Aubrey O’Day Said Working for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Was ‘Torture’
Aubrey O’Day got her start on Making the Band, an MTV reality show helmed by Sean “Diddy” Combs. In the years since, O’Day has spoken about her relationship with Diddy and his inappropriate behavior towards her. She described working with him as a torturous experience.
Aubrey O’Day spoke about what it was like to work for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
O’Day became a member of Danity Kane in 2005. In 2008, she was fired from the group and has since said this was because she “wasn’t willing to do what was expected of [her] — not talent-wise, but in other areas” (per Rolling Stone).
In an interview on the Call Her Daddy podcast, O’Day said that while Diddy helped her career, working for him had been a terrible experience.
“You know, I have such a love-hate with it all because I don’t think I would have been able to be so successful in so many other areas had, I not been trained under Diddy,” she said. “He was the hardest person that you can work for, and it was torture. And not the work part of it, but the other stuff — mind games. There was a lot of betrayal, there was a lot of lies.”
She said Diddy constantly made inappropriate comments about her appearance. At the time, she had few options to protect herself against this.
“Diddy would be like, ‘You’re not hot anymore. Like, what happened? You don’t have any curves. I can’t get people to think you’re my good-looking person,’” she said. “And there was no #MeToo at that time. There was no protecting anyone at that time. You signed a million NDAs and a million contracts that took away your rights.”
She spoke to her friend about the way he treated her
On the podcast No Jumper, O’Day spoke further about Diddy’s treatment of her.
“Diddy would be like, ‘You’re not hot anymore. Like, what happened? You don’t have any curves. I can’t get people to think you’re my good-looking person,’” she said. “And there was no #MeToo at that time. There was no protecting anyone at that time. You signed a million NDAs and a million contracts that took away your rights.”
At the time, she spoke to her friend about Diddy. She admitted that the way she viewed his comments has shifted significantly.
“She said she remembers when he said that to me. I said, ‘What did I do?’ She said, ‘You kind of looked at me and said, ‘He finally thinks I’m pretty,’”O’Day recalled. “That was what I thought in that moment … I think that it’s just so telling with what a woman goes through and a systemic problem, specifically right now … You meet the person who can make your dreams come true. It’s grooming.”
Aubrey O’Day has voiced her support for Diddy’s ex, Cassie Ventura
In 2023, Cassie Ventura filed a lawsuit against Diddy, accusing him of sexual assault and physical abuse. O’Day has, on multiple occasions, voiced her support for Cassie.
“I am in full support of Cassie,” she said in a statement. “It isn’t easy to take on one of the most powerful people in this industry and be honest about your experience with them. I know what her heart is feeling right now, because I have done so as well. May her voice bring all the others to the table, so we can start having more transparent conversations about what is actually happening behind the scenes. There is a lot more to all of our stories!”
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.
