Tanya Trotter of War & Treaty recalls her time on Diddy's label, says she's 'appalled' by allegations
Tanya Trotter of the Nashville country duo The War and Treaty was signed to Sean "Diddy" Combs' label Bad Boys Records in the '90s. On a podcast, she shared her experiences with the Combs she knew and spoke about the mounting allegations against him.
Trotter, who performs alongside her husband Michael Trotter Jr., is known for songs "Hey Driver" with Zach Bryan, "Make It With You" alongside Nate Smith, and The War & Treaty songs "Are You Ready To Love Me?" and "That's How Love Is Made."
On an episode of influencer Bunnie XO's podcast "Dumb Blonde," Trotter spoke about her time at the label, where she was signed for five years, although her album with Bad Boys never released.
"Biggie (The Notorious B.I.G.) and everybody that was there in the '90s, we all got to work together and party together and stuff like that," Trotter said first, calling Biggie a genius.
Then, Bunnie XO inquired about what it was like working with P. Diddy, a hip-hop artist who faces several civil lawsuits alleging sexual abuse and sex trafficking.
“Puffy was interesting because being with him was like...my manager said this, we didn’t see this Puffy that people are talking about now," Trotter said. "I never saw him drink, I never saw him smoke, maybe he did — I don't know. But I never saw that guy."
Trotter said that being around Combs was kind of like being at school.
"You were literally learning on-the-job training how to market," she said. "This is a guy that would have a party and literally be on the streets with his fliers and tickets, passing them out to people, and at the end of the night, the party would be packed."
"I think with a certain level of money, s*** kind of gets weird for some people...maybe somewhere along the lines something switched," Bunnie XO said to Trotter, emphasizing that she doesn't know Combs and is only speculating.
"But thankfully you didn't have that experience with him," XO said.
"No, I never had that experience," Trotter said.
"I had protection too," she added. "I was young but I had a manager who told me, ‘No, you’re not going to that party'...I think I was protected. A lot of that was God protecting me from whatever was happening and the people that had to experience it, I really feel bad for them.”
She continued, “Everything has good and bad that comes with it and to me, it was just a learning experience and I’m really appalled at the stuff that I’m hearing about now," Trotter said.
What is P. Diddy accused of doing to ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura?
In November 2023, Combs' ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura filed a lawsuit accusing Combs of abuse and one instance of rape. After the initial lawsuit against Combs settled, there were at least four other lawsuits filed against Combs alleging sexual assault and abuse.
In December, a woman filed a lawsuit alleging she was "sex trafficked" by Combs, who denied the allegations.
He said on social media, "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. For the last couple of weeks, I have sat silently and watched people try to assassinate my character, destroy my reputation and my legacy. Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday. Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”
More: Sean 'Diddy' Combs denies claims he gang raped 17-year-old girl
In March of this year, the Department of Homeland Security Investigations New York provided warrants to raid Combs' homes in Los Angeles and Miami. According to CNN, these raids were "in connection" with an ongoing federal sex trafficking investigation.
Two months later, CNN obtained video surveillance of Combs appearing to assault ex-girlfriend Ventura in a hotel in 2016.
Combs took to social media a few days later to apologize and take responsibility for his actions in the video.
On the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 26, Combs moved to dismiss a lawsuit filed against him by music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones that accuses him of running a "sex-trafficking venture."
Audrey Gibbs is a music reporter at The Tennessean. You can reach her at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Amid P. Diddy allegations, War & Treaty's Tanya Trotter recalls label
