Sean “Diddy” Combs Allegedly Threatened ‘Vibe’ EIC Over Magazine Cover

Sean “Diddy” Combs allegedly threatened to see former Vibe magazine editor-in-chief Danyel Smith “dead in the trunk of her car” after she refused to allow him to preview his magazine cover prior to publication.

In a personal essay published in The New York Times Magazine on Friday, Smith recounted an incident from 1997. She had chosen Combs as the cover star for Vibe magazine’s December/January double issue, with the photoshoot inspired by the poster for the 1978 Warren Beatty film Heaven Can Wait. The covers featured Combs in white angel wings, with a split run showcasing “one with heavenly signifiers and another with hellish ones.”

After the shoot, Combs requested to see the covers, but Smith denied him as it was against the magazine’s policy. She later heard that Combs planned to come to the office to force her to show him the chosen covers and potentially change them if he didn’t like what he saw.

Smith, aware of Combs’ previous encounter in 1996 where he was found guilty of criminal mischief for threatening a New York Post photographer with a gun, felt she still needed him on the cover. Concerned about what Combs might do, Vibe employees devised a plan to keep her safe in case he showed up at their office.

One day, Combs reportedly entered the office with two security guards and asked for Smith. The employees, already alerted by the receptionist of Combs’ arrival, managed to “shuttle” Smith from office to office, allowing her to narrowly escape in a taxi with the paper proofs of the covers in hand.

The following day, Combs called the office and allegedly made the serious threat. “He wanted to see the covers. I was still on message: It’s not what we do,” Smith recalled. Then, Combs allegedly told her he would see her “dead in the trunk of a car.” Unfazed, Smith demanded he retract the threat.

Smith threatened to call her lawyer if Combs didn’t retract his alleged threat. Combs reportedly told her, “I know where you are right now. Right on Lexington.” Upon contacting her personal lawyer and threatening legal action, Combs faxed an apology two hours later.

However, shortly after the incident, the magazine’s servers were stolen from the office. The issue was stored on one of the servers, sparking rumors that members from Combs’ label, Bad Boy Entertainment, might have been involved. Luckily, the issue could be salvaged since Vibe’s art director had the issue on a disk.

The New York Times noted that Combs, through his representatives, did not comment on the record for this piece.

This allegation emerges nearly two months after surveillance footage from 2016 surfaced, showing Combs allegedly physically assaulting his ex-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura. Combs issued an apology in an Instagram video shared on May 19, stating, “I was fucked up — I hit rock bottom — but I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable.”