Yung Miami breaks silence on claims against Diddy: 'A really good person to me'
Yung Miami is breaking her silence on allegations made against her ex, the disgraced music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs.
The 30-year-old City Girls rapper, born Caresha Brownlee, returned to her Revolt podcast "Caresha Please" on Thursday and was questioned by her friend Saucy Santana about her mental health and her experience dating Combs.
When asked why she didn't speak out over the past year as various civil lawsuits accused Combs of rape, assault and sex trafficking, Yung Miami said she didn't have experiences with the Bad Boy Records founder like those detailed in the lawsuits.
"I can’t speak on something that wasn’t my experience, and I can’t speak on something that I don’t know. I can’t speak on these allegations because I wasn’t around at the time," she said. "I don’t know that person, and that wasn’t my experience."
Combs and Yung Miami were first linked together in 2021 and confirmed they were dating in a June 2022 episode of her podcast. The following spring, Yung Miami said she was single in a profile for The Cut.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
The mother of two tearfully explained feeling isolated when "nobody called to see how I was doing" amid all of the accusations against her ex.
"People feel like I was Diddy’s biggest cheerleader and I made him my brand. And I feel like Diddy was on brand for me," she said. "I met him when he was in another era. I met Diddy when the world was celebrating him and giving him his flowers when he was alive. He was getting the (2023 MTV VMAs) Global Icon Award, the (2022 BET Awards) lifetime achievement award, the key to the city.
"He had a new album that was coming out, so I was celebrating him with the world. And I just feel like everybody’s trying to crucify me for it," Yung Miami continued. "I was just celebrating when the world was celebrating him, so why am I being crucified, or why am I being separated?"
Yung Miami says Diddy 'was a really good person to me'
The rapper said she was the victim of domestic violence in two previous relationships and "told myself, at the end of that second relationship, 'I would never put myself in that situation again.'"
In their relationship, she went in with the mindset of seeking advice to become a business mogul herself, Yung Miami said. She also clarified the two are no longer dating.
"It really hurt me because I just feel like Puff was a really, really good person to me. I feel like he came and he helped me; he elevated me," she said, reflecting on their relationship. "He saw a lot of things in me, and I feel like that's one of his specialties, like, he knows how to find people and identify their talent. He was able to see more than music in me."
But "when all of these things came out, I just needed to take a break and focus on what's important and it was just me and my career and my family," Yung Miami said, adding that she needs to "let him navigate and figure it out on his own because I can't get caught up in that."
She thanked Saucy Santana for supporting her during her difficult time, saying she might've become "a pill-popping animal, putting myself to sleep."
"This was, like, pain that I never felt (before), and the people I thought would be here for me turned it into an 'ah-ha' moment," she said.
Diddy's former producer mentioned Yung Miami in a lawsuit
Since Combs' ex-girlfriend, singer Cassie Ventura, accused Combs of rape, sex trafficking and physical abuse in a November lawsuit, several other alleged victims have come forward, claiming they were sexually assaulted by Combs over the past few decades. Combs and Cassie settled for an undisclosed amount a day after her filing in New York.
Combs is also reportedly the subject of a federal investigation for alleged sex trafficking and sexual assault, though he has not been charged. In March, Homeland Security Investigations raided his homes in Los Angeles and Miami "as part of an ongoing investigation."
Combs has denied all accusations against him, although he has since apologized to ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura after a surveillance video obtained by CNN in May depicted him physically assaulting her at a hotel in 2016.
Sean 'Diddy' Combs legal issues:A timeline of allegations and the rapper's life, career
Earlier this year, Rodney "Lil Rod" Jones Jr., a music producer on Combs' most recent record, "The Love Album: Off the Grid," sued the Bad Boy Records founder and Cuba Gooding Jr., accusing them of sexual assault. He also claimed Combs and his associates – including his 30-year-old son, Justin Dior Combs – participated in "a sex-trafficking venture." Sean Combs' attorney, Shawn Holley, previously told USA TODAY in a statement that Jones' "claims are complete lies."
In his lawsuit, Jones alleged Yung Miami was among several women "who were paid a monthly fee to work as Mr. Combs' sex workers." He also claimed that she procured drugs for Combs, including in an April 2023 incident in which he alleges she brought tuci on Combs' private jet from Miami.
According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine's National Center for Biotechnology Information, "tusi" is a concoction "sometimes referred to as 'pink cocaine' as it typically comes in the form of pink powder." Studies have shown that "the majority of tusi samples contain ketamine, often combined with ... MDMA, methamphetamine, cocaine, opioids, and/or new psychoactive substances."
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free, confidential, 24/7 support to survivors and their loved ones in English and Spanish at: 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Español RAINN.org/es.