Danyel Smith, the former editor-in-chief of Vibe magazine, recently recounted a harrowing incident with music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs in a personal essay for New York Times Magazine. Smith, who led the magazine from 1997 to 1999, described a series of threatening encounters with Combs leading up to the release of the December 1997/January 1998 issue, which featured him on the cover.
Smith detailed that Combs demanded to see the cover image before publication, a request she denied as it violated the magazine’s policy. In response, Combs allegedly turned up at Vibe’s office with his entourage, demanding a meeting with Smith. Colleagues helped her avoid the confrontation, but the next day Combs allegedly called and threatened her, which he later retracted with a faxed apology after she contacted her attorney.
Following this, Vibe’s office servers, containing the issue’s pages, were stolen. Suspicions immediately fell on Combs and his crew, though the issue was salvaged thanks to a staffer who had saved a version on a personal disk.
Smith also shared other troubling interactions with Combs, including witnessing aggressive behavior towards women. She referenced early rumors of Combs physically attacking a woman at Bad Boy Records and described an incident where he publicly humiliated his then-partner Kim Porter.
