Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs: What it was like to follow ‘the Pied Piper of partying’

Published

3 months ago

May 19, 2025

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In 1990s and early 2000s New York, Sean “Diddy” Combs was the person to be seen with.

Now on trial in Manhattan, his hair grey, his beard grown, it’s hard to imagine that he was “the Pied Piper… of the most elite level of partying of that time” – but that’s how Amy DuBois Barnett describes him.

She was the first Black-American woman to run a major mainstream magazine in the US, and based in Manhattan at a time when hip hop was at its zenith.

“Urban culture really ran the city,” she says. “That’s where so much of the money was… you had all the finance bros trying to get into Puffy (Combs) parties, all the fashion executives trying to get into Puffy parties.”

And while he was welcomed by the highest echelons of the arts and entertainment world, she says: “He was never known for being a calm kind of individual.”

Combs was “very dismissive” with her, and she admits: “Puff never particularly liked me that much.”

But DuBois Barnett would often get invited to his parties because she was able to feature his up-and-coming artists in her magazines.

From editor-in-chief of Ebony magazine, she’d go on to become the editor-in-chief of Honey and Teen People magazines, and then deputy editor of Harper’s Bazaar.

She says the man she met at those parties “lacked warmth” and seemed “complicated”.

“When he walked in the room, all of the energy changed. Puffy had his trusted individuals around him… immediately the area around him would become kind of crowded with everybody vying for his attention,” she says.

“I think that was also partially why he didn’t particularly like me because I wasn’t really vying for his attention.

“He really reserved that attention for the people that he was either attracted to… or the people that he thought were important enough to his business success.”

She says it was common knowledge that he wasn’t someone to cross due to “rumours… of what he could do”.

“There were a lot of people within journalism, within media, within other industries that were afraid of his influence and also afraid of his temper,” she adds.

“When things at parties would not go his way or somebody didn’t bring him something quickly enough, or… the conversation wasn’t going his way… he would just kind of snap and he was just not afraid to yell at whoever was there.

“There was not a lot of boundaries in his communication, let’s just put it that way.”

But she says it was a time when a tremendous amount of misogyny was running throughout music, things that in today’s culture would certainly give pause for thought.

“So many things happened to me, everything from getting groped at parties to getting locked in a limousine with music executives and having him refuse to let me out until I did whatever he thought I was going to do, which I didn’t.”

She insists: “We didn’t have the vocabulary to understand the degree to which it was problematic… it was a thread that ran throughout the culture.”

Star-studded parties were the ultimate invite

At the time, a ticket to one of Combs’s star-studded “white parties” was the ultimate invite.

She admits: “It was like nothing you’ve ever seen before… the dress code was very strict.

“No beige, no ecru, absolutely white, you would literally be turned away if your outfit was wrong. Puffy did not sort of tolerate people in his parties that didn’t look ‘grown and sexy’ as it were.”

She says people would mingle by the poolside listening to the best DJs in the world, while topless models posed dressed as mermaids and waiters handed out weed brownies from silver platters.

“It was every boldface name you could possibly imagine, just this gorgeous crowd.”

Behind the glamour, prosecutors now allege there was a man capable of sexual abuse and violence, and a serious abuse of power. Criminal charges which he’s already pleaded not guilty to and strenuously denies.

Without question, Combs had the golden touch. Expanding his music career into business enterprises that in 2022 reportedly took his net worth to around £1bn. For decades his success story was celebrated.

“I think that in the black community, there is a feeling that if a black man is successful you don’t want to bring him down because there are not that many… these are cultural forces that are rooted in the systemic racism that’s present in the United States… but I think that these were part of what potentially protected Puffy against people speaking out.”

Couple became ‘isolated and very unhappy’

While Combs had amassed a small fortune over the course of two decades which she encountered him, the former magazine editor says his behaviour had markedly changed from the first party she went to, to her last.

“The last was a post-Grammys party, in 2017 or 2018, and just the vibe was very different. He was really kind of isolated in a corner with Cassie, you know, looking very unhappy.”

For around 10 years, Combs had a relationship with the singer Cassie Ventura which ended in 2018.

Once over she filed a lawsuit that both parties eventually settled alleging she was trafficked, raped, drugged and beaten by the rapper on many occasions – which he denied. Last week she made similar claims in court.

“Cassie looked very glassy-eyed and there was a sadness about her energy. Whatever was happening between the two of them, I mean, it didn’t feel positive,” says DuBois Barnett.

“They were sort of holed up in the corner for almost the entire night… it did feel very different from the kind of jubilant of energy that he projected in his earlier incarnations.”

For Combs, his freedom depends on how these next few weeks go. His representatives claim he is the victim of “a reckless media circus”, saying he categorically denies he sexually abused anyone and wants to prove his innocence.

In particular, they say, he looks forward to establishing the “truth… based on evidence, not speculation”.

Entertainment

Banksy’s piranhas police box put in protective storage ahead of museum display

Published

12 hours ago

August 27, 2025

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Banksy's piranhas police box put in protective storage ahead of museum display

A Banksy artwork, where a glass police box looks like a tank of piranhas, has been moved into protective storage ahead of its display at the London Museum’s new location.

The artwork made headlines last summer when it featured as part of the street artist’s animal-themed collection in the capital, which concluded with a gorilla appearing to lift up a shutter on the entrance to London Zoo.

The piranhas piece is now in the care of the London Museum and will be kept in secure storage before it becomes accessible to the public as part of a permanent display at the museum’s Smithfield location, which is opening in 2026.

The police box had stood in Ludgate Hill since the 1990s before it was painted to resemble a fish tank.

The box was temporarily relocated by the City Of London Corporation to Guildhall Yard, where thousands of visitors viewed it from behind safety barriers, after Banksy confirmed he was responsible for the artwork.

It was later moved to Guildhall’s South Ambulatory.

Banksy’s London animals collection was made up of nine works including a rhino seemingly mounting a silver Nissan Micra, two elephant silhouettes with their trunks stretched out towards each other, and three monkeys that appeared as though they were swinging on a bridge.

Some of the works, which also included a howling wolf on a satellite dish, were removed, covered up or vandalised, after being painted across the city from 5 to 13 August 2024.

Chris Hayward, policy chairman of the City of London Corporation, said: “Banksy stopped Londoners in their tracks when this piece appeared in the Square Mile – and now, we’re making it available to millions.

“By securing it for London Museum, we’re not only protecting a unique slice of the City’s story, but also adding an artwork that will become one of the museum’s star attractions.”

Brendan Barns, chairman of the City of London Corporation’s culture, heritage, and libraries committee, said: “Banksy’s Piranhas are already part of City legend – and soon, they’ll be part of London’s story, too.

“Moving this piece into the care of London Museum guarantees that millions of people will be able to enjoy it, alongside an extraordinary collection that celebrates the capital’s creativity and diversity.”

Glyn Davies, head of curatorial at London Museum, added: “With the arrival of Banksy’s Piranhas, our collection now spans from Roman graffiti to our first piece of contemporary street art.

“This work by one of the world’s most iconic artists now belongs to Londoners, and will keep making waves when it goes on show next year in the Museum’s new Smithfield home.”

London Museum’s London Wall site opened in 1976 and closed in December 2022 in preparation for the move to Smithfield.

London Museum Docklands remains open.

Entertainment

Taylor Swift announces engagement to boyfriend Travis Kelce

Published

12 hours ago

August 27, 2025

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Taylor Swift announces engagement to boyfriend Travis Kelce

Taylor Swift has announced she is getting married to her NFL star boyfriend, Travis Kelce.

The pop star and Kansas City Chiefs tight end shared the news in a joint post on Instagram, with the caption: “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.”

The announcement was liked more than 1.7 million times just over 30 minutes after it was posted.

Swift and Kelce started their relationship in 2023, after the three-time Super Bowl winner said on his podcast New Heights that he tried and failed to meet the singer at her Eras Tour concert in Kansas City.

Rumours grew that the couple were dating after Swift was spotted at a number of Chiefs games. On her seventh time in the stands, she brought her father, Scott Kingsley Swift, along.

Kelce told the Wall Street Journal in November 2023: “There were definitely people she knew that knew who I was, in her corner [who said]: ‘Yo! Did you know he was coming [to the Eras Tour]?’

“I had somebody playing Cupid… She told me exactly what was going on and how I got lucky enough to get her to reach out.”

Earlier this month, Swift appeared on Kelce’s podcast, New Heights, and announced her 12th album, titled The Life Of A Showgirl.

Speaking to Kelce and his brother Jason, Swift said it was inspired by the Eras Tour – and also talked about his attempt at meeting her two years ago.

While she said his plan to give her his number on a friendship bracelet was a “wild, romantic gesture,” she joked he “didn’t do any proper logistical planning” and thought he would be allowed backstage.

“Because he knows the elevator lady, he thought he could talk to her about just getting down to my dressing room,” she added. “That’s how it works in 1973.”

The new album, which will be released on 3 October, marks her first release since she took back control over her entire back catalogue from private equity firm Shamrock Capital.

Sky News culture and entertainment reporter Gemma Peplow said after her globe-trotting tour and a swathe of re-releases over recent years, the new album cemented Swift’s reputation “as the hardest-working star in pop”.

Despite rumours he would retire after losing this year’s Super Bowl, Kelce will play for the Kansas City Chiefs again this season.

He told GQ magazine his on-field performances “slipped a little bit” as he started acting, and added: “I’m just saying that my work ethic is such that I have so much pride in how I do things that I never want the product to tail off, and I feel like these past two years haven’t been to my standard.”

Entertainment

Men should ‘demand’ prostate cancer test, ex-Sky presenter says – as he speaks about his stage-four diagnosis

Published

12 hours ago

August 27, 2025

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Men should 'demand' prostate cancer test, ex-Sky presenter says - as he speaks about his stage-four diagnosis

Former Sky News presenter Dermot Murnaghan has called on men to “demand” a prostate cancer test and for the government to actively offer screenings, after his own stage-four diagnosis.

Speaking to Anna Jones on Sky News, Murnaghan said he didn’t have any of the usual prostate cancer symptoms – such as frequent or urgent urination or the occurrence of blood – but “fell very ill on a foreign holiday”.

Upon being treated by the NHS, he was diagnosed with stage-four cancer.

Pointing to how prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests are getting more accurate, Murnaghan said they should be offered in the same way as screenings for other cancers are.

“They might cost a little bit more money, but think about the money you save,” he said.

“Treating people who get to my stage, there’s an awful lot of things that are being thrown at me that are costing a lot of money.

“As in so many other cancers, if you are diagnosed much, much earlier, then of course you save money much further down the line.”

Symptoms of prostate cancer

According to the NHS, symptoms will usually occur only once the cancer has grown or spread.

People may notice changes to the way they urinate, such as:

• Finding it difficult to start urinating or straining to urinate

• Having a weak flow of urine

• “Stop start” urinating

• Needing to urinate urgently or often, or both

• Feeling like you still need to urinate when you’ve just finished

• Urinating during the night

Other symptoms can include:

• Erectile dysfunction (being unable to get or keep an erection)

• Blood in your urine or blood in your semen

• Lower back pain and losing weight without trying to (these may be symptoms of advanced prostate cancer)

He said he finished chemotherapy in early July and is currently waiting to see what the effect has been.

It comes as a coalition of more than 60 cancer charities, known as One Cancer Voice, is warning the government must take urgent steps to tackle cancer care in England – including faster diagnosis targets and better prevention policies.

According to analysis carried out by the charities, more than six million new cancer cases could be diagnosed in England between now and 2040.

This would equate to a diagnosis every two minutes, which is up from one every four minutes in the 1970s.

Murnaghan said there is “no formal screening programme” for prostate cancer and men “actually have to ask for it rather than be offered it as so often happens with other cancers”.

In the absence of a screening programme, he said he would advise men of a certain age to “go and demand it”.

‘A real bolt from the blue’

Speaking of how he put off screening, Murnaghan said: “In my own case, I fell through those gaps.

“I foolishly sat in your [presenter Anna Jones] position for many many years speaking to people about this very issue and talking about men, particularly over the age of 50, men in high risk groups who may have a history of it in their family, to go and ask for this screening…

“And I kept thinking you know ‘once I got over that age I will go and do that’,” he said.

“I kept thinking, ‘okay well you know I’ll get round to it’, life intervenes, jobs, children, holidays…all kinds of things and I never did…

“So what happened was at the end of last year I fell very ill on a foreign holiday and kind of rushed back here to get treated by a wonderful health service and was diagnosed, a real bolt from the blue.”

The former Sky News presenter is planning to join Sir Chris Hoy on a charity bike ride to raise money for cancer charities.

Sir Chris was himself diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer in September 2023.

Murnaghan is a familiar face to Sky News viewers as one of its main presenters from 2007 until 2023.

In September 2022, he announced the death of the late Queen Elizabeth II on the channel.

Before joining Sky, he presented ITV’s News At Ten and the BBC Ten O’Clock News – now known as BBC News At Ten – as well as Channel 4 News.

Murnaghan also presented the quiz show Eggheads on BBC Two for 11 years.