Aubrey O'Day, the frontwoman of Sean “Diddy” Combs' now-defunct girl group Danity Kane, says she feels vindicated after the hip-hop mogul was arrested and charged this week on suspicion of sex trafficking, racketeering and more.
O'Day, 40, took to social media on Monday after Combs' arrest in New York, tweeting: “The purpose of Justice is to provide closure and allow us the space to create a new chapter. Women never get this. I feel validated. Today is a victory for women everywhere, not just me.”
As debate raged over her tense history with Combs on X, journalist Yashar Ali tweeted: “For years, @AubreyODay has been trying to draw attention to Diddy’s abusive nature and warn people that he’s dangerous. For years. In exchange for her bravery, she was bullied, terrorized, and threatened.”
The singer responded on Tuesday: “He did something worse than that to me.”
The “Damaged” and “Show Stopper” singer emerged via MTV and Combs’ reality competition show “Making the Band 3” in 2005. While Danity Kane was enjoying chart-topping success, O’Day left the group in 2008. In 2022, she revealed on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast that she was fired because she “wasn’t willing to do what was expected” of her.
“Not in terms of talent, but in other areas. In the end, [Combs] “I got fired,” she said at the time. The group, which made history as the first female group to have its first two albums debut at No. 1, briefly continued as a trio after O’Day and Wanita “D. Woods” Woodgett left, then broke up in 2009. Danity Kane later reunited as a quartet without Diddy’s involvement, but ultimately disbanded in 2014 amid infighting between O’Day and Dawn Richard, the latter of whom was the only artist to remain signed to Combs’ Bad Boy label.
Last week, Richard sued Diddy, accusing the Bad Boy Entertainment co-founder of sexual assault, harassment and inhumane treatment, falsely imprisoning her and forcing her to stay at his various residences, depriving her and her bandmates of basic necessities like adequate food and sleep. Richard also alleged that she witnessed Combs beat his ex-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, whose explosive lawsuit in November opened the floodgates of legal troubles for the embattled hip-hop mogul, including multiple sexual assault lawsuits.
Following Tuesday's federal indictment against Diddy, also known as Puff Daddy, Puff and P. Diddy, O'Day told TMZ he never thought he'd “see this day.”
“We’re all burying this inside ourselves so we can move on. And not just me, but victims you don’t even know yet. We’re all processing what that kind of vindication can really feel like now. Every conversation I’ve had with victims last night has been beyond moving on every level,” she said.
The “Celebrity Apprentice” alum and Playboy model, who has also made headlines for her alleged affair with Donald Trump Jr. and “toxic” relationship with “Jersey Shore” star Pauly D, said in that 2022 podcast interview that “when you’re in Puff’s world, it’s all about Puff.” O’Day previously accused Combs of trying to “buy her silence” with a publishing deal, claiming he was using the agreement to prohibit her from speaking out about alleged abuse.
In the indictment unsealed Tuesday, prosecutors accused Combs — who had been the subject of a wide-ranging federal investigation into sex trafficking allegations since at least the beginning of the year — of leading a criminal organization that preyed on women, drugged them and forced them to participate in sex shows known as “freak offs.” They accused the 54-year-old of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation for prostitution. He has denied the charges and pleaded not guilty at his appearance Tuesday in a New York courtroom, where a judge denied him bail.
“Mr. Combs is a fighter. He’s going to fight to the end. He’s innocent,” said his attorney Marc Agnifilo. “He came to New York to prove his innocence. He’s not afraid; he’s not scared of the charges. There’s nothing the government said in its filing today that’s going to change anyone’s mind about anything.”
Agnifilo also said Tuesday that Ventura sued Combs late last year after a discussion with Combs' attorney over paying him $30 million for the rights to his book went awry.
Times staff writers Richard Winton and Hannah Fry contributed to this report.
