"I told him we need more security"— Gene Deal claims Diddy could have prevented the death of Biggie

Diddy's former bodyguard Gene Deal appeared for an interview on The Art of Dialogue YouTube channel on October 23, 2024, and spoke about several aspects regarding Sean "Diddy" Combs. Amid multiple topics, Deal spoke about the late rapper Biggie, aka Christopher George Latore Wallace, aka The Notorious B.I.G.

The interviewer told Gene that it was understandable how much he was hurt after Biggie's demise. To this, he answered that it wasn't exactly "hurt" that he was feeling but something different. Gene added:

"It don't hurt me. It's a feeling that you get when you know something didn't have to happen that day..."

The interviewer then asked Gene if Diddy could somehow be linked to Biggie's murder. He claimed that it could have happened. The former bodyguard continued:

"They could have sued Puff for Biggie. Well, I know his mother could have sued him for Puff.... Because Arista Records & Bad Boy Records was responsible for the Notorious B.I.G.'s safety at all times."

Gene Deal further claimed that he had then told Combs that there wasn't enough security and they needed more. Deal added:

"Even as an individual as me being a security personnel of Sean Puff Combs, I told him we need more security. We don't have enough security. Big don't have enough security..."

While concluding, Gene alleged that while Biggie's mother could have sued Combs, it never happened since the people who managed Biggie were friends with the 54-year-old music mogul. When the interviewer finally asked if a lawsuit could happen now, Gene said that he believed that it was "too late."

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Biggie was reportedly trying to leave Diddy's Bad Boy Records shortly before his death in 1997

In May 2024, Rolling Stone published an exposé about Sean Diddy Combs, in which they made some claims about late rapper Biggie Smalls and the mogul. According to the exposé, Biggie was attempting to leave the mogul's record label.

The exposé included many people's interviews who corroborated the same claim. They alleged that Biggie was in a legal battle with Combs' lawyers at that period, trying to get back his publishing rights. Monique Bunn, a hip-hop photographer, claimed:

"[Biggie] was absolutely about to leave Puff. I know for a fact [because] he told me that."

It wasn't just the exposé that linked Diddy to Biggie, but popular rapper Eminem did the same on his track Fuel (Shady Edition), released in September 2024. Drawing a connection and mentioning Combs in his song, Eminem rapped:

"Notorious B.I.G.’s death was the domino effects of Tupac’s murder / Like facial tissue, whose card should I clean next? Puff’s?"

While many tried to link Diddy to Biggie's death, he himself admitted to being responsible for the same to some extent. In 2017, during an appearance on The Wendy Williams Show, Combs claimed that he felt "some sort of responsibility" when it came to Biggie Smalls.

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Born and raised in Brooklyn, Biggie Smalls signed with Bad Boy Records in 1993, and he was the first one to do so. The same year, he gained recognition after making guest appearances on other artists' singles. On March 9, 1997, the rapper was killed in a drive-by shooting.