Warning: This article contains details that some readers might find distressing.
Amid a mounting federal investigation against Sean “Diddy” Combs for sexual assault and trafficking, Niykee Heaton has come forward with her own troubling story. The disgraced rapper was arrested on September 16, 2024, and is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn while he awaits trial (he was denied bail after pleading not guilty).
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Niykee Heaton is a self-taught singer-songwriter who gained popularity on YouTube, covering a lot of hip-hop songs with an acoustic guitar. Her 2014 EP, Bad Intentions, was one of her most successful releases. She has almost 5 million followers on Instagram.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement at the time of Diddy’s arrest: “As alleged in the Indictment, for years, Sean Combs used the business empire he controlled to sexually abuse and exploit women, as well as to commit other acts of violence and obstruction of justice. Today, he is charged with racketeering and sex trafficking offenses. If you have been a victim of Combs’ alleged abuse—or if you know anything about his alleged crimes—we urge you to come forward. This investigation is far from over.” It appears that the call to action has been effective.
What happened with Diddy and Niykee Heaton?
On June 8, 2024, Niykee Heaton took to Instagram Live to detail an alleged incident that occurred when she was 19 years old when she had “just left home.” Following the success of Bad Intentions, she described being invited by Ye (formerly Kanye West) to his recording studio.
She claimed that when she arrived, Diddy and Ye were “completely f—ked up … drunk, but probably something else,” but they were “watching” her “strangely.” When she was offered a drink, Niykee pretended to sip, which she observed “seemed to make them happy,” but alarm bells had already started sounding for Niykee internally. “There’s something f—king in this drink,” suggesting that perhaps the beverage was “laced” with something.
Any women who were in the recording studio filed out, including Niykee’s manager who said she was just going to the bathroom. Niykee was left alone in the room with Diddy, Ye, “an executive who works with Kanye,” “his engineer,” and “his cousin.”
She then claimed they pressured her to take her clothes off because it was “so hot” in the studio, which she refused. “I’m like, ‘This is a bad situation, I’m creeped out, but there’s no reason to panic. There are other men here,’” she said. “They start pawing at me and I’m like, ‘You guys, stop, stop.’ They’re going to the point where they had ripped my shirt off and I’m almost fully exposed,” she alleged. It got to the point, she said, where they had “ripped” her shirt off. “I’m almost fully exposed at this point,” she continued, explaining that her back was literally up against a wall.
“This is the part that for as long as I live I’ll never f—king forget,” she said. “It isn’t actually the aspect of being sexually assaulted. That’s not what haunts me… It’s as these two grown men were pawing at me trying to take my clothes off, I look over to this man asking for help, and I literally mouth the word ‘Help’ and we lock eyes, and he looks away,” she said as her eyes began to well. “No one’s f—king saving me tonight and that’s when I was truly scared.”
Luckily, Niykee was able to escape by “lunging” forward, throwing the rappers off balance, and finding her way to the exit. She claimed she hid in another recording studio for about 25 minutes before finding her manager and getting an Uber home. Neither Diddy nor Ye have ever responded to the accusations and Diddy has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Diddy has spoken previously about how he used to turn the AC off in an attempt to “keep” women at his parties. “You need a lot of heat. Don’t have no air conditioning. Heat affects the alcohol but everybody also gets a little more comfortable and loose … builds up a nice little sweat,” he told Conan O’Brien in an interview that aired in 2002. O’Brien was noticeably uncomfortable.