Sean “Diddy†Combs allegedly threatened Vibe magazine editor Danyel Smith in 1997, telling her that she would end up “dead in the trunk of a car†over a dispute about his cover story, Smith claims in a New York Times essay. According to her account, as the then-editor-in-chief she selected Diddy to be the cover star for the magazine’s December 1997/January 1998 feature following the death of Biggie, his label’s artist, and the runaway success of “I’ll Be Missing You,†the musical tribute performed by widow Faith Evans and the hip-hop mogul. Working with Diddy on set proved to be difficult, Smith recalls, but she eventually managed to get him to wear white feathered wings for the cover’s double issue, which had an angel/devil theme and a “Bad Boy, Bad Boy, Whatcha Gonna Do?†cover line.
Days leading up to publication, Diddy wanted to have the final approval of the cover before it went to press. Smith claims that after telling him no, he promised to storm the Vibe offices in Midtown East to select images, forcing fellow employees to make a plan to keep her safe. When he did arrive, Smith smuggled proofs with her from office to office, managing to avoid the controlling founder of Bad Boy. He threatened her the next day, Smith claims, and told her “fuck you.†After getting lawyers involved, Smith says Diddy faxed over an apology hours later. Servers containing the files were stolen from the offices. Vibe only managed to publish the issue because of dumb luck — an art director had a disk with the proofs that she had taken home.
Much of the incident she’d hidden in her mind. “Considering this nauseating image of myself running and hiding from Combs, of people at work protecting me, made me confront other things I’d possibly repressed about that feral and fantastic time in my life.†Smith continued to work with Diddy professionally following the incident, attending many of his parties and catching up with him at industry events. “It’s bizarre to see myself smiling in pictures with someone accused of such heinous crimes,†she writes.
Smith’s account comes days after Vibe magazine was named in the tenth lawsuit filed against Diddy in recent months over alleged sexual assault and sex trafficking. Containing accusations from a woman who worked in the adult-film industry as a teenager before moving to New York in 2004, the lawsuit alleges the woman was told to work Diddy’s Hamptons White Parties in exchange for a modeling job for her boyfriend. By the third White Party, Diddy allegedly demanded that she engage in sex with guests. Vibe is named in the lawsuit for publishing a photo of the woman. Not only did she allegedly never give the magazine permission to publish the image, but the lawsuit argues that Vibe’s association with Diddy and frequent coverage of his parties only furthered his predatory behavior.