Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs Had ‘No Plans’ to Help Danity Kane After ‘Making the Band,’ His Bodyguard Says
All eyes are on hip-hop superstar Sean “P. Diddy” Combs following the Homeland Security raid on two of his homes in March 2024. Since the raid, fans remember his ex-girlfriend Cassie’s allegations against him. Additionally, the all-girl group Danity Kane, formed on Combs’ MTV series Making the Band, has spoken out against Combs’ actions. Here’s what Combs’ bodyguard, Gene Deal, said about Combs never having a plan for Danity Kane to make it big in the industry.
Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs’ ex-bodyguard, Gene Deal, said he never planned on helping Danity Kane succeed
MTV’s Making the Band gave Sean “P. Diddy” Combs a reality TV platform in the early 2000s. The show gave Combs the power to form pop groups from budding young stars. Danity Kane was formed during Making the Band 3 in 2005, and the all-girl group became a pop sensation after the show. When Danity Kane released their first album, they sold 109,000 copies on its release day. The group included pop stars Aundrea Fimbres, Shannon Bex, Dawn Richard, D. Woods, and the most outspoken member, Aubrey O’Day.
O’Day discussed Combs firing her multiple times, and she also claimed he mistreated her when they worked together. She’s not the only one who discussed Combs’ bad behavior. According to his ex-bodyguard, Gene Deal, Diddy never planned to help any bands created by Making the Band achieve real success in the music industry.
“He had no plans,” Deal said in an interview with The Art of Dialogue. “That was all for an MTV show. He had no plans for them — not at all. He really had no plans for Danity Kane, and they sold records.”
Deal went on to say that Combs became angry when Danity Kane’s friends and family grew upset with him. “He said, ‘Yo, they keep effing with me, I’m [going to] drug all them up …,'” Deal recalled Combs said. ” … So, he didn’t have no real plans for them. Not at all. You see what happened after the MTV show went off. If you had plans for them, you’re the super producer; somebody should’ve been alright.”
Danity Kane member Dawn Richard said men ‘were always belittling’ the women in the group
The five members of Danity Kane spoke out against Sean “P. Diddy” Combs and the treatment of others in the music industry. Dawn Richard spoke to Cosmopolitan about how men “were always belittling” women in the entertainment world.
“I always thought that we were always put in situations where men in the industry were always belittling us and pitting us against each other,” Richard said. “That was a lot of the reason why we would fight. We would fight for our own validity.”
Richard and Aubrey O’Day discussed when Combs fired O’Day. Combs called O’Day “promiscuous” as one reason for the firing.
“It wasn’t about her being ‘promiscuous,'” Richard recalled. “It was about the power to prove, ‘I own your career.’
Richard added that Combs wanted people to 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 even though, you’re right, it was extremely sexist.”
Aubrey O’Day refused to sign Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs’ NDA
Sean “P. Diddy” Combs returned the Bad Boy Records publishing rights to the musicians on the label, but Danity Kane member Aubrey O’Day wasn’t impressed. According to O’Day, Combs wanted her to sign an NDA after giving her the music rights. She didn’t sign.
“We only get the amounts due since Sony bought our catalog. So, streaming for the past couple of years. It’s about $800-900. In the hundreds,” she said on the Only Stans podcast. “In order to get that, I have to release him for any claims or wrongdoings or actions prior to the date of the release. I have to sign an NDA that I will never disparage Puff, Bad Boy, Janice Combs, or Justin Combs music, or EMI, or Sony ever in public.”
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.
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