3 Times Usher Warned Us About Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
The September 2024 arrest of Sean “Diddy” Combs on charges related to racketeering, sex trafficking by force, and transportation for purposes of prostitution appears to be the culmination of years of allegations, rumors, and red flags. But despite the scandals that followed him, Combs remained prominent in hip-hop, reality TV, advertising, and more.
Among Diddy’s closest connections in music was Usher. The R&B singer began as a Diddy protege before striking out on his own and becoming one of the biggest stars in the world. Along the way, Usher raised multiple red flags about Diddy’s behavior behind closed doors.
Usher saw ‘very curious things’ living with Diddy
Usher lost his voice during the lead-up to releasing his self-titled debut album in 1994. Record producer LA Reid contemplated dropping Usher and canceling the album. Instead, Reid sent Usher to live with Sean Combs for a year of what Reid called “Flavor Camp.”
So in 1994, a 13-year-old Usher lived with Diddy in New York City. He recounted his experiences during a 2016 interview with Howard Stern.
“In the ’90s, do you understand what that’s like?” Usher explained. “It was curious. I got a chance to see some things. I went there to see the lifestyle. And I saw it.”
Usher continued, hinting at what he saw while living under Diddy’s roof. “It was pretty wild,” he added. “It was crazy. … There were very curious things taking place, and I didn’t necessarily understand it.”
Usher wouldn’t let his kids around Diddy
Usher provided more details about life with Diddy, some of which were strikingly similar to the allegations from Diddy’s 2024 arrest.
“There was always girls around,” he told Rolling Stone in 2004. “You’d open a door and see somebody doing it or several people in a room having an orgy. You never knew what was going to happen.”
It was an atypical experience for a teenager, even one in the entertainment industry. Now as a father, Usher admitted he wouldn’t let any of his children go off to have similar experiences with Sean Combs.
When asked if he would let his children live with Diddy at “Puffy Camp,” Usher responded with a resounding “hell no.”
Usher said Diddy turned his back on him
The allegations against Diddy paint a picture of emotional abuse, physical harm, and bullying. There are also stories of how the rap mogul demanded loyalty from those around him or used his lavish lifestyle to influence and control others.
Living with Diddy gave Usher a front-row seat to how the record producer lived. But when Usher needed a favor, his one-time mentor wasn’t willing to share the wealth.
“I looked up to Puffy, but he turned his back on me,” Usher told The Times in 2004. “I went to him once when my record company wasn’t doing me so well, when I was about 17, and I’m like, ‘Yo, Puff, you know, I need some money, I don’t have any money, man, and can I borrow $5,000?’ And he’s like, ‘Nah, man, I haven’t got it.’ And yet he was walking Versace, you know?”
Celebrity Net Worth estimates Diddy to be worth $600 million in 2024. So it’s safe to assume he could afford to lend Usher $5,000 in 1995. It was just a year after he launched Bad Boys Records and signed the Notorious B.I.G.
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