Diddy Allegedly Threatened To Kill Vibe Editor Over Magazine Cover

Diddy has entered rarified air. The music mogul has been accused of so many horrific crimes that each seems more plausible than the last. Diddy has obviously displayed violent tendencies, as evidenced by the infamous Cassie video. That being said, the latest accusations made against him remain startling. Danyel Smith, the former editor of Vibe Magazine, wrote an essay detailing her experience with Diddy during a 1997 photo shoot. She alleged, among other things, that Diddy threatened to have her killed.

Smith’s essay was published July 12 in the New York Times Magazine. She recalled profiling Diddy for the cover story of the December 1997/January 1998 issue of Vibe, given her superstar status at the time. Diddy, however, turned the process into a nightmare. He demanded to see the front cover photo of the issue, which went against Vibe‘s policy. When Danyel Smith explained the policy, the Bad Boy founder turned to intimidation. He reportedly showed up at Smith’s office with his entourage. Smith was led to safety by security before a confrontation could take place.

Unfortunately, Diddy was not deterred. He allegedly called Danyel Smith the next day that if Smith did not give him an advance copy of the magazine, she would be dead. Smith recalls, specifically, being told that she would end up “dead in the trunk of a car” if she didn’t do as she was told. The editor demanded an apology, to which the rapper reportedly responded “f*ck you.” Soon after, the servers were stolen from the Vibe office. Smith believes that Diddy’s entourage were behind the server theft, but there was no evidence to link them. Fortunately, a backup copy of the issue was stored, and it was published as originally planned.

Diddy already had a history of strong-arming journalists by 1997. He’d been found guilty for threatening a New York Post photographer with a gun the year before. Danyel Smith was aware of the risks of a cover story, but he was so big at the time that the risk was deemed worthy. “[We] had to have him on the cover,” Smith recalled. Diddy’s representatives told New York Times Magazine that he would not comment on the former editor’s allegations.