p diddy and the music industry’s dark secrets
everything you need to know about P Diddy and the numerous allegations levied against him (trigger warning; sexual assault)
Sean Combs, otherwise known as ‘Puff Daddy,’ has been accused of several crimes including sexual assault trafficking, and domestic abuse. These allegations have prompted many celebrities to come out with stories of their own on these famous parties Combs would throw, where anything from sex trafficking to illegal substances was common. As per the lawsuit, Universal Music Group CEO Lucian Grainge is accused of having ‘aided and abetted’ these parties.
Both Combs and Grainge have denied these allegations, but in Comb’s criminal history, there’s a common trend where he gets a slap on the wrist and gets away. Therefore, there’s a line of reasoning that supports what many within UMG knew about Comb’s more recent offenses and did nothing. When looking at the full extent of his criminal record one would wonder why he walked away as a free man repeatedly.
One of the first incidents with Combs goes back to 1996 when he was found guilty of criminal mischief for threatening a New York Post photographer G. N. Miller with a gun. This was one of the few times Combs was found guilty, and he was let off easy with a $1,000 fine.
According to RM Warner Law, the first incident made public dates back to 1999. After a dispute over footage for a music video, record producer Steve Stoute was allegedly beaten by Sean Combs and his bodyguard with a champagne bottle, a telephone, a chair, and their bare hands. Had he been found guilty, he could face up to seven years in prison, but after a $500,00 settlement alongside a public apology Stoute dropped the assault charge. Combs pled guilty to the lesser charge of harassment, he was sentenced to a day in an anger management course.
In 2007, Gerard Rechnitzer filed a lawsuit stating that Sean Combs punched him, pushed his girlfriend, and spit on another woman at a party at Teddy’s Nightclub. Combs and his lawyers reached a settlement with the involved parties of which its terms were not disclosed.
In that same year, another incident occurred where Sean Combs allegedly threatened co-star on the show Making the Band, Laurieann Gibson, with a chair while the cameras were rolling. After filing a complaint with the NYPD, the police could not find any wrongdoing because they were unable to access the footage.
The last public dispute for a few years came in 2015 when Combs was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon on UCLA Bruins assistant coach Sal Alosi. The incident allegedly started over Alosi being hard on Comb’s son during football practice. He was formally charged with assault with a deadly weapon, terrorist threats, and battery. The charges were once again later dropped and Combs walked away free
Several years later in November 2023 began the more recent allegations of sexual assault and trafficking. It started when R&B singer Cassie Ventura filed a federal lawsuit against Combs accusing him of rape, and physically and sexually assaulting her since 2005.
Ventura and Combs have had an on-and-off relationship from 2007-2008. In 2016 while at a hotel, Combs became extremely intoxicated and punched Ventura in the eye. After Combs fell asleep, Ventura tried to escape the hotel room, but Combs woke and followed her into the hallway while yelling at her. According to the security footage of the hotel, he then proceeds to beat her, shove her, kick her, and even throw objects at her. In the footage, Combs is walking away, turns towards Ventura, and then one of them exits on an elevator. According to her official complaint, Ventura stated that she got on the elevator and took a cab back to her apartment.
This altercation became viral when the security footage was leaked to social media, but Ventura states in her official complaint that she has undergone severe abuse for years. Ventura signed with Interscope in 2009, but afterward, Comb’s Bad Boy label signed a deal with Interscope making them a new joining venture. Ventura states that Combs exploited his power as the head of the record label. She says during the tenure of her business relationship with him which ended in 2019, she was physically abused, forced to engage in sexual acts with other men, and was raped by Combs in 2018.
The day after this suit was filed, Comb denied these allegations but then settled the day after. The details of this settlement were not disclosed, and once again Combs went unpunished avoiding a trial.
More recently, another lawsuit has been filed against Combs by Joi Dickerson-Neal. Neal first met Combs when she featured in a music video for his label in 1991. After attending dinner with Combs, per the lawsuit, she states she was drugged and then sexually assaulted by the rapper. She still awaits to seek justice by trial, and both Combs Enterprises and Bad Boy Records are listed as defendants.
Alongside Cassie Ventura and Joi Dickerson-Neal, Jane Doe and her unidentified friend accuse Combs and Aaron Hall of raping them. They met Combs and Hall at an event for Music Corporation of America Records.
According to the lawsuit Combs and Hall invited Doe and her friend to Hall’s apartment for an afterparty. Combs then coerced Doe into having sex with him, leaving Doe “shocked and traumatized.” The filing then states while she was getting changed Hall barged into the room and forced her to have sex with him. Doe asked her friend about it later to find Combs and Hall both did similar things to her in a different room.
According to the filing, several days later Combs went to the residence of Jane Doe and her friend and became violent. According to the complaint, Combs choked Doe to the point she passed out and was trying to silence her friend.
The lawsuit goes on to state that Combs blew up artist Kid Cudi’s car when he and Cassie were dating in 2012. The filing states that Combs threatened to blow up Cudi’s car and coincidentally blew up shortly after. Kid Cudi has confirmed this story to The New York Times via a spokesperson.
Both Combs, Hall, and MCA Records are listed as defendants in the lawsuit that includes all these allegations.
In February of 2024, producer Rodney Jones Jr. came forward with his accusations of assault. In 2022, Jones was hired by Combs to help produce Comb’s 2023 album The Love Album: Off the Grid. In a lengthy lawsuit, Jones states he was sexually assaulted by Combs, forced to engage in sex acts, made to solicit sex workers, drugged, and was groped repeatedly by Combs.
This suit involves details of “freak off” parties. Allegedly, Combs would hide cameras around his property and record the rich and famous engaging in illegal activities. Jones claims to have this video footage where he claims Combs providing laced alcohol to underage minors and sex workers.
These allegations led to Comb’s property being raided by Homeland Security.
The official 105-page-long complaint states Combs has video footage of famous artists, executives in the music industry, athletes, and many others engaging in criminal activities. It includes transcripts of Comb’s associates with underage girls and unwanted interactions with other celebrities. It also states that female guests were frequently drugged by laced drinks.
In this suit, Universal Music Group CEO Lucian Grainge was listed as a financial contributor to these parties as well as a frequent participant. However, as the court case between Jones and Combs plays out, Grainge has since been removed from the lawsuit for undisclosed reasons.
“Grainge knew or should have known that Mr Combs was drugging the attendees through laced bottles of DeLeon Tequila, and Ciroc Vodka,” the lawsuit states. “As a sponsor of these events, defendant Grainge had a duty and obligation to ensure that sex workers and underaged girls were not present and that Mr Combs was not spiking the alcohol with date rape drugs.”
Alongside Grainge are several other defendants listed, and the level of connections and amount of those involved add up to a violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act according to Jones.
The very fact that Combs has such a disgusting and full criminal history, but was still awarded the key to New York City in 2023 is a testament to how much you can get away with if you make a few good songs. It’s clear that the music industry as a whole failed to punish Combs for his actions throughout the 2000s and was either in cohorts or covering their eyes to what he was doing for years at these supposed parties.
Not just that, amidst all these allegations which included top brass in the music world, conveniently a viral back and forth between artists Drake and Kendrick Lamar erupted. This captivated us all, completely sweeping this entire unearthing of the music world under the rug. Now it would be crazy to insinuate that the historic beef between the two acclaimed artists was made up to cover up the allegations on Combs and at the time Grainge, but it certainly played in their favor.
You give them a circus, and they’ll never revolt. Give them a few hit songs, and you’re crimes against humanity will go unpunished. If history repeats itself, and Combs writes a check and walks away from his 5 different cases of sexual assault, then the very system on which justice is predicated has collapsed.
Based on the reaction of many voices in the music industry, it’s clear at the very least something suspicious has been going on for years. Many artists such as rapper 50 Cent have made it clear these allegations have substance.
It’s clear some of our favorite artists were in the know and did nothing. It’s clear that there’s a trend of saying nothing about your peer’s habits of sexual crimes; this was made clear in the back-and-forth affair between Drake and Kendrick Lamar.
In this beef, Kendrick stated Drake is involved with sexual trafficking and grooming minors. On the other hand, Drake claimed Kendrick abuses his fiancee. If both sides are true, then they just sat on this information without doing anything.
Being a bystander doesn’t mean you’re innocent, it means you ignore what is right and listen to what is wrong. This industry is riddled with dark secrets and skeletons, and it’s time we demand better.
