Why was Diddy called Puff Daddy? Rapper’s former nickname was inspired from his childhood temper

Sean "Diddy" Combs has been trending for some time after a video that reportedly shows him assaulting singer Cassie Ventura went viral. The incident happened in March 2016 at the Los Angeles-based InterContinental Hotel and the video was acquired by CNN. The recorded footage shows Cassie coming out of a room and being followed by Diddy, who is in a towel.

Disclaimer: The article contains mentions of physical and s*xual assault. Reader discretion is advised

The latter was then allegedly spotted holding Ventura by the neck and throwing her to the ground while kicking her. The rapper continues hitting Cassie a few more times until he drags her to a room and then leaves the spot.

While Ventura manages to get up on her feet, Sean hits her again and hurls an object towards Ventura.

While the viral footage has grabbed a lot of attention, neither Cassie nor Sean has not given a statement yet. Notably, the duo were romantically linked at the time of the alleged incident.

As per The Mirror, the rapper went by the nickname Puff Daddy and he once said he used the name due to his short temper. It additionally contributed to the success of his first song, Can't Nobody Hold Me Down, which came out back in 1997.

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Diddy changed his nickname Puff Daddy to P. Diddy

He then changed his nickname to P. Diddy after being advised by a close friend and late rapper, The Notorious B.I.G. He said that he would organize a "name-change ceremony" and added:

"I'm not doing it as serious as Prince. I just want something fresh. I'm rocking with P Diddy just now."

He then decided to be known as only Diddy in 2005 since it could make fan interactions easier for him. However, the change could not be applied to his projects since he was involved in legal trouble after DJ Richard "Diddy" Dearlove sued him for the same.

He added the word Love to his name and later preferred to be known as Diddy. During a conversation on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2022, he said Diddy is his nickname, and his "real name" is Love.

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Properties of Sean Love Combs raided by federal authorities

In March 2024, Sean's properties located in Los Angeles and Miami were searched by federal agents in collaboration with Homeland Security Investigation. While a reason for the same was not revealed, NBC News stated that it resulted from several lawsuits that were filed against him.

Sean was in Miami when the authorities searched the houses. Meanwhile, Sean's phones were taken into custody by Homeland Security while leaving for the Bahamas. Although Homeland Security said that the search was conducted based on an ongoing investigation, they did not clarify how Sean was linked to it.