John Legend's long-time manager has opened up on a "terrifying" situation she went through while attending a New Year's Eve yacht party organised by Sean "Diddy" Combs.
Ty Stiklorius, 49, opened up on the "pervasive predatory culture" of the music industry while speaking out on her own experience. The music executive, who is the founder and CEO of Friends at Work, a management company headquartered in Los Angeles, recalled the time she went on a family holiday to the Caribbean 27 years ago.
She said she and her brother managed to get into a yacht, called the Dreamseeker, which was docked at St Barts, for a party hosted by Diddy. But at some point, she claimed a man who appeared to be an associate of the music mogul, 54, took her to a bedroom instead of the disco room Ty thought she was going to see.
Image:
Getty Images)Image:
FilmMagic)Opening up about her experience in an op-ed for The New York Times, Ty wrote: "To this day, I can't remember how I managed to talk my way out of that terrifying situation. Perhaps my nervous babbling — 'My brother's on this boat, and he's probably looking for me!' — convinced him to unlock the bedroom door and let me go."
Ty said the news about Diddy's indictment and arrest on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution - to which he has pled not guilty - brought her back to that memory of the incident. Diddy is currently detained at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center while he awaits his May 2025 trial. He has denied all the charges and the allegations against him.
In her op-ed, John's manager went on to talk about how at one time, she thought what happened to her with the guy was an "anomaly" - but said being music industry executive for 20 years has taught her that it was "aberration." - Ty admitted she didn't know who the man was or "if he had any connection to Mr Combs."
But she wrote: "It was an indicator of a pervasive culture in the music industry that actively fostered sexual misconduct and exploited the lives and bodies of those hoping to make it in the business." Ty explained how this culture has been permitted because the power has been given to "kingmakers: wealthy, entitled, nearly always male gatekeepers who control nearly every door that leads to success and who can, without consequence, use their power to abuse young women and young men."
In the article, she also addressed the idea of people wondering if Diddy's arrest will finally lead to a "#MeToo" reckoning. The music executive said that it was reductive to place sexual coercion, harassment and violence to a "few notorious individuals" like Harvey Weinstein or R. Kelly which "suggests they're outliers and obscures the more damning, stubborn, systemic rot that had infected the music business."
She shared how she has had "experiences with predators" and their enablers which almost had her leaving the music business. She named a specific incident where she was dining with a senior music executive when she was a business graduate student. He had invited her up to his hotel room by sliding his key card to her under the table to which she declined.
Ty continued: "I only persisted in the industry because, in 2005, an old college friend who was starting to find success as an artist reached out to me. That artist was John Legend and, 20 years later, I am still his manager and partner in multiple business ventures. It turns out that many artists, including John, want to be a part of a different model of business and culture. She concluded in her op-ed, reiterating her sentiment of there being hope by stating "we can turn the page on a culture of exploitation and abuse."
She added that the industry owes it "to the countless survivors of sexual assault and misconduct who suffered silently to unearth the truth, encourage people to share their stories and hold perpetrators accountable. We owe it to the next generation of creators to remake the business into something worthy of the art they create."
The Mirror has reached out to Diddy's reps for comment.
Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.
English (US) ·