Diddy Accused Of Workplace Abuse And “Erratic” Behavior As Five Anonymous Employees Come Forward
As Sean “Diddy” Combs’ alleged abuse becomes more fact than fiction with video evidence surfacing, five anonymous former employees of his have come forward to reveal that his “erratic” behavior wasn’t limited to his romantic relationships.
Per a new exclusive from The Daily Beast, the employees who made the revelations worked at Sean John and his defunct advertising agency, Blue Flame. Diddy reportedly “grabbed, berated, and threatened them” and chose to remain anonymous out of fear of retribution.
One female employee admitted that he grabbed her face during a creative disagreement. “He didn’t like that I wasn’t agreeing with him, and he wasn’t interested in hearing my point of view,” she explained.
She shared how Combs yelled and compared himself to renowned fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. “When you speak to me, you should imagine that you’re talking to Karl Lagerfeld. Anything I say, assume that it’s coming from Karl Lagerfeld,” she recalled. While grabbing her face, she claimed Combs told her to “stick out your tongue” while he squeezed her face harder. Following the ordeal, she began to seek employment elsewhere, noting, “I just wasn’t interested in being there to deal with that kind of treatment. You have to really idolize him and see him as an icon. I didn’t. I was just there to do my job.”
She was one of many former employees who wasn’t shocked when surveillance footage surfaced of Combs assaulting his ex-girlfriend Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel. The employee expressed, “I’m sorry that it took this long. I hope he gets what’s coming to him.”
Another employee claimed they were fired after making eye contact with Combs and that was just one instance of the Bad Boy Records founder’s “erratic” behavior.
“There was erratic behavior, there was definitely what I would consider mental abuse, [with] how he spoke to us as employees,” they explained and revealed that they worked nearly 16 hours daily due to “Combs’ demands and the ‘culture of fear,'” adding Combs often used “a lot of profanity, kind of aggressive, in your face—physically in your face—kind of stuff.” They considered working for Combs to be the “worst experience” of their life.
Another employee said, “[Combs] felt as though he should never be questioned and what he says is what it is.” Around the hostile work environment, the term “catching a brick” was reportedly coined for when a staffer became Combs’ target. One worker — who idolized Combs for “super inspirational opportunities he gave to young Black entrepreneurs” — explained, “It was as if you’re walking down the street and someone randomly threw a brick at your head out of the blue. Out of the blue, if he was unhappy with something that you might not have done but he thought you did, you ‘caught a brick.’”
Female assistants would often warn newcomers about Combs’ behavior. One reported, “Everyone was kind of cautioned that, ‘Oh, he might say something weird or something off,’ but were told they should ‘just turn the other way.’”
Towards the end of the report, some anonymous employees didn’t co-sign sentiments of Combs’ behavior. Yet, despite having a more positive experience, they asked to remain anonymous because “no matter what side of the argument I’m on, there’s no benefit for me, and it would be very detrimental to my personal life and career if I’m identified.”
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