10 Surprising Insights about Sean Combs and His Ties to Tupac and Biggie’s Murders

Sean “Diddy” Combs At Howard Homecoming Yardfest on October 20, 2023 in Washington, DC.
Credit :

Shareif Ziyadat/Getty

NEED TO KNOW

• In December 2025, Netflix released a four-part docuseries about the rise and fall of Sean “Diddy” Combs
• Participants in Sean Combs: The Reckoning made several shocking allegations against the rapper and producer
• The man charged with the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur claimed that Combs offered the Crips $1 million to kill the rapper and Death Row Records producer Suge Knight

Fans were introduced to a controversial side of hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs in the Netflix docuseries Sean Combs: The Reckoning, released on December 2, 2025. This four-part series explores the rise of Bad Boy Entertainment’s founder and Grammy-winning rapper, detailing how he allegedly used his success to intimidate and control those around him.

Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, the show’s producer, stated, “If I didn’t say anything, you would interpret it as hip-hop is fine with his behaviors. There’s no one else being vocal,” in an interview with Good Morning America following the series’ launch.

In addition to new footage from the days preceding Diddy’s September 2024 arrest for sex trafficking, racketeering, and illegal prostitution—charges from which he was acquitted in July 2025—the series features dire allegations from friends and former associates who claim they witnessed a long-standing pattern of coercion and abuse.

Kirk Burrowes, a co-founder of Bad Boy Entertainment, described in the series, “With Sean, sometimes you’re humiliated. Sometimes you’re made an example of. Sometimes violent things happen to you. Through the years, a lot of bad things happened to good friends.”

A spokesperson for Combs, whose recent legal troubles included a 50-month prison sentence for prostitution-related charges, dismissed The Reckoning as “a one-sided narrative led by a publicly admitted adversary.”

In their statement, Juda Engelmayer, Combs’ representative, asserted, “Several of these stories have already been addressed in court filings, and others were never raised in any legal forum because they’re simply not true. [The project] repeats allegations without context, evidence, or verification.”

Here are some significant revelations from Sean Combs: The Reckoning.

Combs’s Mother Accused of “Physically Harming” Him

Janice Combs poses with her son Sean (Puffy) Combs during the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week on February 10, 2001 in New York City.

George De Sota/Newsmakers

Tim “Dawg” Patterson, a childhood friend of Combs, testified that he witnessed the rapper being physically abused by his mother, Janice Combs. “His beatings made me scared,” he recounted in the docuseries. “I got beatings, now. But when he got his beatings it wasn’t no … It wasn’t a joking thing. No.”

Although the docuseries attempted to reach Janice Combs for comment on the allegations, she did not respond.

Combs Allegedly Physically Assaulted His Ex, Misa Hylton

Sean “Diddy” Combs attends the premiere of “Notorious” on January 7, 2009 in New York City; Misa Hylton-Brim attends Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Birthday Celebration on November 19, 2009 in New York City.

Bryan Bedder/Getty; EUGENE MIM/Patrick McMullan via Getty

In the docuseries, Burrowes recalled witnessing Combs allegedly assaulting his then-girlfriend, Misa Hylton, “into the car well” outside of Uptown Records. He claimed she was on the ground, and Combs only stopped when onlookers intervened.

Combs and Hylton, who welcomed their son Justin in December 1993, continued their relationship for some time following the incident, although she has not publicly addressed the allegations.

He Allegedly Attempted to Avoid Paying Victims of the 1991 City College Stampede

Sean Combs during a press conference on January 2, 1992 in Manhattan, New York.

Clarence Sheppard/New York Daily News via Getty

In December 1991, Combs organized a celebrity basketball game at City College of New York, which was oversold, resulting in a stampede that claimed nine lives. Burrowes alleged that Combs structured Bad Boy Entertainment to avoid financial responsibility for the victims’ families.

Burrowes explained, “Sean gave me 25% in stock, and his mother, Janice, had 75%. He did not put the company in his name to protect him from paying families at CCNY. And I saw from that moment on, Sean had shifted in his personality.”

In 1998, Combs reportedly settled wrongful death suits related to the tragedy for $750,000 of a total $3.8 million.

A Crips Member Claimed Combs Put a $1 Million Hit Out on Tupac Shakur and Suge Knight

Tupac Shakur and Marion Suge Knight.

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

On September 7, 1996, rapper Tupac Shakur was killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. Recently, Duane “Keefe D” Davis was arrested and charged with the murder. In The Reckoning, Davis alleged that Combs offered the South Side Crips gang $1 million to kill Shakur and Suge Knight, stemming from escalating tensions between East Coast and West Coast hip-hop artists.

Davis claimed he was meant to receive $500,000 for Shakur’s assassination, which was partially contingent on Knight’s survival during a separate shooting incident. He has remained in custody following his arrest in September 2023.

Combs has consistently denied these allegations.

Combs Allegedly Convinced Biggie to Return to Los Angeles Despite Danger

Christopher “Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace and Sean “P. Diddy” Combs at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California.

Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection via Getty

Following Shakur’s death, Los Angeles became particularly hazardous for Combs and his East Coast associates, including Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace. Despite this, Burrowes maintained that Combs persuaded Biggie to travel to L.A. to promote his new album amidst growing dangers.

Burrowes noted, “Biggie didn’t want to go, but Sean talked him into doing all those things,” revealing that Combs even canceled a planned trip to London to extend Biggie’s stay in the city. “All of it because Sean wanted to do a party on enemy turf.”

Tragically, Biggie was killed in a drive-by shooting on March 9, 1997, and no arrests have been made concerning his murder.

Combs Charged Biggie’s New York City Funeral to His Estate

Christopher Wallace, The Notorious B.I.G. and Sean Combs.

Courtesy of Netflix

Burrowes also claimed that Combs charged the estate of Biggie for his lavish funeral in New York City. “We start to put that together, he starts to see the price,” Burrowes explained. “He says, ‘We’re gonna do the biggest funeral, but Biggie’s gonna have to pay for this funeral.'”

Burrowes alleged Combs classified the funeral as “a recoupable charge to Biggie in death,” stating, “Sean doing a big show looks good on him. But he’s not gonna tell the world that Biggie was gonna pay for it.”

Aubrey O’Day Alleged That Combs Might Have Assaulted Her

Aubrey O’Day in Sean Combs: The Reckoning.

Courtesy of Netflix

Aubrey O’Day, a former member of Danity Kane, alleged in The Reckoning that Combs may have sexually assaulted her. She recounted receiving an affidavit from another alleged victim who claimed to have witnessed Combs assaulting O’Day at Bad Boy Studios. The anonymous source stated that O’Day was “out of it” and partially clothed during the incident.

O’Day expressed uncertainty about the implications of this experience, stating, “Does this mean I was raped? Is that what this means? I don’t even know if I was raped, and I don’t want to know.” She also revealed explicit emails that Combs reportedly sent her and claimed she was dismissed from Danity Kane “for not participating sexually.”

Combs Planned to Move $200 Million Days Before His Arrest

Sean “Diddy” Combs in ‘Sean Combs: The Reckoning’.

Netflix

Footage from the docuseries shows Combs discussing plans to deposit $200 million mere days before his arrest. In a clip, he is seen on a phone call with Dana Tran, the mother of his youngest child, candidly mentioning the impending deposit while expressing confidence in the financial transaction.

He Allegedly Held “Freak Offs” on Biggie’s Death Anniversary

A man displays a T-shirt tribute to rapper Biggie Smalls aka The Notorious B.I.G.

JON LEVY/AFP via Getty

Clayton Howard, a former escort, alleged in The Reckoning that Combs hosted elaborately orchestrated “freak offs”—drug-fueled sexual performances—annually on the anniversary of Biggie’s death, March 9. “I don’t know if that was his release for that day or whatever,” Howard remarked about the multiple-day events.

Diddy’s Son Allegedly Participated in the “Freak Offs”

Sean “Diddy” Combs and Justin Combs perform during Shaq’s Fun House on January 31, 2020 in Miami, Florida.

Jason Koerner/Getty

Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, who accused Combs of sexual harassment and assault, claimed in the docuseries that he witnessed Justin attending these “freak offs.” Jones stated, “They would be doing these freak offs and it would be Puff and Justin in the room with multiple women, closed doors and lots of music and lots of drugs.” Justin has not publicly commented on these allegations.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or visit rainn.org.