EXPOSED: Diddy's 'Bloody' Fight With Record Exec That Turned Ugly Over Music Video Scene
March 1 2024, Published 4:30 p.m. ET
Diddy was accused of beating up a prominent record producer due to a dispute over a music video scene years before he was outed by multiple women for alleged sexual assault, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Steve Stoute, a longtime executive with Interscope Records, said that he was attacked by Diddy (real name: Sean John Combs) and two other men more than two decades ago after the hip-hop mogul had a change of heart about appearing nailed to a cross in a rap video for Nas' song Hate Me Now.
The animosity kicked off on April 15, 1999, when the video with the controversial scene still left in was premiered on MTV’s TRL. Shortly before the video debut, Combs had second thoughts about a scene he helped conceive in which he appeared crucified with a crown of thorns.
Sony spent an additional $14k to accommodate Combs' request to be included in the scene, sources said, according to the LA Times.
But after speaking to his mother and pastor about his concerns, Combs reached out to Stoute and asked him to remove it, sources close to the hitmaker said.
According to a National Enquirer report, Diddy was upset after discovering his request was not honored. Police said that's when he and two bodyguards marched to Stoute's Manhattan office at Interscope Records.
A witness who found Stoute said, "There was blood all over the office."
"One minute I'm in the middle of a meeting," Stoute told The Times, "and the next minute I'm down on the floor and Puffy and his guys are kicking and pounding me. One of them picks up a chair and throws it at me. Then Puffy throws my desk over and they just walk out like nothing happened."
After being pummeled, he said, "My jaw and my head were all swollen."
"It was a traumatic experience, and in the middle of it, I didn't know exactly how to feel. I was upset. Embarrassed. Scared. Angry. As far as I'm concerned, this was an attempt on my life. The only reason I'm not dead is because they missed."
Diddy, for his role, was charged with second-degree assault and criminal mischief. He later apologized, and Stoute requested for the Manhattan district attorney to drop the charges.
The alleged assault also sparked a lawsuit that was ultimately settled out of court.
Diddy is now facing a slew of new legal battles and allegations.
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RadarOnline.com learned earlier this week that a Jane Doe, the fourth person to accuse Combs of past sexual assault over the last several months, has been ordered to reveal her identity if her case proceeds. Diddy previously denied wrongdoing in a blanket statement.
"ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. For the last couple of weeks, I have sat silently and watched people try to assassinate my character, destroy my reputation and my legacy," he said in December.
"Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday. Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth."