Journalist says Diddy threatened to see her ‘dead in a trunk’ over approval of photos for magazine spread
A journalist who says Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs made death threats toward her – over approval of photos for a magazine spread – speaks in extended detail over the alleged exchange in a forthcoming docuseries titled The Fall of Diddy.
Danyel Smith, the one-time editor-in-chief of Vibe magazine, said Combs, 55, vowed he would see her ‘dead in a trunk’ if she didn’t show him, in advance, images of him for a story in the publication.
‘After the shoot, Mr. Combs wanted to see the covers before they were published,’ Smith said in an excerpt from the forthcoming docuseries. ‘It was policy for us not to show the covers to anyone before they were published.’
Smith said in the broadcast that Combs telephoned her to complain, at which time he made the death threats: ‘I told him that I wouldn’t be making an exception and he said that he would see me dead in a trunk if I did not show it to him.’
Combs has past denied Smith’s allegations, and has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking charges after his September arrest. He has remained incarcerated awaiting a May 5 trial, after he was refused bail on multiple occasions.
Dailymail.com has reached out to reps and attorneys for Diddy for further comment.
Danyel Smith, a journalist who says Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs made death threats toward her – over approval of photos for a magazine spread – speaks in extended detail over the alleged exchange in a forthcoming docuseries titled The Fall of Diddy
Smith said she told Diddy he needed ‘to take that back,’ to which he said ‘he wasn’t taking s*** back,’ at which point she enlisted her lawyer.
‘My attorney called him to say that if he didn’t immediately fax over an apology, my attorney was going to reach out to law enforcement,’ Smith said. ‘It took about 90 minutes to two hours and I received that faxed apology.’
Smith said that after the fact, she had learned that Diddy dispatched people to intimidate her over the issue.
‘I’ve only recently come to realize – through the members of the staff at that time – that he had actually, in the days before, come up to the Vibe offices with two tough guys looking for me,’ she said.
Smith spoke about the issue with The New York Times Magazine last summer, noting that the information filed regarding the Combs story had disappeared at the time.
The story titled The Good, the Bad, and the Puffy, was published in December 1997/January 1998.
The claims made by Smith mirror those of prosecutors in Combs’ federal case, who say the music mogul used blackmail and violence in his efforts to silence victims.
Among the claims is that he persuaded women to participate against their will in group sexual exhibitions referred to as ‘Freak Offs.’
Combs has past denied Smith’s allegations, and has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking charges after his September arrest
Smith said in the broadcast that Combs telephoned her to complain, at which time he made the death threats: ‘I told him that I wouldn’t be making an exception and he said that he would see me dead in a trunk if I did not show it to him’
Smith said she enlisted her lawyer to demand a written apology over the threat, which Diddy subsequently faxed over
The Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down performer remains in federal custody more than four months after his arrest in connection with sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
Combs, who is also charged with transportation to engage in prostitution, has made a trio of attempts in vain to be granted bail, amid concerns from the court he would attempt to flee or tamper with his case.
Prior to his arrest he was in the headlines for much of 2024 year after raids on multiple properties in March; video of him assaulting his ex-girlfriend Cassie surfacing on CNN in May; and his September 16 arrest in Manhattan.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, as his trial date of May 5 looms.
A synopsis of the documentary released by Investigation Discovery details what viewers can expect to see in the forthcoming docuseries.
‘From those who saw his alleged violence and temper during his college days at Howard University and the onset of his career with Bad Boy Records, to those who knew him at the height of his influence and power in recent years, the network said, ‘The Fall of Diddy covers decades of mounting allegations.
‘Through these interviews combined with a vast collection of archival footage, The Fall of Diddy paints a holistic picture of a mogul who is alleged to have wielded his extensive power and influence to obscure, for decades, a pattern of abuse and violence that left an unprecedented amount of pain and suffering in his wake.’
The Fall of Diddy is set to debut over two nights, January 27 and January 28 on Investigation Discovery and Max.
