Aubrey O’Day was “the first” to publicly support Cassie after she accused Sean “Diddy” Combs of sexual misconduct — and the Danity Kane alum wouldn’t have it any other way.
“[I was] the first one who came out and stood for her,” O’Day, 40, exclusively told Us Weekly at Gurus Magazine’s #30Voices30Days launch party on Saturday, June 1. “It was a little too silent for my liking.”
Cassie (real name Cassandra Ventura), 37, sued ex-boyfriend Diddy, 54, for repeated sexual assault and abuse in November 2023. The music mogul vehemently denied the accusations before settling the lawsuit within a day. O’Day, meanwhile, took to social media to stand in solidarity with Cassie at the time. (O’Day was tapped to join Danity Kane by Diddy on Making the Band, later claiming that he ultimately fired her from the group.)
“I had it up within the first five minutes of seeing it because Cassie is a victim and she has an insane amount of bravery,” O’Day told Us on the Godfrey Hotel Hollywood red carpet. “There are so many stories that range from this side to this side, not everything looks the same. Not every situation this man has been in looks the same, but hers truly broke through the wall. We don’t know why. This one broke through.”
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She continued, “We all need to thank her because this needed to be broken through and bigger, which, I believe, Cassie would feel as well. Changes need to be made in the music industry and there needs to be a safe space for artists to evolve. There needs to be a place where there’s never anyone that can put an obligation over your head or hold your career over your head in any capacity.”
According to O’Day, she “always” advocates for other women, especially in times of struggle.
“We’re still trying to figure out how to support each other,” she said on Saturday.
“People think it’s like jumping on a bandwagon-type mentality when a story comes out against a powerful person. This is so not a bandwagon that anyone wants to f–king ride. Nobody wants to be on that motherf–king train.”
Months after Cassie and Diddy settled their lawsuit, a video resurfaced of the rapper allegedly physically assaulting Cassie in 2016. Diddy responded via a social media statement last month, profusely apologizing for his “inexcusable” actions without mentioning Cassie by name.
“Anyone that’s even putting those types of statements out and about or in the air or even airing on that side, you look stupid. Stop it,” O’Day said, generalizing. “Quote me on that. ‘You look stupid. Stop it. There are real victims. Everyone knows that.’ You guys have now been shown a video. If you think that’s the only time you’re going to see that, that’s for you to stay in your world of ignorance.”
O’Day had also previously claimed in April that Diddy tried to buy her silence from coming forward through musical publishing rights. O’Day and her former Danity Kane members — Dawn Richard, Aundrea Fimbres and Shannon Bex — were previously been signed to Diddy’s Bad Boy Records.
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“Right now if you buy my music, you’re helping pay off people or settle people or keep people quiet potentially, allegedly. We don’t get any of that money,” she told Us. “I have not even been offered my publishing without signing a full release on Diddy and many other parties in this industry. Some of my band members signed it and they’re receiving the pennies that they are. I should be able to receive those pennies without signing any release on anyone because it’s my publishing. I wrote what I wrote.”
O’Day further claimed that she will not be “contacted and offered” another publishing deal without signing “a full release.”
“I’ve said it at every stop. People are acting like I’m a broken record, but if I’m so broken, then why the f–k hasn’t somebody corrected it?” she stressed. “I’m shouting it from the rooftops. It’s a simple fix. It’s not, like, you’re dealing with how to explain what we saw in that video. Whoever owns my publishing, Sony, can you please give it back to me without asking me to sign a full release on anyone? Because that wouldn’t be fair as a writer.”
O’Day continued, “There should never ever be any moment where they’re living in fear or potentially facing anything like sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexual abuse or anything like that. There should never be a time where any musician [who] showed up to be talented should ever fear those things. Nobody should.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
With reporting by Mike Vulpo
