Sean “Diddy” Combs, Violence, Gender and the Perilous and Harrowing Intersection of Sexual Politics!
It seemed so surreal. Sean Combs’s arrest on September 16 on charges including sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy represents a stunning reversal of fortune for the hip-hop impresario, who as recently as a year ago was feted as an industry visionary before a sudden series of sexual assault accusations. Prosecutors said in an indictment that, since 2008, Combs aka Diddy has been the puppet master of a colossal criminal outfit that included employees and has engaged in various sordid antics such as kidnapping and threats of violence to intimidate and silence victims, forced labor, arson, and bribery. He has denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The charges against Combs are the music industry’s most significant, high-profile criminal prosecution on sexual misconduct charges since R&B star R. Kelly was sentenced in 2022 and 2023 to more than 30 years in prison for child sex crimes, sex trafficking, and racketeering. As they do Combs, credible allegations of abuse dogged R. Kelly for decades.
In a riveting press conference after he unsealed the 14-page indictment, US Attorney Damien Williams stated that Combs “abused, threatened, and coerced victims to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his…
