Aubrey O’Day Issues Warning to Young Artists Following Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Sentencing: ‘Protect Yourself’

NEED TO KNOW

• Former Danity Kane singer Aubrey O’Day is speaking out about Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sentencing

• The musician, 41, issued a “cautionary reminder” to young artists, telling them to be careful around anyone “in a position of power [who] oversteps your boundaries”

• “If something feels wrong, trust that instinct and remove yourself from the situation,” O’Day wrote on social media

Former Danity Kane singer Aubrey O’Day is speaking out about Sean “Diddy” Combs‘ 50-month prison sentence — and issuing a “cautionary reminder” to young artists.

In an X post on Friday, Oct. 3, O’Day, 41, shared some advice for up-and-coming performers in the entertainment industry, urging them to be careful around anyone “in a position of power [who] oversteps your boundaries.”

“Let this serve as a cautionary reminder to young and aspiring individuals pursuing their dreams. The true warning is not that a jury may doubt your testimony, nor that a court’s sentencing guidelines may fail to reflect the years of suffering you endured,” she wrote after Combs, 55, was sentenced to more than four years in prison.

“The real warning is this: the moment someone in a position of power oversteps your boundaries or demands more than is legitimately required of you, walk away and do not look back,” O’Day —  who rose to fame on MTV’s Making the Band under Combs’ guidance — continued on X. “No dream, however bright, can outweigh the pain and exploitation that may follow if you remain.”

“Too often, those who misuse their power, even when exposed, face far fewer consequences than the harm inflicted upon their victims. Protect yourself at the first sign of coercion or impropriety,” O’Day wrote. “If something feels wrong, trust that instinct and remove yourself from the situation. Your well-being is worth more than any opportunity.”

Combs’ sentencing followed a nearly two-month federal trial that ended with him being convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution in July. (He was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges.)

O’Day has been outspoken about the allegations against Combs for years. In September 2023, she claimed that Combs asked her to sign an NDA to never disparage the rapper and his label, a “deal” she said she encouraged her former bandmates to “not take.”

In an exclusive statement to PEOPLE ahead of Combs’ trial in May, O’Day — who was not subpoenaed or called to testify — said, “This trial is bittersweet for me, as I’ve been speaking the truth about Diddy for 20 years now.”

She then referenced her podcast covering the trial, Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes Present: Aubrey O’Day, Covering the Diddy Trial, and said it helped her to reflect on the two decades since Combs removed her from Danity Kane on MTV’s Making the Band in 2008.

“This podcast is the first step in reclaiming my voice and career that I was robbed of when I was abruptly fired from my band in order to appear discredited,” she continued.

O’Day added, “My heart goes out to all the victims, especially those who could have been spared, had anyone taken these claims seriously prior.”

Prior to being sentenced, Combs apologized to his former girlfriends, friends and family, calling his behavior “disgusting, shameful and sick.” He said that his children “deserve better,” and that he’d failed his mother as a son.

At Combs’ sentencing, Judge Arun Subramanian said a lengthy sentence was necessary “to send a message to abusers and victims alike that exploitation and violence against women is met with real accountability.”

Subramanian referenced Combs’ so-called “freak-offs” — the choreographed sex parties he orchestrated — and said he rejected the defense’s characterization of them as “intimate consensual experiences or just a sex, drugs and rock-and-roll story.”

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In addition to his prison sentence, Combs will also have to pay a fine of $500,000 and adhere to five years of supervised release.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

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

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