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Donnie Klang, a former Bad Boy artist, recently discussed the uneven split in salary between him and Sean "Diddy" Combs on the reality show Making the Band. For the unversed, the ABC/MTV show was primarily overseen by Combs and followed the rapper's quest to form a music group each season. The show introduced artists like Danity Kane, Donnie Klang, and Day26, among others.
On June 18, 2025, Donnie Klang appeared on The Sarah Fraser Show, where he discussed his association with Diddy amid the rapper's ongoing alleged sex trafficking trial. Klang was signed with Bad Boy Records between 2007 and 2010 after he won Making the Band during its fourth iteration.
During the interview, he explained how much the participants were paid compared to Diddy, claiming he and other participants made about $400-500 per episode while Combs was paid a "couple of hundred thousand per episode."
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"We got bumped up from like a $100 an episode to $200 an episode for our second season. We filmed four seasons, and at one point we were, it was the number one rated show on MTV. I don't think we ever broke over $400-500 an episode. And then we found out that Diddy was making like a couple of hundred thousand per episode. So that was one thing that rubbed us all definitely in the wrong way."
He compared Making the Band to Jersey Shore, MTV's another popular reality show at the time. He claimed that the stars of Jersey Shore received a steadily increasing paycheck as their popularity grew, which wasn't the case with Making the Band, alleging that his pay scale was bumped up by only $100 every season.
Elsewhere in the interview, Klang alleged that he was "shelfed" following the release of his sole studio album, Just a Rolling Stone, in 2008. This meant that while he was still signed to the label, he was not allocated a marketing budget for further projects.
Donnie Klang also claimed Diddy received $250K for featuring on his song Take You There from the album. Klang further continued that he was in the dark about the amount till he received a spreadsheet breaking down the cost of his project, which stated he had to "recoup" the label $2 million before he got paid.
A former Danity Kane member testified at Diddy's trial
Dawn Richard, who participated in Making the Band in 2004 and became part of Combs' girl group Danity Kane, testified at the rapper's sex trafficking trial. In addition to Danity Kane, Richard was also part of a trio, Diddy Dirty Money, with Combs and Kalenna Harper.
During her testimony on May 19, Richard claimed she witnessed Diddy assaulting his former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, multiple times, including attempting to hit her with a skillet in one alleged encounter. She also testified that Diddy locked her and Harper in a recording studio and threatened them to stay silent about the alleged incident.
According to The New York Post, Richard testified that she once witnessed Combs punch Ventura in the stomach. She claimed the alleged assault occurred at a West Hollywood restaurant in 2010 in plain sight of multiple celebrities like Ne-Yo and Usher.
Dawn Richard has also accused Diddy of sexually harassing her. In September 2024, days before the rapper's arrest, Richard sued him for sexual abuse, claiming the mogul once broke into her dressing room and allegedly groped her.
The lawsuit also detailed alleged instances of Richard witnessing Diddy abuse and assault Cassie Ventura. In her lawsuit, she had recounted the incident with the skillet, with the court documents claiming Combs had screamed at Ventura:
“I’ve been asking you for my s**t; I can’t stand you b***h, you never do it right!”
The lawsuit also claimed Combs lashed out at Richard and other women when they tried to support Ventura to break up with the rapper, allegedly yelling:
“Y’all b***hes don’t get in my relationship. Don’t tell my b***h [Cassie] what she need to be doing.… Just make money and shut the f**k up … I end artists … I shelve careers … You could be missing … You b***hes want to die today."
Latest updates from Diddy's trial
On June 17, the jury was shown approximately 20 minutes' worth of "freak-off" videos. According to USA Today, this occurred during the testimony of U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Agent DeLeassa Penland, who testified about reviewing the data and charts accumulated during Combs' investigation.
On June 18, the court was adjourned after a jury member called out sick due to vertigo. The trial will continue on June 20 (as June 19 is a holiday), with the prosecution hoping to rest its case. Brendan Paul, Combs' former assistant and alleged "drug mule," will take the stand on Friday.
The defense stated it might need two to five days to make its case. However, this is a tentative timeline, as per lead defense attorney Marc Agnifilo.
