People online are calling attention to multiple 'red flags' displayed by Diddy in a resurfaced interview he conducted with Ellen DeGeneres in 2009.
People have drawn attention to the interview after the rapper, whose real name is Sean Combs, was seen in footage from 2016 assaulting his then-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura.
The assault took place seven years after Combs appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, where the host asked about Combs' link to Chris Brown, who at the time was in the media for assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna.
Combs initially seemed to try and avoid speaking about the topic by saying it was not something he'd 'Twitter about', but Ellen continued to try and get a response from the rapper.
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Combs then said he was the type person who doesn't 'cast a judgement on anybody'.
Ellen went on to say she didn't want women to think they had to 'go back to a guy who hit her', before telling Combs: "And I don’t mean to put you in it. Because it’s not you."
However, Combs then responded: "You are putting me in it, so I'm gonna speak on it. I don't think it's right for anybody to hit anybody.”
“I think we all have to be honest with ourselves as adults, and people who have been in relationships.
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“We know sometimes those relationships get ugly, and sometimes it doesn’t come out to the forefront the way this one has come out. There’s a lot of stones being thrown, and we don’t know exactly what happened.”
“These are two young individuals. We need to pray for them and we need to give certain support, but you don't need to start saying that you know something that you don't know. You wasn't in that car."
After the video of Combs and Ventura came to light, people are now viewing the rapper's response to Ellen in a different light.
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"The red flags were always there but ofc the media and everyone else ignored them," one Reddit user wrote after seeing the clip.
"Oh boy, that’s some dark energy," wrote a second, as another viewer wrote on X: "His response is crazy."
Diddy has since apologized for his behavior in the video of himself and Ventura, writing in a recent post online that he was 'disgusted then when [he] did it'.
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"I’m disgusted now," he continued. "I went and I sought out professional help. I got into going to therapy, going to rehab. I had to ask God for his mercy and grace. I’m so sorry."
Ventura has also spoken out on the events, saying in part: "Domestic Violence is THE issue. It broke me down to someone I never thought I would become. With a lot of hard work, I am better today, but I will always be recovering from my past.”
In recent months, Combs has been named in seven civil lawsuits, six of which contain allegations of sexual assault.
Combs and his attorneys have denied the allegations.
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If you've been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Or you can chat online via online.rainn.org
If you are experiencing domestic violence, please know that you are not alone. You can talk in confidence 24 hours a day to the national domestic violence helpline on 1.800.799.SAFE (7233) 24/7. You can find a list of local resources here.
Topics: Diddy, Ellen DeGeneres, Rihanna, US News, Celebrity
Emily Brown