Rolling Stone released a bombshell exposé about Diddy and his history of violence on Tuesday (May 28) after a six-month investigation and interviewing 300 of the mogul’s former associates.
But one of the mogul’s former group members has come forward to defend him amid the backlash. Kalenna Harper of Diddy’s Dirty Money spoke with Rolling Stone during their investigation and she praised the billionaire and labeled former Bad Boy associates with “disgruntled employee syndrome.”
The 41-year-old singer, alongside former Danity Kane member Dawn Richard, formed Diddy-Dirty Money in 2009. They released their album, Last Train to Paris, in 2010 and performed together for about a year before disbanding in the early 2010s.
The trio reunited in 2022 for Diddy’s latest album, The Love Album: Off The Grid, released in 2023. Despite the controversy surrounding Diddy, Kalenna remains one of the few who speaks positively about her time working with him.
Harper’s comments stand in stark contrast to the numerous ex-Bad Boy artists who aired grievances against Diddy in the report. Bad Boy’s former roster includes legendary acts Ma$e, Faith Evans, Day 26, Carl Thomas, 112, Notorious B.I.G., Black Rob, G-Dep, Mario Winans, Da Band, and many more.
Aubrey O’Day, a singer from Danity Kane, recently told TMZ that her time at Bad Boy was abusive. She claimed Diddy tried to coerce her into signing an NDA by withholding her publishing rights.
Other former Bad Boy artists, such as The LOX and Yung Joc, have had public conflicts with Diddy, and Mark Curry dedicated his 2009 memoir, “Dancing with the Devil: How Puff Burned the Bad Boys of Hip-Hop,” to detailing his alleged negative experiences with the label.
Even the late Notorious B.I.G., whose career is closely tied to Bad Boy’s legacy, was reportedly planning his exit from Diddy’s company. Biggie Smalls would be gunned down while in Los Angeles for an award show in 1997.
After the exposé, reports surfaced that Diddy accusers could be called to testify in a federal grand jury case. Diddy’s properties were raided by federal agents in March after the mogul settled a lawsuit with ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, who accused him of domestic violence, rape, and sex trafficking.