

with two tough guys
looking for me.

In order for my safety

and in order
for the magazine pages
to remain intact,

I was shuttled
from office to office

until the coast was clear.

And waited outside.

Standing on the corner,

with the proofs,

the pages of the magazine

that were being
prepared to go to print.

And then my
managing editor
came down

and got the pages from me

and put me in a cab to Brooklyn.

But the thing is,

I'm sitting
right here right now.

I have no memory
of any of that happening.

When our research chief

was telling me this story.

I was just like...

Literally like...

I like... I don't remember
I was telling her.

And she said,
"Of course you don't.

You blocked it out.
You were terrified."

Because I don't
remember it right now.

It's hard to look back.

I continued to work with him.

I continued to be
cordial with him

to be invited to parties and go.

Sometimes it's very hard
not to feel complicit.

I wish that thing's
were different.

Is he an angel?
Is he a devil?

It's a question that I've had

since we put him on
the cover, in the wings.

I didn't know,
but we might know now.

And you hate to see it.

As a reporter,
Danyel's story really
resonated with me.

What's really unusual

is the extent
that Diddy went to.

He was determined
to try to bully her,

and this was relatively
early in his career.

And so it definitely appears

that Diddy continued
to get more brazen

We now know behind the curtain

there were demons.

But you can't escape
your demons that easily.

When I think
of Puffy, I think of New York.

Puffy is the Horatio Alger,

you know, up from
nothing to something.

The rags to riches story.

Diddy was born in Harlem

to his mother, Janice,
and his father, Melvin.

Pump's mother,
Janice Combs Baby,

could dance, could dress
sharp as a attack.

Fly, hustler,
go get it, ambitious.

I think of her
as the queen of that energy.

Unfortunately,
his father, Melvin, passed.

Sean didn't have any
memories of Melvin.

He might have had one or two.

Melvin died when
he was a toddler.

Diddy has often
spoke about the loss

of a father figure in his life.

Just this desire
to know who Melvin was.

When Combs
talks about his father,

you can tell
in his voice in his face

that he really mourns the loss

of not having
his father in his life.

You know, I'm saying,
I always wanted to hear,

like the sound of his voice.

From the beginning,
I've always had,

like, tragedy around me.

Janice was a single mother

and had to make it work.

Janis said, "Okay,
we're moving out
to Mount Vernon."

That suburban area
that black people

with some money, middle class,

are able to move to.

I met Sean
when I was six years old.

And we live 13 steps
from each other.
One staircase.

I didn't have a sibling.

So that's where we became.

First impression of meeting him.

This kid is different.

He was a young boy
dressed like an older man,

tailor made,

and I didn't know
kids this small

could really like beat his fly.

So when he stepped outside,

other kids looked
at him like, "What's that?

He got everything we don't have.

And people don't like that.

So now he's
a product of bullying.

He had a presence of somebody
you could just roll over,

and that's what
people tried to do.

Simple as that.

At an early age
it was instilled in him

that he can't be seen as weak

and the only way
to respond to weakness

or this idea that you're
being perceived as weak

is to respond with force.

My mother was I guess
raising me for the real world.

She's always told me
if somebody hit me,

make sure I hit
them back harder.

Make sure they
never hit me again

and make sure I them up.

Your mom's made sure.
"Listen, don't come here
talking about you got beat up.

Don't come here talking
about somebody who took
something from you.

I don't want to hear
none of that.

Go get it back.

You can't come in my house
until it's right."

So he had to make a choice.

He had to man up.

So I'm gonna make more than you.

I'm gonna do more than you.

I'm gonna be more
successful than you.

So I could call the shots.

He was groomed for success.

I was really inspired
by him growing up.

You see this guy?
He comes from Harlem.

He puts hip hop
on the global map.

Then he grows
into a business mogul.

And so before all of these
issues came to light,

there's not a negative thing

that I would have
said about Diddy.

This version of Sean Combs
that we're seeing today,

is a complete departure
from this image

that he curated
and built himself up.

I first began covering
Sean "Puffy" Combs

right after Cassie filed
her lawsuit back in 2023.

The biggest question for me was,

"Has this happened before?"

And as we began investigating
and speaking with more people,

we uncovered a history
of abusive behavior.

That dates back to Diddy's days

at Howard University.

There just seems
so much more to the story.

Take one mark.

I was a student
at Howard University
in the late 80s,

and I am here today
to share what I know.

Sean "Puffy" Combs
was well known on campus.

He would ride
on the back of cars,

throwing out fliers for parties.

If he wanted to go
to the hottest party,

then you saw and heard
Sean "Puffy" Combs.

I am absolutely nervous

about sharing what
I've seen him do

to another human being.

He's powerful, and he's scary.

This event honestly
is so vivid to me.

The night began with me
in my dorm room.

We heard someone
yelling and screaming,

So we pushed up
the window just enough

to get a little idea
of what was going on.

We saw that it was
Sean "Puffy" Combs,

a fellow student,

and he was screaming.

Get your ass downstairs.

Come downstairs, right now!

And he had taken his belt off
and he was whipping the wall.

Mad, angry.

They were connected
somehow, romantically,

and when she came downstairs,
timidly and scared

and really not knowing
what to do,

he started beating on her,

whipping her with that belt,

and she's taking it.

Now we're involved
because now he's abusing her.

So we're yelling.
"Get off of her!

Stop hitting on her!

Leave her alone!"

And he's yelling back.

"- Mind your business!
- Mind your business."

But we're yelling back!

"- Get off of her!
- Leave her the alone!"

He pushes her back into
the doorway of the dorm.

We don't know
what's going on
in that space.

We can't see.

Whatever he's doing,
takes a few minutes
before he actually

stops whatever he's doing,

and then he leaves alone.

And she follows out
a little bit behind that.

Our 18-year-old selves
yelled for her,

Maybe could have stopped it.

Maybe we should have
called the police

called our dorm mother.

Got somebody else involved.

The front desk was downstairs.

They didn't do anything.

Nobody really actually
came to her rescue

like we probably should have.

It's very important to tell
that young woman's story

because he was never
held accountable.

Instead of becoming
tarnished in any way,

his time at Howard becomes
a key part of his mythology.

Howard didn't just
change my life.

It entered my soul
and entered my heart

and entered my being my spirit.

When he got an honorary
doctorate, no less.

I was a little bit
hot about that.

How would you honor
someone like that?

And even though I only completed

two years here at Howard,

It was the greatest
two years of my life.

Howard is where
Combs saw firsthand

how much sway
he had with people.

So despite what
people saw on campus,

he's still able to succeed.

Like it or not,

rap is here to stay.

In the late 80s,

when hip hop was growing,

♪ Here we go, here we go
Here we, here we, here we go ♪

That's the exact
same time

that Sean "Puffy" Combs

was figuring out
who he was going to be.

I was working with some artists

at a company
called Uptown Records.

I heard that there
was a young guy

helping some of the artists
to define themselves.

His name was
Sean "Puffy" Combs.

Uptown Records
was one of the early
black labels.

And Andre Harrell
was at the helm.

I can understand why Puffy
wanted to work with them

because they were
the it back then.

And Puffy dropped out of school

to follow his dream.

When he did his
internship at Uptown,

he clearly had a ton of ideas.

And so they gave him
an A and R job.

Mary J. Blige,
who had been at uptown

and had not been catching on.

They did not know
what to do with her.

Here comes Puff,

and he's putting all these
pieces in place around her.

Also shaping the image
he gives Mary J. Blige

hip hop beats
to sing under "Real Love."

Was this massive hit?

♪ Real love ♪

♪ I'm searching
for a real love ♪

And they called her
the queen of hip hop soul.

But as much as we loved Mary,
it was clear right away.

Puff is at the forefront

of sonically making that happen.

Puff Daddy,
A and R Director
from Uptown.

- Let's go! What's up?
- My brother. Let 'em know...

Let 'em know how...
How easy or how difficult

or how flat or how complicated

it was to put this jam together?

Really, it was no problem
because all my black brothers
and sisters came together.

You start to see
the rise of Puff

in the sort of hip hop world,

and he's also doing
party promotion.

Sean says, "Shoot.

I'm gonna have a celebrity
basketball game

with all the famous
people playing

I'm gonna go
convince Heavy D
to be my partner in it,

and we're gonna
do it at City College."

My brother
was at City College.

And so the reason
I came to tell my story today

is because the incident

was simply tucked under the rug.

I've been
trying to make sense

of such a tragic event

for years.

All right,
98.7 Kiss FM.

Did you know, that the big
basketball game tomorrow,

- Are you going to be there?
- -Oh yeah.

- It's gonna be crowded, it's gonna be packed.
- -Mmm-hmm.

A lot of people coming

to play in a celebrity
basketball game.

Jodeci, Boyz II Men,

Brand New Being, LL Cool J.

Everyone you knew
in all boroughs

were talking about
City College that night.

I was 17 years old.

My brother Dirk
really wanted to go

I remember Dirk
showing me the ticket.

Dirk was someone to look up to.

Out of our neighborhood

there was only a few of us

that actually
went away to college.

Combs was dating
Misa Hylton at the time.

My sister Sonya and Misa
were close friends,

I was the big brother

because we were so close in age.

We had a real close bond.

She was going to become
a pediatric nurse.

At the time,
I had two young daughters

and she was totally
hands on with her nieces.

She loved them deeply.

The day of the event,
she said she wasn't going,

but Misa reached out
to Sonya and told her

that Puffy had a ticket for her.

And she decided to go.

Day at City College comes

I'm a part of Sean's staff.

One thing Sean knew
how to do was promote,

and the buildup
to City College
was so phenomenal

was almost like
gods coming to town.

The gym filled up,

in like a blink of an eye.

They were still selling
tickets at the door.

But there's still a huge
crowd outside
of people with tickets.

The bouncers or whoever said,

"It's over.
No one else
is getting in."

And that's when the door
to the gym was closed.

So now the crowd that saw
that the doors were closing,

many had tickets in hand.

They decided to push

And it caused a stampede

going down the stairs
with no way

to enter the gymnasium
with the four doors closed.

The crowd went crazy.

They broke the doors.

And a bunch of people

just rushed down those steps.

And pushed them
against those doors.

I'm not quite sure what door
Misa went through.

But she wasn't with Sonya.

My brother
and his friends

are in the staircase already,
getting pushed.

Sonya was behind

one of the young girls
that was with them.

And her face was in her back.

Imagine being packed
like sardines.

And if you're packed like this,

there's nowhere to go.

They had to literally
pull the door open,

crush someone opening the door.

And then start pulling
people out into the gym

one by one from one door.

You see just
a wave of people

falling on the floor.

Fighting to breath.

You'll see
in the footage Sean Combs

shirt open and walking around.

Just stressed out.

I look over, he's over there
pumping chests

and breathing
into people's mouths.

And Sonya was one of the people

well, he was trying
to resuscitate

Dirk wasn't getting
enough oxygen to his brain.

When they were doing CPR on him,

his chest was going down.

It hit the floor.

And then my mother called.

And then that was when
I found out he was dead.

She said,
"He's gone, Jason."

My mom
and my dad and myself

went back to City College
to identify Sonya's body.

They showed us Polaroids

and someone tried to go
over the top of the crowd.

And clearly in the Polaroid,

you can see the boot mark

in Sonya's head.

I think Puffy bears
a lot of responsibility

for what happened that day

because the doors
remained closed,

they could have been opened.

Dwight Heavy D. Myers,

and Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs

pointed the fingers
at everyone but themselves.

Whatever must be done
must be done to ensure

that this never, ever,
ever happens again.

I know that
he and Heavy D

did not intend for that day
to end that way.

Puffy clearly wanted to throw
the biggest best event,

and he promoted
the hell out of it.

But he didn't do enough

to protect the crowds
of people that came out.

There was a lawsuit

for all the things
that happened
at City College.

This was a huge case.

The litigation lasted years.

When my mother
called me and told me

that the lawyers were talking
about a settlement,

it was like take this money
and she didn't shut up.

Really, nothing mattered to me

other than keeping
Sonya's memory alive.

And Puff wasn't hearing me,

and that created
a lot of tension

between me and him.

I said, "Was Sonya
your friend?"

He didn't want
to answer the question.

She got the ticket
from you, man.

These interactions started
to make me physically sick.

Clearly he had no
interest on helping me

keep Sonya's memory alive.

Or the other eight.

The city college
incident for Puffy

was a turning point

in how people began
to feel about him.

He asked one time,

"When is this ever
going to be behind me?"

And I said,
"The more good you do,

this will get further
and further down

on the list of questions
that you're asked.

Diddy was able
to put it behind him

because he was good
at creating stars

and making hits.

He was succeeding.
He was thriving.

He was winning.

In time, he becomes too big

to be working with Andre.

And so Andre fired him.

His gear
was placed in the hallway,

and they said,
"Come get your gear."

And I was like,
"Whoa! So I guess

I won't be hearing
from him anymore."

When you become
a millionaire at 19,

you probably go crazy.

Act a little obnoxious.

It was such
a disappointment to me

because I got fired
by the first person
that believed in me.

And then I remember
somebody saying

Puff is having a meeting

with Clive Davis
about starting a label.

It was said in a way of like

That is so ridiculous.

He's like
the white godfather

of black music
for the last 50 years.

He sees an opportunity
to bring Sean Combs' energy

and gives him his
own signature label,

It was incredibly significant
for a young black man,

to have his own label,

and Puffy was in his 20s.

That was incredible.

Right away,
Bad Boy is different
than other labels,

and this is coming
from the energy
of the guy at the top,

I remember going into Bad Boy

and there was words
painted on the wall.

Sleeping is for losers.

Yo, yo, yo, yo bust your asses.

I'll go back in the studio

and you'll just pay for me
to go back in the studio

and tell me exactly
what you want.

I was his first publicist.

One day, Mr. Davis
called me at my desk,

he said, "Lajoyce,

from this day forward,

I want you to garner
press for Puffy."

And I also understood
the assignment

to protect the black boy genius.

Puffy was such a visionary.

Everything that he touched
would eventually turn to gold.

And platinum.

And it is gone.
It's on dog.

Every single day,

and I mean with no exaggeration.

Puffy would call me
between 02:15
and 04:00 o'clock.

"What's going on?

What's happening
with the artist?

Who's going to be appearing
on what television show?

I have an idea."

And he'd leave it to you
to execute.

"By the way,
in 48 hours."

Bad Boy, you know
what I'm saying?

Your brand is all big

Yeah, we got Craig Mack.

The year for Bad Boy's, 1994.

Craig Mack, drops
"Flava in Ya Ear".

"Flava in Ya Ear"
was something
that I made up.

Yeah, I sampled some crazy sound

and listen at that.

I was like,
♪ Dum dum dum dum ♪

♪ Dum dum ♪

Then on the hook,
I threw that loud siren in

It's special.
I knew it was special.

Puff was like,
"Yo, I need some tracks

for my new artist,
Craig Mack."

So I showed up with this tape.

He played it and he said,
"Yo, I will cut you a check
for that right now."

You know what I said, right?

Sold.

♪ Here comes the brand new
flava in ya ear ♪

♪ Time for new
flava in ya ear ♪

♪ I'm kicking
new flava in ya ear ♪

And then
Notorious B.I.G puts
Bad Boy on the map.

What Biggie does
is it gives the label,

and it gives
Sean Combs,
street cred.

So Combs'
ideas with Biggie

was how can we make something

that's very rowdy
and of the streets

but make it so
that everyone likes it.

How can we do that
within one song?

And then you go to "Juicy".

♪ I never thought
it could happen ♪

♪ This rappin' stuff ♪

♪ I was to use
the packing jets and stuff ♪

Even though he's rhyming about

standing on the corner
selling dope.

We might be at a pool party.

We're gonna make it look
good and glamorous and fun.

Those mini juxtapositions

in Biggies, repertoire

to me are what made him work.

Puff was definitely like,
"Let's elevate the culture."

A lot of it, in retrospect,
was about elevating himself.

He's in the videos.

He's on the songs.

♪ How ya livin'
Biggie Smallz? ♪

♪ In mansion
and Benz's, givin'... ♪

In the concerts,
on the stage.

He's very much
part of the story.

He understood

that I represent the brand.

So when you see me,
you see the Bad Boy brand.

But the West Coast
was a legitimate threat

to East Coast hip hop.

The West Coast folks
are selling many more records.

This moment is where we start

to see this intercoastal battle.

Puff realized that
now hip hop is war.

We're fighting for number one,

and we're playing real dirty.

And a lot of people got hurt.

Bad Boy was as hot
as fish grease.

He couldn't be touched,

but more money,
more problems, right?

Everything was heightened.

Backstabbing was heightened.

Dishonesty to distrust,
unloyalty

All of that just
started to unravel.

Suge Knight
he ran Death Row Records
on the West Coast.

Two very, very different
versions of moguls.

Suge Knight,
who was a legitimate,
scary figure.

Suge Knight
goes back to jail.

Knight had been
on probation for a 1992...

. ..with assault
and battery...

And Sean Combs,
who felt a little bit
more cuddly...

To people, right.

The East Coast
West Coast beef at that time

took on epic proportions.

And the two stars that we
think about in that moment,

who represents these two
very different coasts.

Are really,
The Notorious B.I.G.

and Tupac Shakur.

Tupac was a megastar,

rapper, icon.

What a lot
of people don't realize

is that Death Row was trying
to set up Death Row East.

They really
thought they could come
and take New York.

And they tried.

It's unsettling
to watch this Tupac video,

knowing a short time later
what would happen.

We're coming
to the East Coast

to overthrow the government

y'all got right now,
which is Bad Boy.

Believe in Death Row East.

Believe in that, for real.

That was a bold move.

The feud was so bad at that time

that you might be in trouble

throwing up the W
on the East Coast.

I could
have been a casualty

of the East Coast
West Coast beef.

I came up in the music industry

as a concert promoter.

And one nigh
I was at a place
called PJs,

up in Harlem.

Some cat comes in promoting
"Death Row East."

He has these
bright white T-shirts

and he's giving them away.

And I was like,
"Okay, I like that.
Let me get one."

And I... I just... I threw it on.

Later, we're going downtown.

I'm with Lance Coffey,
who is my security.

We get to the club.

Me and my
Death Row East T-shirt.

It was packed.

An hour later,
I come out of the club.

We go across
the street to my jeep.

We get in,
I'm in the driver's seat.

And Puffy pulls up
in a sports car.

He's in the passenger seat.

And then he said to me,
"What's up, bitch?"

I said, "Puff, man,
I don't want nothing
to do with you, man.

Keep your
drama to yourself."

I really tried
to deescalate
the situation.

He said,
"Nah, you're a bitch."

He aligned his beef
with Suge Knight

and Death Row in the West Coast

with that T shirt.

So it's like, "How dare you

jump to the other side?

How dare you
promote Death Row?"

And we proceed down the block.

His car veers over
and cuts me off.

And forces me into an island.

Lance and I both
jumped out of the car.

A shot blasted off.

Lance yells, "Gun, gun!"

And I don't know who shot it.

I leap over the island
and now it's a car chase

and um, I'm... I'm fighting
for my life at this point.

All I know
is that I need to get away.

And so I'm driving.

I'm going down
a one way streets.

I'm on the sidewalk
at one point.

It's a high speed chase
through Manhattan.

I just thank God
I escaped that situation.

What we see is this
massive overreaction

and tendency towards
brutal violence.

If he could fly off
the handle that easily.

Over such a small
perceived slight.

What else was he capable of?

You asked me earlier

like, why I'm here?

Like I almost
wouldn't be here, period.

My whole future would be erased.

Dude, you're a menace...

to society.

My story is just a piece

of the bigger puzzle
of his mayhem.

Sean Combs
has been the figure

more associated with death,

tragedy and brokenness

than any mogul.

He ran on fear
and intimidation.
It was abused.

Combs wants
what he wants
when he wants it.

He was saying things
like, turn around,
let me see that ass.

All of a sudden,
I just seen him
out of nowhere

just punching.

And God said to me,
be still you're about
to get hit.

I truly believe
monsters are not born...

they're made

♪♪