Sean “Diddy” Combs: a powerful man whom no one defends

For more than a decade, celebrities flocked to Sean “Diddy” Combs' lavish Labor Day “White Party.” Whether he hosted in the Hamptons, St. Tropez or Los Angeles, it was a can't-miss event, a platinum symbol of A-list status with guests including Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Leonardo DiCaprio, Martha Stewart, Aretha Franklin, Reverend Al Sharpton, Russell Simmons, Mariah Carey, Howard Stern, LL Cool J and various Kardashians, all resplendent in white.

Combs hosted six-figure birthday parties attended by Muhammad Ali, Kevin Costner and Donald Trump. The hip-hop mogul, who could never avoid self-aggrandizement, once said of himself: “I Am “The Great Gatsby!”

But the music and merriment of those parties ended with the public admiration. Combs is facing federal charges including sex trafficking and organized crime. He no longer lives in one of his luxurious mansions. Instead, he sits in a jail cell at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where the judge has ordered him to remain until his trial.

In a press conference following the release of the 14-page indictment, U.S. Attorney Damien Williams said Combs “abused, threatened, and coerced victims to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and cover up his conduct.” Combs, he said, “led and participated in an organized crime conspiracy that used the business empire he controlled for criminal activity.”

There is a common belief that women who accuse men of sexual harassment are often liars who are only after money. Women's reputations are damaged while powerful men like Bill Cosby and Trump are defended. But that was not the case with Combs.

The reasons for this are varied. While few could believe that “America's Dad,” as Cosby was known on “The Cosby Show” during his heyday in the 1980s, drugged and sexually assaulted women for decades, many of us have seen the horrific 2016 video of Combs that CNN obtained and aired earlier this year.

In the clip, Combs, wearing only a beach towel and socks, chases his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura as she fled her room at a Los Angeles hotel. He grabbed her, threw her to the ground, kicked her several times, and then tried to drag her down a hallway by her hoodie. It was almost exactly what Ventura described in a civil lawsuit she filed against Combs in November 2023, accusing him of rape and abuse.

Combs, whose lawyer called the allegations “insulting and outrageous,” reached an agreement with the plaintiff a day later and issued a model non-apology.

Ventura's lawsuit was the first time we heard the term “freak offs,” which Combs allegedly gave to what the indictment describes as “elaborate and staged sex performances that Combs arranged, directed… and often electronically recorded.” Some lasted “several days” and involved the transportation of “commercial sex workers across state lines and abroad.” Combs is alleged to have “distributed a variety of controlled substances to victims, in part to keep the victims obedient and compliant.”

Perhaps it is the lurid details of the indictment — such as the more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant found during raids on Combs's homes in Miami and Los Angeles — that have forced Combs's would-be defenders to remain publicly silent. I also believe that this silence is due to the fact that, as is often the case with sexual abuse defendants, many people knew about — or even participated in — Combs' alleged crimes.

But there's also this: Combs has been accused of sexually harassing and assaulting men. Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, a producer, sued Combs in February, claiming he was “the victim of constant unsolicited and unauthorized groping and touching” by Combs and was “subjected to unwanted advances by Diddy's associates at his direction and was coerced into relationships with sex workers.” [Combs] rented.”

In the hip-hop community, where statements of masculinity are as important as a perfect beat, accusations of sexually harassing a man are untenable. They have even spawned a phrase that has become widely used on social media: “No Diddy,” a term used by a man to deny that he is gay.

Combs doesn't deserve public support. He has spent years shielding himself with wealth and celebrity, cleaning his reputation like Cosby through large donations, especially to historically black colleges and universities. (In July, Howard University returned his $1 million donation.) He carefully cultivated his image as a generous star in angelic white.

But if the charges are true, Combs is exactly where he belongs: behind bars. If only some of his famous, now silent friends would suffer the same fate.

Renée Graham is a columnist for the Globe. You can reach her at [email protected]. Follow her @reneeygraham.