Last week, federal agents raided homes in Miami and Los Angeles belonging to Sean Combs, the powerful rap mogul previously known as Puff Daddy, Diddy, and most recently, Brother Love. The raid came on the heels of several lawsuits filed against Combs by women in recent months for sexual assault and sex trafficking. Combs has denied all allegations as “baseless.”
The details that have surfaced in relation to Combs’s activity are, in a word, revolting. In addition to playing the standard “casting couch” role of the entertainment executive who offers fame-hungry young women (and at least one man) the promise of stardom in exchange for sex, Combs has been accused of beating, drugging, raping, and emotionally terrorizing a slew of young performers, including minors.
It’s difficult to get a sense of the scale of such things in the post-Harvey Weinstein era. But it’s safe to say Combs’s reign of terror rivals other big-name perpetrators of grievous abuse. If even a fraction of the worst of rumors are proven true, Combs may yet succeed in becoming the most depraved and villainous character in the history of American entertainment.
Credible accusations against Combs include beating and drugging his girlfriend Cassie so regularly that she has been diagnosed with memory loss, blowing up fellow rapper Kid Cudi’s car for flirting with her, and “pimping out” Cassie and other women under his influence at sex trafficking parties held at his various estates. There are numerous other accusations of a similar nature, in addition to a prolonged history of violence dating back decades.
While his many celebrity friends and allies in the media now claim “shock” at the allegations, it appears that Combs’s dark reputation was widely known among industry figures. Like Weinstein before him, Combs cultivated relationships with the most powerful people in American secular culture to conceal his nefarious behavior. His annual White Party, which afforded him the reputation of a modern-day Gatsby, attracted A-list guests for 25 years. And his longtime friendships with esteemed public figures such as Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry lent his persona a philanthropic sheen.
But perhaps nothing gave Diddy’s depravity cover quite like his status as a major figure in Democratic Party politics. He’s a well-established friend of former President Barack Obama — the two have been photographed “hanging out” on numerous occasions over the years, including in his post-presidency — and Obama was fond of joking about Combs’s numerous name changes.
“When Puff Daddy changed his name to P. Diddy, he wanted to change it to ‘Pimp Daddy,’” Obama once joked in an interview. “But he didn’t think we would approve.”
It stands to reason that Diddy fancied himself untouchable. And why wouldn’t he? American culture made Combs a billionaire for projecting the quintessential “gangster” image: someone who sees women as subhuman objects to be used and abused with impunity, who gains power and esteem through the threat of violence and terror, and who is driven fundamentally by the basest human instincts.
In the song “Hypnotize,” one of the biggest hits ever produced by Combs’s Bad Boy Records label, his running mate The Notorious B.I.G. says the following:
Bulletproof glass, tints if I want some a**
Gon’ blast, squeeze first, ask questions last
That’s how most of these so-called gangsters pass
At last, a n**** rappin’ bout blunts and broads
Tits and bras, ménage à trois, sex in expensive cars
I still leave you on the pavement
Condo paid for, no car payment
At my arraignment, note for the plaintiff
Your daughter’s tied up in a Brooklyn basement
Maya Angelou once famously said, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” In light of these terrible revelations, people should take figures like Combs at their word from now on, as well as reconsider their participation in a value system that exalts moral monsters. The fact that “Hypnotize” was played at every school function of mine from middle school on (I’m 40) was a symptom of stage-four cultural cancer. Future generations should not be subjected to such filth on a loop.
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No, there’s nothing “shocking” about the Combs story aside from the sight of people pretending to be shocked. Combs is exactly who he always said he was: a common street thug with lots of money and powerful friends.
And may God have mercy on his soul.
Peter Laffin is a contributor at the Washington Examiner. His work has also appeared in RealClearPolitics, the Catholic Thing, and the National Catholic Register.