CNN
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Before there was “American Idol” and “The Voice,” there was “Making the Band.”
The reality series began on ABC in 2000, with Lou Pearlman, the man behind the boy bands the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC, forming the group O-Town on the show.
But it was the subsequent seasons, overseen by Sean “Diddy” Combs, that most people associate with the franchise. “Making the Band” moved to MTV in 2002, with Combs looking to form a hip-hop group.
In the early aughts, “Total Request Live” and MTV’s reality-TV lineup carried oversized pop culture influence. “Making the Band” has recently returned to public consciousness, due to the mogul’s ongoing federal sex-trafficking trial in Manhattan. Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges that include racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.
One of the witnesses for the prosecution, singer Dawn Richard, first met Combs as a contestant on“Making the Band.” She testified Friday that she once witnessed Combs drag his former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, by her hair.
Separately, Richard accused Combs of sexual battery, sexual harassment and false imprisonment in a 2024 civil lawsuit. Combs has denied her allegations.
“It’s unfortunate that Ms. Richard has cast their 20-year friendship aside to try and get money from him, but Mr. Combs is confidently standing on truth and looks forward to proving that in court,” an attorney for Combs said in a statement to CNN at the time the lawsuit was filed.
Richard, whose testimony continued on Monday, is just one of the people who have worked with Combs who has said he could be tough. Viewers of the “Making the Band” franchise witnessed glimpses of it as well.
Contestants on “Making the Band 2” lived together in New York City, where they were mentored by Combs and others as they competed to become part of mainstream hip-hop and R&B through a record deal with his Bad Boy Records.
In one memorable scene, Combs requested contestants Dylan Dilinjah, Rodney “Chopper” Hill, Lloyd “Ness” Mathis, Sara Stokes, Frederick “Freddy P” Watson and Lynese “Babs” Wiley walk miles to Junior’s Cheesecake in Brooklyn and return with dessert for him.
They were not allowed to use any public transportation.
“Y’all can walk from here, get the cheesecake, see the city, enjoy the sights, would ya.” Combs told them.
He added, “It’s not about me trying to do a mean-spirited initiation hazing act.”
“There’s a bigger picture to it,” Combs said. “In the world of music, I have to get up every day and do a bunch of s**t I don’t wanna do.”
The episode became comedic fodder for Dave Chappelle, who went on to parody Combs’ over-the-top behavior.
“Making the Band 3” premiered in March 2005, showing Combs as he sought to put together an all-girl singing group.
It lasted for three seasons and resulted in Richard, Aubrey O’Day, Shannon Bex, D. Woods and Aundrea Fimbres forming the group Danity Kane, who enjoyed success with singles like “Touching My Body” and “Damaged.”
Richard, O’Day and Bex talked to Cosmopolitan magazine about their experiences on the show in 2018, including when Combs fired O’Day after he accused her of being “promiscuous.”
“It wasn’t about her being ‘promiscuous,’” Richard said at the time. “It was about the power to prove, I own your career.”
O’Day added, “And I’m not promiscuous. I didn’t lose my virginity until my senior year of college.”
“It wasn’t even about that. It gave him an excuse,” Richard said. “It was to let you know, ‘This is my show, this is my s**t, and I want to prove to you that it’s my s**t and I’m going to show you how much power I have over you by saying I’m going to control your lives.’”
She described Combs’ behavior as “extremely sexist.”
Bex pointed out that O’Day didn’t shy away from conflict with Combs.
“Whenever you had conversations with him, it was almost like you were asking, ‘Is this OK?,’” Bex told the publication. “And Aubrey didn’t like to bring the apprehension, so she was like, ‘No! This is what it is.’ He didn’t like that.”
Combs did not comment at the group’s remarks at the time.
O’Day hasn’t stopped speaking up.
She’s offered criticism of Combs and how she has said he treated her in interviews over the years.
On a recent episode of the “Amy & T.J” podcast, O’Day criticized Combs as a parent because six of his seven children, ages 18 to 33, have been present during some of the explicit testimony at his criminal trial, calling it “selfish.”
“The fact that the kids are marching up to that court,” O’Day said. ”[I] don’t know any father that would want their children to sit through [that kind of] testimony.”
And while O’Day was in New York City, she said on the podcast that she is not scheduled to be called to testify in his criminal trial.
“I posted on my Instagram that I was here in New York and enjoying myself because I wanted to make it clear to everyone that I am not here testifying,” she said.
“Making the Band” ended in 2009.
