Diddy’s yearbook photos take backseat to scandalous charges

Sean "Diddy" Combs finds himself in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

While he spends Christmas behind bars, the rapper’s past as a high school student at Mount St. Michael Academy in the Bronx offers a stark contrast to his current predicament.

Images of a young Diddy, provided by Seth Poppel of the Yearbook Library, show a much simpler time in his life, long before his arrest on September 16, 2024, in connection with disturbing sex trafficking and racketeering charges. 

The charges against the 55-year-old include allegations of blackmail, violence, and coercion, with accusations that he pressured women into participating in exploitative group sex sessions called “Freak Offs.”

Diddy: The High School Years – Varsity Dreams to Troubling Present

Before his rise to music mogul status and eventual fall from grace, Combs was just another kid trying to make it. 

His mother, Janice Combs, worked extra shifts to ensure her son could attend Mount St. Michael Academy, a private school in Mount Vernon, NY, where Diddy’s early ambition took shape. 

A 2001 piece from The New York Daily News revealed how Janice’s hard work made it possible for Diddy to chase his dreams—though back then, those dreams involved football, not music.

His senior yearbook photo, complete with a tuxedo and bow tie, features a quote from Diddy himself: "It was a great experience but it could have been better."

But it wasn’t just academics that defined Combs’ time at Mount St. Michael. He was active on the football and track teams, earning the #22 jersey on the varsity squad. 

Although he was confident in his athletic prowess, he told The New York Times in 2012 that a broken leg in his final football season dashed his NFL dreams.

Now, years later, these high school snapshots stand in sharp contrast to the headlines he's making today.