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He once spoke about accountability, transparency

Vaseline September 17, 2024

On a January evening in 2020, Sean “Diddy” Combs accepted the Industry Icon Award at the Clive Davis pre-Grammy Gala. He preached accountability and diversity. He spoke of the need for “transparency.”

Of course, he was talking about the Recording Academy (and society as a whole), not himself.

This week, federal authorities arrested the music mogul and charged him with racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. In the months leading up to his arrest, lawsuits piled up from his ex-girlfriend singer Cassie Ventura, former Bad Boy Records girl groupie Danity Kane Dawn Richard and former model Crystal McKinney.

But a few years ago, in a room full of A-listers, Diddy was the absolute king.

“I’m being honored by the industry that I love, the family that I love, but there’s an elephant in the room and it’s not just about the Grammys,” Combs said late in a lengthy speech at the end of the party. “There’s discrimination and injustice everywhere.”

People listened. Laughed. Applauded. Stood up.

I know, because I was there and wrote about it for USA TODAY. It was a post-Me Too, pre-pandemic world. And now I can’t help but wonder. What did people know, if anything? And would Combs circumvent all the transparency he’s talked about?

There was indeed an elephant in the room.

‘Hip-hop has never been respected’: Diddy slams Grammys in scathing speech at Clive Davis event

Diddy and power in Hollywood

Diddy has been part of Hollywood’s most powerful circles for quite some time now.

At the event I attended, he noted that he was surrounded by top names in music. They were there, in part, to celebrate him. He told the crowd, “We need artists to take back control. We need transparency. We need diversity. This is the space that has the power to make the change that is needed.”

Power is at the heart of the allegations Diddy now faces.

According to U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, Diddy used his influence to “maintain control over the victims in certain ways.” He “threatened and coerced victims into participating in the freak-offs,” Williams said at a news conference, referring to the alleged “elaborate and staged sexual performances” that were recorded without the consent of many victims and sometimes used as collateral against them.

Combs is also accused of pressuring victims or witnesses to remain silent. The indictment alleges he had people who worked for him cover his tracks and threatened those who spoke up with financial or career ruin. Now that’s power.

More details: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs charged with sex trafficking for ‘publicly known’ abuse, indictment says

“I want you to think of me”

The pre-Grammy speech was one of many honors Combs has received over the years, including being given a since-revoked key to New York City in 2023. My colleague Anika Reed interviewed him at the time.

“God has blessed me with a second chance at life,” he said, “I’ve decided there’s still a mountain to climb. I’m looking for the next era of my life, and that’s the era of love. That’s really being a unifier, fighting for radical change and making beautiful music that makes people feel good.”

Like the party’s speech, his words feel different after his arrest and the shocking details of the indictment.

He continued: “When you think of hip-hop, you think of celebrating – I want you to think of me. That’s all I ever wanted: to make you dance, to make you sing, to make you feel good.”

Reading through the charges—the alleged nonconsensual sex parties, the drugging, the violence, the abuse—“good” is not the word I would use. Good disappeared months ago, when the horrific video of Diddy hitting Cassie and pulling her hair leaked.

I just hope that transparency in all its forms also applies to the entertainment industry as a whole, and to the real world.

Contributors: Anika Reed