Diddy's Reality Show Past Earned Him A GLAAD Award Nomination Before His Scandal

For many years, Sean "Diddy" Combs was known solely for his music career. However, Diddy has also been an actor and a reality show star in the past. As a result of his reality show past, there has long been an interest in what it was like to work for Diddy, who his children are, and who his friends and enemies were.

As of 2024, most of the reports about Diddy have focused on the horrible crimes he has been accused of. With those allegations in mind, it is fascinating to look at how Diddy was celebrated during the reality show phase of his career. After all, Diddy was once nominated for one of the most progressive awards in the entertainment industry.

Diddy's Forgotten Reality Show Won A GLAAD Media Award

Founded in 1985, GLAAD stands for the organization's original name, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. Since those early days, GLAAD has sought to make the world a more welcoming place for members of the LGBTQ+ community. As a part of those efforts, the GLAAD Media Awards were first given out in 1990. On GLAAD.org, the organization includes an explanation of what the GLAAD Media Awards were set up to celebrate.

"Honoring those in the media who have shown exemplary achievements for fair, accurate, and inclusive representation of the LGBTQ community and the issues that affect our lives." Given what has come out about Diddy, nobody would likely expect that his show was once nominated for a GLAAD Media Award.

At the height of Diddy's popularity, he was one of the most successful figures in the music business. As a result, there was a perception that Diddy had the ability to foresee who would be successful in the industry.

Based on the perception that Diddy has the Midas touch, he was tapped to star in his most memorable reality show, Making The Band. What most fans don't remember, however, is that the show's success resulted in a spiritual spin-off.

In 2008, VH1 began airing the first season of I Want To Work For Diddy. As the name of the show implies, I Want To Work For Diddy allowed a group of young people to compete to become Diddy's assistant.

Throughout Diddy's lengthy career, he signed many notable artists to his label, Bad Boy Records. In September 2023, the BBC reported that Diddy returned the song rights to many of the artists he'd signed, including The Notorious B.I.G., Ma$e, Faith Evans, 112, The Lox.

Given what I Want To Work For Diddy was about, it likely took many people by surprise when the show was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award.

In January 2009, Entertainment Weekly published an article revealing the nominees for the GLAAD Media Awards at that time.

The GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Reality Program was first given out in 2004. The first show to win the award was Queer Eye For The Straight Guy. Some of the other shows that have earned the award include Project Runway, RuPaul's Drag Race, The Amazing Race, Survivor: Game Changers, Queer Eye, and I Am Cait.

That article revealed that I Want to Work for Diddy was nominated for the Outstanding Reality Program GLAAD Media Award.

With that in mind, some fans may want to know if there was something about I Want To Work For Diddy that made it special for the LGBTQ+ community.

During the first season of I Want To Work For Diddy, one of the competitors was Laverne Cox before she became famous. Given that having trans people on a major TV show remains very rare in 2024, it was a big deal at the time that Laverne competed in I Want To Work For Diddy.

Laverne Cox's star-making role came when she was hired to star in Orange Is The New Black as Sophia Burset. Since then, Laverne has appeared in a long list of shows and movies, but she hasn't yet received a role of that same caliber.

In October 2016, Life & Style Magazine published an article about celebrities who were on reality shows before fame. That article revealed that Laverne Cox came in eighth place during the first season of I Want To Work For Diddy.

After being nominated for the GLAAD Media Award, I Want To Work For Diddy ultimately won. However, it wasn't the only show that won the award. Instead, I Want To Work For Diddy and Transamerican Love Story tied for the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Reality Program.

Laverne Cox Never Wanted To Actually Work For Diddy

When people compete on Survivor, they are supposed to want to be named the Sole Survivor and take home a million dollars. As a result, it seems like the people who competed on I Want To Work For Diddy should have wanted to be employed by the rapper. However, Laverne Cox revealed later that she never actually wanted to work for Diddy at all.

In February 2023, the Facebook account for Hollywood Unlocked published a video of an interview Laverne gave. During that interview, Laverne revealed her motivation to compete in I Want To Work For Diddy was to make connections. Funnily enough, Laverne also said during the interview that she thinks she was cast in the show because she didn't want to work for Diddy.

"I didn't wanna be Diddy's assistant, but I was like, it's about building relationships with casting directors. So I went to the interview, and they loved me. And I think part of the reason they loved me is because I really didn't wanna work for Diddy. I didn't care. So I went in as myself. I went in and just did did me."

During the same interview, Laverne was asked if she had run into Diddy after the show. In response, Laverne began by explaining that she'd gone to a few of Diddy's parties.

"I've been into a few Diddy parties, but just because you're at a Diddy party doesn't mean you actually see Diddy. Like, he'll come through the crowd dancing with Ciroc, and then he disappears."

Laverne then stated that Diddy once told her how proud he was of her when they ran into each other. "I was at the Iheartradio Awards. Gosh. It would have been 2019, I think. And I was backstage with my boyfriend at the time who was obsessed with Diddy. And he was there, and we, like, finally talked after all those years. And he was so sweet. He said, 'I'm so proud of you.' And it's just amazing."