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Sean "Diddy" Combs is facing more allegations of abuse, but this time it's coming from a group of people who used to work for the disgraced mogul.
Five ex-employees have come forward to describe a "culture of fear" within Diddy's companies like Sean John and his former marketing agency Blue Flame. In a lengthy exposé The Daily Beast published on Saturday, June 1, Combs' former employees — who only spoke on the condition of anonymity — detail several instances in which he allegedly abused them physically and mentally. One previous Sean John employee claimed he grabbed her face due to a disagreement.
“He didn’t like that I wasn’t agreeing with him, and he wasn’t interested in hearing my point of view,” she explained. “He puts one hand on both sides of my cheeks and says ‘Stick out your tongue,’ and then he squeezes my face harder and yells at me to stick out my tongue, forces his hands on my face.”
“I started looking for a job immediately after that moment,” she continued. “I just wasn’t interested in being there to deal with that kind of treatment. You have to really idolize him and see him as an icon. I didn’t. I was just there to do my job.”
Another employee recalled the moment he was fired from Sean John and compared the work environment to "Game of Thrones." Employees would tread carefully around Combs and even threw one another under the bus to gain favor. He explained that he was terminated after Combs noticed he visibly reacted to the mogul's tardiness to a meeting. He asserted Combs "took the look that I gave him personally.”
“There was erratic behavior, there was definitely what I would consider mental abuse, [with] how he spoke to us as employees,” he said. "When people ask me about it, I always tell them it was the worst experience I ever had in my life.”
Several of the employees said they weren't surprised when they saw the violent video of Diddy beating and kicking his ex-girlfriend Cassie at a hotel in 2016. In fact, the former employees claimed they believed his alleged abusive behavior in his personal life carried over into a his professional life and created a toxic work environment.
The accounts of his ex-employees comes as a grand jury in New York City is preparing to hear testimony from his past accusers ahead of a potential criminal indictment. Since he settled with his ex Cassie, the charges won't focus on her previous lawsuit. However, there are at least six active lawsuits pending against the Bad Boy founder that have yet to be resolved. Diddy and his legal team continue to maintain his innocence.