'Fall of Diddy' doc: Former assistant, Danity Kane members speak out

A former member of Sean "Diddy" Combs' girl group Danity Kane is opening up about what it was like working for the embattled hip-hop mogul.

Singer D. Woods, who comprised the platinum-selling R&B band alongside Aubrey O'Day, Dawn Richard, Shannon Bex and Aundrea Fimbres, spoke out during the finale of Investigation Discovery's "The Fall of Diddy" docuseries Tuesday.

"It takes a lot for me to allow you to have your experience (as fans) and not taint it and still understand what my experience was," Woods said. "Hearing some of those songs brings up awful memories.

"I see myself standing in those dark, scary, predatory spaces and hearing somebody say some of the most degrading things to me and ... having to figure out how to navigate and not let that person break me down."

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Woods alleged Combs was verbally abusive to her and her bandmates throughout their career, including criticizing her physical appearance. "I called it 'jedi mind tricks,'" she said. "I had to just take it, grit my teeth and let him say what he wanted to say."

The Danity Kane alum also claimed Combs' alleged misconduct extended to sexually charged remarks aimed at O'Day.

Investigation Discovery expanded its four-part series to include an exclusive interview with Combs' former assistant Phil Pines. The interview, a 30-minute detailing of Pines' time working for Combs and the alleged manipulation he faced at the hands of the music mogul, aired Tuesday night.

In response to "Fall of Diddy" producers' request for comment, Combs' representatives said: "Mr. Combs has full confidence in the facts and the integrity of the judicial process. In court the truth will prevail: that the accusations against Mr. Combs are pure fiction."

Combs, who was arrested in September 2024 on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution, remains in custody at the Special Housing Unit in Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center. A trial for the Grammy-winning rapper, who's denied all accusations against him, is set to commence on May 5.

Here are the biggest revelations from Tuesday's episode.

Former Diddy assistant Phil Pines speaks out

In the interview, Pines tells journalist Mara S. Campo, "He was somebody that I look up to." Pines alleged his responsibilities quickly transformed from run-of-the-mill assistant duties to something more sinister.

In a December lawsuit, Pines alleged that the now-55-year-old mogul treated him as a "personal lackey" during his employment from 2019 to 2021. Part of Pines' alleged responsibilities included setting up rooms for sex parties that Combs referred to as "Wild King Nights" − arranging "red lights, ice buckets, alcohol, marijuana joints, honey packs for male libido, baby oil" sex toys, drugs and more – which he reiterated in the docuseries.

Pines' lawsuit states he was made to clean up hotel rooms after these events and ensure no one spoke about what went on, which included tipping hotel staff to ensure their silence.

The women involved were much younger than Combs, Pines alleged. "There's a power dynamic there. A more impressionable girl is easier to reel in as opposed to somebody who might be a celebrity," Pines said.

Pines said he witnessed violence and described an alleged assault at the rapper's Miami estate. "I remember a time when I saw him assault one of his guests at his home in Florida," he said, adding that Combs allegedly kicked the female guest.

Pines worked under Combs' chief assistant Kristina Khorram, who he alleges was aware of it all. She would often direct him to clean up hotel rooms in the aftermath, he said.

"One could only imagine what was actually happening," he said, shivering at the memory of cleaning up hotel rooms that were allegedly destroyed with broken glass, blood and fluid stains. "That was my job... to shield his private life from the public," Pines said.

In one incident, meant to test his loyalty, Pines alleged Combs handed him a condom and pushed him toward a female guest on the couch. The guest gave him consent, Pines said, and he engaged in sexual activity until he was sure Combs wasn't looking. "I just thought to myself, if I don't do this I don't know what's going to happen," he said.

D. Woods alleges Diddy made sexual advances toward Danity Kane member Aubrey O'Day

Woods' account also included claims about Combs' relationship with O'Day.

The singer said O'Day confided in her that Combs often sent "inappropriate" photos to her, which allegedly included "overtly pornographic" material. "I remember telling her, 'Girl, put that in a folder. Send it to your mama. Save that,'" Woods recalled.

Woods added that while the women were attending New York Fashion Week in 2008, O'Day ran into Combs, where he reportedly told O'Day she was now "hot enough" to have sex with him.

Shortly after O'Day's alleged encounter, Combs called a mandatory meeting with Danity Kane, during which O'Day and Woods were fired from the group. Woods said Combs retaliated against O'Day, in part, because she didn't "succumb to his advances."

"He wanted her to feel powerless and question her worth," Woods said. "I feel like that's part of the same reason why he probably got rid of me too."

USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for O'Day for comment.

Aubrey O'Day speaks out: Singer likens experience with Diddy to 'childhood trauma'

Diddy's former chef alleges he assaulted her during an argument

Combs' former chef Jourdan Cha'Taun, who worked for Combs from 2007-2010, alleges the music mogul assaulted her during an argument at his home.

Cha'Taun said the dispute stemmed from Combs' issue with the chef's alleged "attitude" at work. When an upset Cha'Taun told Combs in response that she was quitting her job, the Bad Boy Records founder allegedly shoved her to the ground.

Although Cha'Taun wanted to take legal action against Combs, she was cautioned that she would be blackballed in the culinary industry if she spoke out.

"Puff scared me, so I kept quiet about things that I knew because I was afraid that something might happen to me," Cha'Taun said.

Lil Rod says he was encouraged to 'downplay' Diddy's alleged sexual misconduct

Producer Rodney "Lil Rod" Jones Jr., who worked on Combs' most recent album "The Love Album: Off the Grid," claims his concerns about the rapper's alleged misconduct fell on deaf ears.

Jones sued Combs in February 2024, alleging he forcibly touched him and required Jones on numerous occasions to solicit sex workers and perform sex acts with them for his "pleasure."

In the documentary, Jones recalled one alleged studio session, in which Combs moved the production crew into his bathroom, undressed in front of them, and stepped into the shower.

When Jones attempted to address Combs' purported behavior with one of his chiefs of staff, he was reportedly told: "That's just his way of showing he likes or loves you. Just downplay it like it's nothing."

"Everybody was sipping on the Puffy juice," Jones reflected. "That makes me feel very used, abused. It makes me feel like only a monster can do this."

Lil Rod lawsuit: Producer accuses Diddy of sexual assault

Thalia Graves says Diddy threatened her following alleged rape

Thalia Graves, who alleged in a September lawsuit that Combs raped her in the early 2000s, reflected on the emotional aftermath of the alleged assault.

Graves, who was reportedly dating one of Combs' employees at the time, alleged in her complaint that Combs and his then-bodyguard, Joseph "Big Joe" Sherman, "viciously raped her" at the Bad Boy Records studio in New York City around the summer of 2001.

In "The Fall of Diddy," Graves said she received a phone call from Combs shortly after the alleged assault, claiming the music mogul told her to keep her "mouth shut."

Graves said she subsequently moved out of New York and "disappeared for a few years," adding that Combs' alleged mistreatment caused her severe mental distress.

"I was a total wreck, hanging on to sanity by a thread, trying to cope with being raped and assaulted, trying to raise a child, depression," Graves said. "Trying to fight every day to keep yourself alive because at that point, there was nothing there."

Thalia Graves lawsuit: Diddy and former bodyguard accused of drugging, raping woman in 2001

Diddy's former girlfriend alleges he threatened to deport her

A former romantic partner of Combs alleges he threatened her residency status following their breakup.

Actress Kat Pasion, who dated Combs on and off in the late 2010s, recalled their relationship took a dark turn in 2021 while Combs was making "The Love Album: Off the Grid."

One night, Pasion said Combs, after having taken the drug Tusi, woke her up and subjected her to nonconsensual sex. "The person who came out of that bathroom and woke me up was someone that I didn't even recognize," she said.

A few weeks after the alleged incident, Pasion said she received an angry phone call from Combs, during which he threatened to have the Canada native deported. In response, Pasion told Combs that he was a "demon."

"This man is sick," Pasion said. "He uses his resources and uses what he can do for you and thinks that can band-aid and solve the horrible things he does to people."

Episodes of "The Fall of Diddy" are available to stream on Max.

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free, confidential, 24/7 support to survivors and their loved ones in English and Spanish at: 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Español RAINN.org/es.

Contributing: KiMi Robinson, USA TODAY, Anna Kaufman

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sean Combs doc: Revelations from Danity Kane members, ex-assistant