Nile Pierre
"If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" Sean Combs, the hip hop mogul known as Diddy, might have lived by the principle that if the public didn’t see it, then it didn’t happen. However, after the piling accusations of sexual abuse, sex trafficking, and more, the world has finally opened its ears to the cries of his alleged victims. While Diddy’s legal battles undoubtedly paint a picture of clear abuse of power entangled with his position as founder of Bad Boy Records, discussion of the way hip hop as an institution may be affected cannot be ignored.
Diddy’s legal saga began with Cassandra ‘Cassie’ Ventura v. Sean Combs, filed on November 16, 2023.[1] Not only was Cassie signed to Bad Boy Records, she was also in a romantic relationship with Combs.[2] Diddy was accused of sexual assault, battery, sex trafficking, sexual harassment, and creating a hostile work environment, amongst other causes. Notedly, Cassie also named Bad Boy Records as a co-defendant, claiming Combs used his resources and employees at his label to facilitate and cover up the alleged acts.[3] Months after their settlement, a video was released of Combs physically assaulting Cassie in a hotel, which he publicly apologized for.[4]
After Cassie’s initial legal strike, a plethora of cases followed. Plainly, there are too many to list, but they all share a thread of sexual violence facilitated by Diddy’s position in the music industry. To illustrate this, we can look to Liza Gardner v. Sean Combs, filed on November 23, 2023. Gardner claims Combs, along with another party, invited her to what she thought was an album release after-party and forced her to have sex. She was only 16 years old.[5] On December 2, 2023, Jane Doe filed a suit against Diddy, alleging that she was raped and sex trafficked by Combs and former president of Bad Boys Records, Harve Pierre, when she was only 17 years old.[6] Dawn Richards, a former member of Diddy’s girl group Danity Kane, filed a suit against Combs on September 10, 2024 for sex trafficking, sexual assault, sexual battery, and false imprisonment, amongst other claims.[7]
What might be Combs’ biggest battle is one against the United States. Diddy was arrested on September 17, 2024. According to the indictment, “From at least 2008 through the present, COMBS led a criminal enterprise that existed to facilitate his abuse and exploitation of women, to protect his reputation, and to conceal his conduct. As part of that criminal enterprise, COMBS… committed crimes including sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice.”[8] Though pleading not guilty, he is facing charges for racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation for purposes of prostitution.[9]
What does the downfall of one of the most powerful men in hip hop mean for the future of the genre? Rising distrust amongst the public may lead to logistical retaliation within the industry. Record labels may draw back the level of control and financial investment given to hip hop and rap artists, which currently allows them to create their own labels, management companies, and related ventures. While limiting the potential for hip hop artists to have a hand in the business behind their art can be seen as a way to reduce future abuse of power as exhibited by Diddy, this can also have a violent impact on hip hop. Top artists in the genre tend to be Black, representing the background on which the genre was built. Hip-hop's impact on the $16 billion music industry and beyond is now so widespread that its value is now unquantifiable.[10] Not allowing Black figures to take ownership and power over something that their culture cultivated is not only unjust, but perpetuates the history of violence against the community that hip hop was founded to dismantle. While action must be taken to end the perpetration of violence within the industry, the answer isn't the dissolution of powerful figures who happen to be Black. A larger investigation into the historical cycles of violence across the entertainment industry and powers that turn a blind eye to this behavior might be the only way to ensure that greater harm is not allowed, while preserving the heart of hip hop.
[1] Casandra Ventura v. Sean Combs, Courthouse News (Nov. 2023), https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/diddy-cassie.pdf [https://perma.cc/KS3N-XW2Z] [ https://web.archive.org/web/20240929035752/https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/diddy-cassie.pdf].
[2] Sandra Gonzalez & Elizabeth Wagmeister, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs says he is ‘truly sorry’ for physically assaulting Cassie Ventura in 2016, CNN (May 19, 2024), https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/17/entertainment/sean-combs-cassie-ventura/index.html [https://perma.cc/2VLU-ZRJT] [https://web.archive.org/web/20240930200015/https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/17/entertainment/sean-combs-cassie-ventura/index.html].
[3] Supra note 1.
[4] Supra note 2.
[5] Rachel DeSantis, Sean 'Diddy' Combs Accuser Files Amended Complaint Saying She Was a 16-Year-Old Minor During Alleged 1990 Rape, People (Mar. 13, 2024), https://people.com/sean-diddy-combs-accuser-says-she-was-minor-during-alleged-rape 8608692#:~:text=While%20the%20original%20complaint%20said,her%20by%20the%20two%20men [https://perma.cc/3435-4ADA] [https://web.archive.org/web/20241001203256/https://people.com/sean-diddy-combs-accuser-says-she-was-minor-during-alleged-rape-8608692].
[6] Doe v. Combs, No. 23-CV-10628 (JGLC), 2024 WL 863705 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 29, 2024).
[7] Steven Horowitz, Danity Kane’s Dawn Richard Sues Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs for Sexual Battery and Assault, Variety (Sep 11, 2024) https://variety.com/2024/music/news/sean-diddy-combs-dawn-richard-sued-sexual-battery-assault-1236140939/ [https://perma.cc/EV6P-VX7X] [https://web.archive.org/web/20241001212957/https://variety.com/2024/music/news/sean-diddy-combs-dawn-richard-sued-sexual-battery-assault-1236140939/].
[8] U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, Sean Combs Charged In Manhattan Federal Court With Sex Trafficking And Other Federal Offenses, https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/sean-combs-charged-manhattan-federal-court-sex-trafficking-and-other-federal-offenses [https://perma.cc/35FH-TSKH] [https://web.archive.org/web/20241001213928/https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/sean-combs-charged-manhattan-federal-court-sex-trafficking-and-other-federal-offenses].
[9] Id.
[10] Glenn Gamboa, How hip-hop went from being shunned by big business to multimillion-dollar collabs, AP News (August 9, 2023) https://projects.apnews.com/features/2023/hip-hop-50th-history/getting-the-money.html [https://perma.cc/CK57-47EL] [/web/20241001214126/https://projects.apnews.com/features/2023/hip-hop-50th-history/getting-the-money.html].