Front Burner - The empire behind Diddy's sex trafficking and racketeering charges

Episode Date: September 19, 2024

In November of 2023, R&B singer Cassie sent shockwaves through the hip hop world when she filed a lawsuit against her former boyfriend, producer and mega-mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs. She accused him of years of abuse and sexual violence, and since then a further nine lawsuits have been filed along similar lines.This week, Diddy was arrested in New York City on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering, the latter charge carries a potential life sentence. In the indictment, prosecutors accuse him of decades of abuse — sexual, physical and emotional. And they say he used his status as a titan in the industry — and head of the influential Bad Boy Records empire — to commit these crimes, and to cover them up.Vanity Fair staff writer Dan Adler breaks down what Diddy has been accused of, and how he built the power and connections that allegedly facilitated it.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

In the Dragon's Den, a simple pitch can lead to a life-changing connection. Watch new episodes of Dragon's Den free on CBC Gem. Brought to you in part by National Angel Capital Organization, empowering Canada's entrepreneurs through angel investment and industry connections. This is a CBC Podcast. Hi, I'm Jamie Poisson. Before we get started, I just want to note that we are going to be talking about allegations of abuse and sexual violence in today's episode, so please do listen with care. If you've been following the news around Diddy lately, even peripherally, his arrest on Monday probably didn't come as a surprise.

His legal troubles have been mounting for almost a year now. Diddy's currently behind bars, facing charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. A key part of this story is his music empire. He's a rapper, producer, and the head of Bad Boy Records. Prosecutors allege he used that empire and his music industry connections to commit these crimes and cover them up for decades. A year ago, Sean Combs stood in Times Square and was handed a key to New York City. Today, he's been indicted and will face justice in the Southern District of New York.

My guest today is Dan Adler. He's a staff writer at Vanity Fair, and he's been indicted and will face justice in the Southern District of New York. My guest today is Dan Adler. He's a staff writer at Vanity Fair, and he's going to break down exactly what Diddy is being accused of and how he built the power and connections that allegedly facilitated it. Dan, thank you so much for making the time today. Hi, Jamie. Thanks for having me. So let's start here. What exactly has Diddy been charged with? Can you just walk me through these charges and what it is generally that he's being accused of? Diddy has been charged with sex trafficking and racketeering. The indictment revolves in large

part around what prosecutors say Diddy would describe as, quote-unquote, freak-offs, which, according to the indictment, are elaborate sexual performances that would stretch out for days at a time and involve large quantities of drugs and, most importantly, for the purposes of this indictment, aspects of coercion related to drugs or otherwise, threats, intimidation. As alleged, Combs used force, threats of force, and coercion to cause victims to engage in extended sexual performances with male commercial sex workers, some of whom he transported or caused to be transported over state lines. That's one aspect, the sex trafficking aspect.

And then there's the racketeering charge, which, you know, racketeering is a concept born out of the mafia. It's an idea related to organized crime. Racketeering involves the idea that even if you yourself are not committing the crime as the leader of a criminal enterprise, if you have people, lieutenants, people under you who are facilitating those crimes, you yourself can be charged with a crime. As alleged in the indictment, to carry out this conduct, Sean Combs led and participated in a racketeering conspiracy that used the business empire he controlled to carry out criminal activity, including sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and the obstruction of justice. Can you tell me a little bit more about these freak-offs that you mentioned? They seem to be very central to the allegations.

Yeah, over the past year that there's been some legal and criminal scrutiny surrounding Diddy, freak-offs for obvious reasons have become sort of the term that has popped out because it's vivid and seems to capture something about Diddy's alleged proclivities. And these alleged sexual performances, according to the indictment, involve a few things. Male prostitutes and then women in Diddy's orbit who, according to the indictment, were coerced into participating in them. And so, you know, the details of the indictment, as you might expect, are quite vivid. They talk about the duration of these performances. The freak-offs sometimes lasted days at a time, involved multiple commercial sex workers, and often involved a variety of narcotics, such as ketamine, ecstasy, and GHB.

The allegation that Diddy would record these performances and use them later to intimidate people out of speaking out about the performances. And one detail that prosecutors were sure to highlight early in the indictment is that when federal agents raided his homes in March, Early in the indictment is that when federal agents raided his homes in March, they confiscated, among other things, three defaced AR-15s and a large capacity drum magazine, electronic devices that contain images and videos of the freak offs with multiple victims. And they seized cases and cases of the kinds of personal lubricant and baby oil that Combs' staff allegedly used to stock hotel rooms for the freak-offs. More than 1,000 bottles altogether. So the idea in this indictment is that these sexual performances were quite elaborate, quite systematized, and prosecutors, again, have made a point to sort of emphasize the graphic

aspect of them in order to get at the idea that this was sort of a, again, sort of like a racketeering-esque system. Yeah. Sort of a series of these events taking place over time and also with a high degree of organization. They booked the hotel rooms and stocked them with the supplies, including drugs, personal lubricant, extra linens, and lighting. When the hotel rooms got damaged, they helped clean it up. Diddy appeared in court on Tuesday where he pleaded not guilty and he was denied bail by the judge? What did he or his lawyers say about these allegations? What do we know about how they're responding to them?

accusation against him is false, with the exception of one totally incontrovertible one, which is related to the footage that CNN published in May of this year, where you see him on tape kicking and dragging Cassie, his longtime girlfriend, who was the first to file a lawsuit against him. It's a videotape. And his lawyer was on CNN last night talking about that tape. You know, this video that we've all seen, and it's a bad video for Mr. Combs, and he said so himself when he gave his apology. He didn't deny that there was an act of abuse here, but he called it a misdemeanor assault, which is not something that's being charged right now.

The gravamen of that civil complaint wasn't a misdemeanor assault, which is what you see on that video. Not minimizing it, but it's a misdemeanor assault, which is what you see on that video. Not minimizing it, but it's a misdemeanor assault. Right. Yeah. Now, I don't, for people who might not have seen that video, it is very difficult to watch. It's really, really brutal.

You've been talking about how, like, this didn't come out of nowhere, right? Like, there's been a long journey to this point. These lawsuits against Adi that allege sexual misconduct and sexual violence. The biggest one, the one that kicked it all off, was from that former girlfriend, Cassandra Ventura, known professionally as the R&B singer Cassie. And just give me a bit more of a refresher here on how we got here. Yeah, I mean, I take your point. It has been building for this level of legal scrutiny for about a year now.

That said, when Cassie filed her suit in November of last year, at that moment, to me and I think to many others, it did feel sort of out of nowhere. A lawsuit filed against Sean Diddy Combs accuses the music performer and executive of rape, physical abuse and sex trafficking. The singer, Cassie, says the incidents occurred throughout her 10 year relationship with Combs.

Diddy has been trailed by accusations of violence since the 90s, really. Combs was arraigned on charges of criminal possession of a handgun. Those charges are related to a shooting at a midtown nightclub last December that injured three people. I came here today just to tell the truth. So hopefully we can get down to the bottom of this. I'm 100% of the charges against me are 100% false. But there were no accusations of sexual violence, at least not ones that broke through to the national press or the global press in any significant way. So when Cassie filed that suit, I think there are a few factors. One is that Cassie is, in her own right, a renowned performer, someone who commands a certain amount of attention.

She had been publicly seen with Diddy for so long in sort of high-profile spaces. And then the contents of the suit, you just couldn't really get past the level of detail, how gruesome it was, the allegations of the extent and duration of the abuse. So that suit was settled in just a day. And at that time, Diddy did not admit to any wrongdoing. The settlement did not entail it. But the contents of the suit, I think, really opened the door for other people to speak out and also just

to reframe Diddy's public persona. He had been calling himself either explicitly or implicitly a playboy for so long. He'd been this impresario, kind of a guy surrounded by women having these glamorous parties in the Hamptons. And the suit, I think, pretty instantaneously turned that narrative around. It really gave it a darker undertone that you could have really put to the side. And then once all these other lawsuits started coming out and his homes were raided, you definitely got the sense that something was building.

something was building. How much overlap is there between the lawsuit that Cassie filed and the other lawsuits? I believe that there are nine now that have been filed in the indictment that we saw yesterday. So Cassie's suit, Cassie figures into the indictment. She's not named in the indictment, but you can pretty quickly put together the pieces. Right. They reference that video, for example. Yes. And, you know, if you read the indictment, you get the sense that Cassie will be, you know, again, her suit was settled. Diddy did not admit to any wrongdoing in the course of settling that suit. But you get the sense in the indictment that she would be a witness to this alleged criminal conduct. Hi, it's Ramit Sethi here. by National Angel Capital Organization, empowering Canada's entrepreneurs through angel investment and industry connections. Hi, it's Ramit Sethi here. You may have seen my money show on Netflix.

I've been talking about money for 20 years. I've talked to millions of people and I have some startling numbers to share with you. Did you know that of the people I speak to, 50% of them do not know their own household income? That's not a typo. 50%. That's because money is confusing.

In my new book and podcast, Money for Couples, I help you and your partner create a financial vision together. To listen to this podcast, just search for Money for Couples. I want to zoom out a bit here because, as you talked about, a very big allegation in the indictment is that Diddy was using this empire that he built to facilitate these alleged crimes. And for those who might not know, can you just tell me a bit more about his rise in the 90s and exactly how he built this empire? rise in the 90s and exactly how he built this empire. Yeah. Diddy grew up in Harlem. He went to Howard University. I think most people take for granted at this point that hip hop is a leading global cultural force. If you look at American charts, other charts, even if they're not rap records per se, it's artists who have been influenced by rappers or work with rappers.

I don't know if that happens without Diddy. I think it's really difficult to overstate Diddy's influence in making hip hop into this world-conquering pop force. He was always unapologetic about his ambitions. He never seemed to be bothered by the idea that he could somehow depurify hip hop by taking it global. He always wanted to be a mogul. He always wanted to be someone who is picking rap and elevating it to this global cultural status. And that was happening with the way he made music. He put sort of a pop sheen on rap records. Read Word Up magazine. My whole world's upside down. I know you're still living your life after death.

But I think there was also a broader cultural and social element at play. Diddy in the 90s became famous for these elaborate parties that he had in the Hamptons that were called the White Party. Right. parties that he had in the Hamptons that were called the White Party. And it seems not quaint exactly at this point, but sort of expected at this point that someone like Jay-Z would hang out with someone like Tom Brady. At that time, that was not... It was a fairly novel phenomenon, and that was something that Diddy took pride in. He would talk about in interviews that, if you come to these parties, I'll have rappers there, but you'll also see Paris Hilton or Salman Rushdie. That was an important innovation in terms of the development of American celebrity, but also in terms of the development of hip hop, again,

as not just musical force, but a cultural one. Tell me more about how Bad Boy Records and his relationship, his friendship with Biggie factored into his ability to build this empire, essentially, to be this successful. Biggie and Diddy had a creative and commercial relationship that was hugely influential. You can't really talk about 90s rap or 90s culture in general without looking at that relationship. relationship. And I think one thing that Diddy was very smart about doing is not just being the person pulling the strings and arranging for these hit records and helping Biggie become the star that he became, but also being someone who put his face out there. Just to say that, you know, the mogul is, if not as important as the star, almost as important as the star. What's up, my name is Puff Daddy. This is my new artist, Notorious B.I.G.

He took me out of a dangerous game, you know what I'm saying? I mean, I was selling drugs real hard, you know? When I got the record deal, all I got cut short. So it's like he Jesus to me, you know what I'm saying? Because he just saved me. And it's real, and I go all out for it. And I ain't saying that I'm not Jesus.

To me, I look at him like, I say Jesus. To re-framame their joint ambition, emphasizing the primacy of the mogul in general, saying that what he was doing was just an important aspect of hip hop or of culture as rapping the verse. In the case of Cassie in particular, part of the dynamic being alleged there was the control that he had over her career related to what you were just saying. So given how powerful and connected he was, like what would be the implications of getting on his bad side if you were an artist trying to have a career in that world? Yeah, before any of these sexual violence allegations have surfaced in the last year,

Diddy long had a reputation as someone with a temper, certainly. If so, bump somebody. All right, thanks. All right, love you, man. Bye. I got my MTV out. Savage! I'm a savage! MTV. I'm a savage. I'm a savage.

Whatever I want, I'm going to get. Whatever I want, I have to get. And, you know, there are allegations, again, of violence, non-sexual violence that's held him for a long time. And, you know, he's at the most rarefied tier of star maker. To know Diddy in this world is a really big deal. And he's someone, again, because he was so eager to put himself out as the face of success and not just a behind the scenes connector or producer or whatever else. He was not shy about letting you know that he could make you or he could break you. And there are all sorts of examples of this over

the years. And he and Cassie first met in a music business context. She was a young singer trying to make it, and he was someone who could help you do that. And she signed to his label, and they started dating at some point after that. And that can always be a complex dynamic, of course. But I think in this case in particular, because Diddy was so avid about emphasizing his own star-making power, it added a degree of potential for coercion. In this world, how powerful would you say he was? It'd be tough to rank it, but if you did, it's really hard to think of many more people who were more influential in terms of the development of pop culture in the last 30-odd years. If you take that dynamic and also take the dynamic of him being eager to tell you that at every turn, you can really get a sense of the power he wielded.

So you and I are talking at around 1230 Eastern Time on Wednesday, and I know that Diddy's slated to appear in court in a couple of hours from now. He's appealing his denial of bail. So we'll update our listeners on what happened there. But just generally, how do you think that this case could play out from here? His lawyer said in an interview on CNN last night that we should not expect to see Diddy take a plea. But he intends to fight this. He has pleaded not guilty and maintained his innocence all throughout this process. So we don't have any details yet on a potential trial date, but that is really the next major event because if Diddy does not take a plea, of course, that's where this goes. And I think one way in which it will really reveal something about the nature of Diddy's work is the racketeering charge, because that's the charge that doesn't just accuse him of sexual violence, but it also entails calling lots of witnesses who either reported to Diddy or understood how his businesses worked. And the government has said they have 49 witnesses to speak to that kind of behavior. So I think for people who are seeking a broader perspective about how these allegations are tied up with the music industry or about the

powers of structure that Diddy participated in or lorded over, I think the trial offers a chance for a glimpse of that. Yeah. All the charges that he's facing are very serious, but I mean, I would imagine that they carry quite lengthy jail terms, right? The racketeer in charge carries a potential life sentence. Okay. Given the who's who of people who have been connected to him over the years, do you think that we might expect any other high-profile people to be implicated as a result? Might this play out in a way that could draw parallels to Epstein? It can be tough sometimes in these cases that involve allegations of sexual violence and high-profile people to sort out conspiracy from truth, especially because these trials receive so much attention on social media. I don't think it's impossible that something will be revealed at trial that sheds light on other people in Diddy's orbit. That said, I always think it's important to keep in mind that the person charged, the on other people in Diddy's orbit. That said, I always think it's important to keep in mind that the person charged, the only person charged is Diddy. And the government has said that there could be unindicted co-conspirators. I can't say who those

people would be. Maybe some of them would be names that we would recognize, and maybe some of them would not be. But I do think that, you know, part of the genius, perhaps, and also the perverse genius of Diddy is that he really set it up so that he would be the name. So it's very possible that there are other people in his orbit, I think, that, you know, wielded quite some degree of power, but he's the face. So there might be people who, you know, are called to testify at trial who did really wield some influence in this business. But I doubt they'll be anywhere on the level as Diddy as far as kind of name recognition and the kinds of people who draw that kind of scrutiny.

Yeah. Dan, thank you very much for this. Really appreciate it. Thank you. appreciate it. Thank you. All right. So as we mentioned in the episode, Diddy was in court yesterday afternoon appealing his bail denial. The decision was upheld by a second judge who cited the possibility that Diddy could tamper with witnesses. So he will remain behind bars. That's all for today. Thanks so much for listening. I'm Jamie Poisson. We'll talk to you tomorrow.