Former Danity Kane singer Aubrey O'Day alleges two prominent recording artists offered her $50,000 and $150,000 for sex while she tried to launch a solo career, claims that surface amid broader scrutiny of the music industry's treatment of women.
O'Day made the allegations during a September 3 appearance on the "Creators Inc." podcast, hosted by Andrew Bachman. She did not name either artist but described one as "a very huge star that's on tour right now and probably one of your favorite artists ever." The second, she said, is currently touring alongside two other well-known men. Both offers, she said, came through her manager at the time.
The claims add another layer to a pattern O'Day has described publicly for years, one in which access, money, and career advancement in the music business come with strings that have nothing to do with talent. USA Today reported on the podcast interview on September 14, detailing both alleged propositions and O'Day's insistence that she turned them down.
O'Day told Bachman the first offer was explicitly transactional. The unnamed artist allegedly promised not just $50,000 for sex but a record deal, a signing to his label, and a feature on her debut single, a package that tied her career prospects directly to a sexual arrangement.
In her words:
"I was given an offer from a very huge star that's on tour right now and probably one of your favorite artists ever, $50,000 for [sex] from one of them, and [he said that] he'll be on my first single, sign me to his label, and do my first single."
The second offer was blunter, $150,000, no career sweeteners attached. O'Day said she rejected both.
"I would take neither of that, by the way."
She described the broader culture she encountered as pervasive. "Some of the gatekeepers played dirty," she said, adding that "there was all kinds of pay-for-play." She also referenced receiving "many calls from many rappers," though she offered no further specifics on those contacts.
O'Day's allegations against the unnamed artists arrive against a backdrop she has been building in public for years, most of it centered on Sean "Diddy" Combs, the man who created Danity Kane through MTV's "Making the Band." O'Day first met Combs in 2005 when she auditioned for the show. Danity Kane went on to release two albums, a self-titled debut in 2006 and "Welcome to the Dollhouse" in 2008, both of which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
But O'Day has said the group's commercial success masked what was happening behind the scenes. She has alleged that Combs sent her sexually explicit messages and that she was removed from Danity Kane after rejecting his advances. In Netflix's documentary "Sean Combs: The Reckoning," she made those claims on camera.
Fox News reported that O'Day had been publicly warning about Combs's conduct long before his arrest, calling him "a soulless human inside of a systemic problem within the entertainment industry." She also claimed that she and her Danity Kane bandmates were "victimized" by Combs and his executives, and that NDAs and contracts stripped the group's members of their rights.
Combs was ultimately convicted on two prostitution-related charges and received a 50-month prison sentence. He has denied allegations of sexual misconduct. The parties he hosted, which became known as "Freakoffs," drew intense public scrutiny during his legal proceedings. O'Day has said she never attended one.
O'Day's latest allegations carry a significant limitation: she has not identified either artist by name. Without names, the accused have no opportunity to respond, and the public has no way to evaluate the claims against any independent record. No formal complaints or legal actions related to the alleged propositions have been reported.
The identity of O'Day's former manager, the person she says relayed both offers, also remains undisclosed. That manager's account of events, if it exists, could either corroborate or complicate O'Day's version. So far, no such account has surfaced publicly.
After leaving Danity Kane during the group's original run, O'Day participated in reunions and formed a musical duo called Dumblonde with former bandmate Shannon Bex. Her solo career never reached the commercial heights of Danity Kane's chart-topping albums, a fact that gives her pay-for-play allegations a sharper edge. If the gatekeepers demanded sexual favors for access, the artists who refused paid a professional price.
Following Combs's sentencing, O'Day warned aspiring artists about the industry's darker corridors. Her podcast appearance suggests she believes the problem extends well beyond one man.
The music industry spent years telling the public it was cleaning house. Aubrey O'Day's account, unnamed as it is, suggests the house is still dirty, and the people running it prefer to keep the lights off.
