"Trump liked Diddy" — Arsenio Hall recalls ex-president reportedly defending rapper when Aubrey O’Day called him "horrible"
Arsenio Hall recently recounted an incident involving former President Donald Trump defending Sean "Diddy" Combs when Aubrey O'Day spoke negatively about the rapper.
In an interview on the Howie Mandel Does Stuff podcast on October 9, Hall recalled a moment from his time hosting the popular reality show, Celebrity Apprentice. The exchange took place behind the scenes between Trump and fellow contestant Aubrey O'Day, who criticized Diddy. Hall recalled:
“She [Aubrey O'Day] says some negative things about Combs, and I’m listening. Trump chimes in and defends Diddy and that surprised me because usually Trump don’t defend nobody but himself."
Aubrey O'Day was a former member of Danity Kane, a girl group formed by Sean Combs. Hall explained that Trump continued to defend the Bad Boy Records founder after O'Day called him a "horrible person." He added:
“For him to speak up and say, ‘Well, I like him, he’s a good guy. I’ve never had a problem.’ He gives him a full-throated vote of character. I had no idea one day this was going to play out in real-time. But Trump liked Diddy.”
While Arsenio Hall referred to this behind-the-scenes moment, the former President has also made similar statements about the rapper on camera during an episode of Celebrity Apprentice. Clips of Trump's comments went viral following the rapper's arrest in September.
Jimmy Kimmel called out Donald Trump for praising Diddy on Celebrity Apprentice in 2012
In September 2024, TV host Jimmy Kimmel called out Donald Trump for his past comments defending Sean Diddy Combs during a 2012 episode of Celebrity Apprentice. In the clip, Trump vouches for the rapper while speaking with contestant Aubrey O'Day, who claimed her experience working with Combs made her better. The conversation went as follows:
O'Day: I’m a very strict and focused businesswoman because working for Diddy six years trained me to have to be perfect.
Trump: I love Diddy. You know he’s a good friend of mine, he’s a good guy. Is he a good guy?
O'Day: I don’t want to answer that question.
Trump: Oh, well I think he’s a good guy. I’m gonna stand up for him.
Kimmel poked fun at the 2012 clip on his show shortly after the hip-hop mogul was arrested on September 16. Kimmel said:
“Well, to be fair he [Trump] also thinks Kim Jong Un is a good guy, so only the best, people.”
Aubrey O'Day has openly criticized Combs after she was fired from the rapper's R&B girl group, Danity Kane, in 2008. Shortly after Combs' arrest, O'Day took to X and wrote:
"The purpose of Justice is to provide an ending and allow us the space to create a new chapter. Women never get this. I feel validated. Today is a win for women all over the world, not just me. Things are finally changing."
Sean Combs was arrested in New York on September 16, facing three charges of s*x trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted, the hip-hop mogul could face a minimum of 15 years in prison. He is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Combs' attorneys have filed for bail twice since his arrest, but both pleas have been rejected.