Trigger Warning: This article contains themes of gun violence and sexual assault that some readers may find distressing.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ former bodyguard believed that the rapper would die the same night Biggie was murdered. Biggie, who was also known as The Notorious B.I.G., was murdered in a shootout when he left a party late at night in March 1997. Along with Biggie, Combs also left the party in his separate car. According to Vibe , the former bodyguard, Gene Deal, had been told to take the night off by his employer, but the former refused because of a dark premonition; Deal felt ‘somebody was going to get shot.’
Deal explained the situation: “Before we left Andre Harrell’s house, Puff told me I didn’t have to go. Now, I went because I knew that somebody was going to die that night, somebody was going to get shot. I did everything in my power to stop it from being Puff, and it wasn’t Puff.”
The ex-bodyguard also shared the frightening emotions he experienced when he was trying to help Biggie after the shooting. “I saw this kid lose his life — this kid died while I was pulling him out of the car. I wouldn’t put nobody in my shoes ’cause I don’t feel like they could handle it,” Deal said. Interestingly, he also declared in his exclusive word with Vibe that Biggie’s bodyguards did not do ‘everything in their power to stop it from being Big.’
Furthermore, Deal slammed the various notions about Biggie’s death and how they were not true. While blasting the portrayal of Biggie’s murder in documentaries, Deal shared, “Wasn’t no drive-by; the car was standing there at the corner. The stories they tell are not truthful. And now people are sitting here believing.” He added, “Every Biggie movie that you see, they say it’s a drive-by. When the witness tells you the car was stood right there at the corner — the car was probably there all night.”
According to CheatSheet , Combs also opened up once about how everyone around him was worried for his safety after Biggie’s assassination. “And then I woke up, and everybody was panicking, telling me to get out of L.A. And I just could not move. I was stuck,” the music producer said. Adding on, Combs revealed, “So then I’m about to get on a plane. And as I’m seeing the plane pull up, that’s when I just break down.”
WATCH: @diddy honors the late Biggie Smalls on what would have been his 45th birthday. #BBMAs pic.twitter.com/YUkfp1U90q
— Good Morning America (@GMA) May 22, 2017
“I’m about to leave L.A. without my man, you know what I’m saying? He’s getting left here — he’s at the morgue, just laying there. That s*** was just so f***ed up to me. I’m getting on a plane. My man is in a morgue, all f***ed up. I just wanted him to be with me, sitting right there with me, going back to New York,” the rapper added.
As of now, Biggie’s murder has still not been officially solved. Diddy, on the other hand, is currently behind bars on the allegations of being involved in the sex trafficking of juveniles and assaulting them sexually . Meanwhile, Combs’ lawyer has appealed to the court for a pre-trial bail for the third time after their application was rejected twice before.
If you are being subjected to sexual assault, or know of anyone who is, please call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673).
If you’re struggling to cope with grief, and need help, please reach out to Crisis Response at 1-800-203-CARE (2273).