The most disturbing details from 'Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy,' a new doc that interviews his former friends and associates

Sean "Diddy" Combs hosts a party for Bad Boy Entertainment and Warner Bros. in 2005.

Johnny Nunez/WireImage

• The documentary, "Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy," is now streaming on Peacock.
• The doc features interviews with Sean Combs' former friends, associates, and employees.
• Prominent voices include music producer Al B. Sure! and Combs' childhood friend, Tim Patterson.

A new documentary on Peacock examines the rise and fall of Sean "Diddy" Combs largely through the lens of former members of his inner circle.

"Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy" is the first major documentary to air since Combs was arrested last September and charged with three felonies, including sex trafficking. He's since been hit with a fresh wave of civil lawsuits alleging sexual assault, rape, and more.

Combs has pleaded not guilty and publicly denied all allegations. His lawyers have said he won't comment on pending litigation and intends to fight the charges against him at a trial scheduled to begin May 5.

Although Combs' network of A-listers has largely kept quiet amid the legal proceedings, several of his childhood friends, business associates, and employees agreed to appear on camera for Peacock's documentary.

Keep reading for the most noteworthy quotes and takeaways from their interviews.

Tim "Dawg" Patterson says Combs' mother hosted sex parties in his childhood home.

Sean "Diddy" Combs and his mother, Janice Combs, in 2018.

Michael Tran/FilmMagic

Tim "Dawg" Patterson, a hip-hop producer who worked with Combs at Bad Boy Records before he left the music industry, is introduced in the doc as one of Combs' oldest friends.

Patterson and Combs both grew up in Mount Vernon, New York. When Patterson was a child a few years older than Combs, he and his mother moved into the bottom floor of Combs' house.

Patterson and other childhood friends, Lee Davis and Rich Parker, describe Combs and his mother, Janice Combs, as appearing better-off than other families in the area; Combs went to a Catholic private school, Mount Saint Michael Academy, and "always had the best of everything," Patterson recalls. "He was looked at as the rich kid."

However, Patterson also remembers a chaotic, sexualized upbringing in the Combs household — largely due to wild parties Janice would often throw with alcohol, drugs, "pimps, and pushers," regardless of whether the kids were home.

"At night, it wouldn't be a thing to mistakenly walk into one of the bedrooms, and you've got a couple in there butt-naked," Patterson says. "That's what we were privy to. This is what we were fed. Was it desensitizing us? I'm sure it was. Were we aware of it? No, that was just Saturday night."

Al B. Sure! says Combs openly pursued Kim Porter while they were still dating.

Kim Porter and Sean "Diddy" Combs in 2003.

Carmen Valdes/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

Albert Joseph Brown III (aka music producer and recording artist Al B. Sure!) worked with Combs in the early '90s at Uptown Records, where Combs started as an intern before he was promoted to talent scout.

When Combs was hired, Brown was dating Kim Porter, a model and actor. She gave birth to their son, Quincy Taylor Brown, in 1991.

According to Brown, Combs met Porter at the studio when he came by with his then-girlfriend, Misa Hylton.

"I was in the studio with Kimberly, and we had the baby with us at that point," Brown recalls in the doc. "He [Combs] walked into the studio, and he looked over, and he saw this really beautiful girl, and she was holding this really beautiful baby. And he said, 'Man, I wish I had a beautiful girl like that.' I was like, 'Uh, you do. It's Misa.'"

Brown says Combs began pursuing Porter from that point on.

Patterson echoes this point, telling the camera that it was "love at first sight with Sean seeing Kim," adding, "The whole staff watched it happen. Sean had no shame in his aggression toward Kim and his approach to her. No shame. Just like, 'This is the girl. You're gonna be my girl. You might not know it yet.'"

Combs and Porter began their longtime on-and-off relationship in 1994. Combs has often said that he adopted her son when Quincy was still a toddler, and Quincy has described Combs as a father figure in his life.

However, according to Brown, Combs never officially adopted Quincy. In the doc, Brown casts the adoption as "propaganda" spun by PR professionals to make Combs look more parental.

"There's no adoption. None," he says. "All crafted by a publicist. And if you haven't noticed, his name is still Brown."

Al B. Sure! also says that Porter confided in him about Combs, but she warned him not to get involved.

Sean "Diddy" Combs, Kim Porter, and Al B. Sure! with their children at "The Holiday Calendar" special screening in 2018.

Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix

Porter died in 2018 from lobar pneumonia, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. She was 47.

Brown previously called for an investigation into Porter's death, although her children have said there isn't any evidence of foul play and condemned "horrific conspiracy theories."

In the doc, Brown explicitly describes Porter's death as murder, before asking producers, "Am I supposed to say allegedly?"

Brown goes on to say that Porter confided in him about her relationship with Combs.

"What she did say is, 'Look, something's not right. His soul has gone completely dark like he's just not there,'" Brown says. "She made me promise, on our son Quincy Taylor Brown's life, not to ever reveal, because she was in complete fear of my life."

"Kimberly said, 'Don't do this, don't get involved, you will get killed,'" he adds. Brown also implies that Combs is to blame for his near-fatal health scare in 2022, which landed him in a medically induced two-month coma.

The doc notes that Brown's account of these conversations has not been corroborated, nor is there evidence that Porter was a victim of domestic violence. It also describes the cause of Brown's hospitalization as "multiple illnesses, organ failure, and a subsequent hernia surgery that didn't fare well."

An anonymous source from Bad Boy Records says, "There ain't a Diddy party that didn't turn into a Freak Off."

Diddy at his 2004 white party in the Hamptons.

Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage for Bragman Nyman Cafarelli

During his heyday as a music mogul, Combs was known for throwing lavish, star-studded events — including the annual white party at his Hamptons mansion, which regularly featured nude women.

At the heart of the federal charges against Combs is what he called "Freak Offs," which prosecutors describe as sexual "performances" that Combs directed between victims and male sex workers, who were often illegally trafficked.

Since Combs' arrest, celebrities have begun disavowing or disclaiming their attendance at his parties, like Jamie Foxx, who recently joked, "I left them parties early. I was out by 9." Many of Combs' friends interviewed in the doc also say they never saw anything illicit or concerning behind closed doors.

However, a former Bad Boy employee tells producers, "There ain't a Diddy party that didn't turn into a Freak Off."

This source declined to be named or interviewed on-camera for fear of retaliation, though he did supply footage he'd taken in Combs' company. In one video, Combs says, "I'm gonna show you how we have fun and stay out of jail, too." Several clips show Combs partying with crowds of people, usually illuminated by harsh red lighting.

"Anytime where the studio or any rooms is red, it's red because he feel like the frequency for fucking and making love and sex," the source says.

The source also alleges that Combs asked him to "recruit" girls from local bars to come back to Combs' house.

"He looked at two of the girls and winked his eye and pointed and said, 'Y'all come here,'" the source recalls. "And he walked out and left into his room, and didn't come out until a whole 'nother 24 hours. For sure, they were underage."

Combs has been accused of molesting and assaulting several minors, including a 10-year-old boy, a 16-year-old boy, and a 17-year-old girl, in a series of lawsuits filed since late 2023.

Attorneys for Combs told the production team, "In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted anyone — adult or minor, man or woman."

According to Combs' former bodyguard Gene Deal, Combs threatened to "pimp out" female musicians on his roster.

Diddy performs with Danity Kane in 2006.

Peter Kramer/Getty Images

At the height of his career, Combs operated as the founder and CEO of Bad Boy Entertainment and the executive producer of MTV's "Making the Band," a reality show about scouting and assembling a new hip-hop group.

Combs hand-selected the members, who were then signed to Bad Boy Records as Bad Boy's Da Band.

One of those members, Sara Rivers, is interviewed in the doc about Combs' behavior behind the scenes.

"When he got angry with one of my bandmembers, he said, 'You make me so mad I wanna eat your flesh,'" she tells the camera. "And then he said to another one of your bandmembers, he said, 'You're rolling your eyes. You know, I could go get a crackhead and pay them $20 to smack the shit out of you.' Who says that? That's crazy."

Rivers also accuses Combs of touching her inappropriately when they were alone together.

"Honestly, I didn't want to be around him unless there was cameras," Rivers says, adding that she felt "intimidated" by Combs.

Gene Deal, Combs' bodyguard from 1991 to 2005, also remembers Combs making threats about his female employees.

"We're in the studio. You know, he had said some stuff about the band," Deal recalls. "And Puff said, 'They gonna keep fucking around with me, and I'm gonna drug their ass out and pimp 'em out to my n*****.'"

"And I said, 'N****, those are somebody's daughters," Deal adds. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

Deal recounted that same incident in November 2023 during an interview on "The Art of Dialogue" podcast, though he was referring to Danity Kane, the R&B girl group that was formed by Combs in 2005.

"They're probably gonna go after him," Deal said of the bandmembers.

Danity Kane's Dawn Richard sued Combs in September 2024, accusing him of assault, sexual assault and harassment, sexual battery, and false imprisonment.

Combs' attorney, Erica Wolff, responded to Richard's lawsuit in a public statement: "Mr. Combs is shocked and disappointed by this lawsuit. In an attempt to rewrite history, Dawn Richard has now manufactured a series of false claims all in the hopes of trying to get a payday — conveniently timed to coincide with her album release and press tour.

"It's unfortunate that Ms. Richard has cast their 20-year friendship aside to try and get money from him, but Mr. Combs is confidently standing on truth and looks forward to proving that in court."

Another former Danity Kane member, Aubrey O'Day, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that she felt "validated" after Combs was arrested.

"The purpose of Justice is to provide an ending and allow us the space to create a new chapter," O'Day wrote. "Today is a win for women all over the world, not just me. Things are finally changing."

Read the original article on Business Insider

from All Content from Business Insider https://www.businessinsider.com/diddy-documentary-peacock-details-takeaways-2025-1
via gqrds