After going public about Diddy, Aubrey O’Day says she became so worried about potential retaliation from the mogul or his circle that she once kept a butcher knife on hand.
The former Danity Kane singer told Decider last week that she feared what might happen after years of accusing Diddy of sexual harassment, long before his arrest last September.
Earlier this year, at his trial, Diddy was found guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. During proceedings, multiple witnesses recounted incidents of domestic violence—accounts his lawyers did not dispute, while arguing one 2024 incident was self-defense. He also faces a number of ongoing civil lawsuits alleging sexual assault.
“Obviously, I’ve known about this behavior for a very long time,” the vocalist said around the nine-minute mark of the video below. “I’ve been warning everyone for about twenty years now that this is not a safe person to work with. It just was falling on deaf ears because no one wanted to hear me saying it.”
O’Day further alleged the media was “fed” stories about Diddy returning publishing to former Bad Boy artists to make him look like a “great guy.” She added that “physical danger” became a “reality” for her after publicly challenging the producer.
“There was a time where I was dating Pras [Michel] from Fugees and he kind of gave me a call,” O’Day recalled. “He would always be my center. I’ll be like,
‘Am I being a Karen? Do I sound like a Karen to you? Am I doing way too much?’ Most of the time it was yes.”
Following Michel’s advice to “amp it up a bit,” O’Day says she started keeping a “butcher knife” on hand and began noticing “unmarked cars” outside her home.
“I know how to look for certain things based off of certain things that I’ve had to learn in life, and there were unmarked cars around me for a bit that
seemed suspicious,” she continued. “And I don’t know how much danger there ever was, is or isn’t.
“I mean, we saw two victims drop out during jury selection,” she continued, referring to two women who were initially listed in government charging documents but did not end up testifying at Diddy’s trial. “Clearly, there were things moving and shaking on all sides, but I’ve been aware multiple times in
the past couple years that physical danger is a real thing.”
As Diddy pursued bail ahead of his early October sentencing, those opposing his release included his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura, former stylist Deonte Nash, and former chef Jourdan Atkinson, all of whom expressed fears of retaliation.
