Law&Crime Sidebar - P. Diddy: 8 Celebrity Supporters Push Back Against Sex Trafficking Allegations

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Starting point is 00:00:35 keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't let your fears take hold of you as you dive into this addictive series. Love thrillers with a paranormal twist? The entire Oracle trilogy is available on Audible. Listen now on Audible. Rapper P. Diddy seems to be trying to keep calm, cool, and collected in Miami, as rumors about a possible future criminal indictment against him continue to swirl. But Sean Combs isn't going at it alone. No, in the last few weeks, fellow celebrities have expressed their support for the music mogul and his legacy. We're going to break down some of the people who have backed them so far. Welcome to Sidebar. Presented by Law and Crime, I'm Jesse Weber. Okay, if this is your first time hearing about the Sean Diddy Combs legal saga that has played

Starting point is 00:01:20 out over the last couple of months, my question to you is, where have you been? You've clearly not been watching Sidebar turning on any television, but in all seriousness, this is a story that is dominated headlines around the world. And we're starting to see more reactions come out from celebrities. And look, there have been whispers about Combs' conduct ever since he rose to prominence and founded Bad Boy Records in the 1990s. But really, things took a turn when a bombshell lawsuit was filed by his ex-girlfriend Cassandra Ventura. That blew everything wide open. Now, Ventura, who went by the stage name Cassie, she accused Combs of some seriously heinous acts. Actually, crimes that took place over the years that they dated. She claimed in her

Starting point is 00:02:04 reportedly $30 million civil action that Combs forced her to have sex on camera, sometimes with prostitutes or escorts, forced her to do drugs, forced her to carry a gun for him. She also alleges that when she tried to leave him, he raped her. The lawsuit was incredibly graphic and very unsettling and upsetting. And within just one day of the original filing, Combs and Ventura settled the lawsuit. The exact terms of the deal are confidential. We know that in a statement, though, Combs' lawyer at the time Ben Brathman said, quote, just so we're clear,

Starting point is 00:02:36 a decision to settle a lawsuit, especially in 2023, is in no way an admission of wrongdoing. Mr. Combs' decision to settle the lawsuit does not in any way undermine his flat-out denial of the claims. He's happy they got to a mutual settlement and wishes Ms. Ventura the best. But following Cassie's opening volley,

Starting point is 00:02:54 more lawsuits followed. In February, Rodney Jones, or Little Rod Jones, a music producer who worked with Combs on his latest album, filed his own explosive lawsuit accusing Combs of harassing and abusing him over that year. He also claimed that he had video and audio evidence of sexual assault, drugging of drinks, time spent with underage girls. Jones, by the way, named not only Combs, but also his two sons and entertainment industry executives, as also being involved in crimes like sex trafficking and sexual assault. But then you fast forward to March, Homeland Security investigators rated Combs two homes,

Starting point is 00:03:31 apparently on behalf of the Southern District of New York. Sources have said that a sex trafficking investigation connected to Combs is currently underway, but we really haven't heard much else on that front. I will say, analysts and experts that we've interviewed here on Sidebar believe that an arrest and indictment is imminent, although once again, we shall see. If you want, by the way, a more complete breakdown of the lawsuits, what potential charges investigators might be looking at, a time of. line of events. We've dedicated numerous videos on sidebar to this, and hopefully you can check

Starting point is 00:04:01 it out. Several people, as you might have imagined, have come out against Combs amid these allegations. Most notably is rapper 50 Cent, who's been a very public feud with Combs for years. He joked about Diddy's downfall online and at his concerts. 50 Cent had reportedly been working on a documentary about Combs that he said would expose him. Most celebrities have kept their distance, including people who have been friends with Combs for years. That includes actor Ashton Coucher. We did an episode on that, too. But that doesn't mean that Mr. Combs isn't getting any public support.

Starting point is 00:04:35 No. Recently, several celebrities and collaborators have done interviews or posted on social media about this. So let's start it out. We're going to start it out with actor and R&B singer Tyree Skipson. So in an Instagram post that now has apparently been deleted, Gibson said two days after the raids, quote, what I can't do and what I won't do is downplay the laughter, the fun, the energy, the inspiration, the award shows, the studio sessions, the most legendary parties and events I've

Starting point is 00:05:05 ever attended in my life. I also can't act as if my high school backyard parties throughout South Central L.A. wasn't the craziest parties ever because of the bad boy on slew of hit record. I don't condone, nor do I support abuse, bullying, sexual assault, or anything that is currently being alleged. But what I can't do is turn the blinds on how much this mean to me and all of us and what he has done for the community of music and culture. He continued, I'm praying for Diddy, his kids, his family, his mother, and all of the alleged victims that's in the middle of trying to simply have their voices to be heard. I love this brother. It's been nothing but kind and generous towards me. And that's the way I feel. Praying and praying for

Starting point is 00:05:45 more of a better outcome of all this happening. God bless you, Diddy, if you ever need to call me. I just need a listening ear. I'm right here, bro. And Tyrese and Diddy's relationship is well documented with numerous pictures together at different events and so forth. Moving on, let's talk about boxer and promoter and businessman Floyd Mayweather. He also spoke about Combs during an interview on the podcast, The Pivot. Now, the episode aired at the end of February, so it was after these huge lawsuits, but before the raids on Combs' properties. I'm not going to speak bad about P. Diddy, because he's still a black man. I mean, mistakes happen. P. Diddy business is P. Diddy business. It's not my job or anyone else's job to go on the internet and stump him and

Starting point is 00:06:33 kick a man while he's down. Not sure if he still believes that after the raids, but Mayweather and Combs, they have spent time together over the years with Combs attending Mayweather fights and hosting parties after the matches. By the way, 50 Cent actually took to instant to respond to Mayweather's comments, writing in a caption, quote, they didn't even ask him about this. Champ, is you stupid or is you dumb? Get me the F out of your head. You sound like a hater.

Starting point is 00:07:02 Did he do it? Coming soon. This again is an apparent reference to the purported documentary surrounding Diddy that 50 Cent is working on or at least was working on at the time. Another person who recently came forward in support of Combs is an artist known as G. Depp, also known as G. Depp, also known as Ghetto Depp. pendant. After he released his first album, Combe signed G-Dep to a huge five-album deal with Bad Boy Records, now called Bad Boy Entertainment. But in 2010, G-Dep did something very

Starting point is 00:07:31 interesting. He walked into NYPD and told them he had committed a cold case murder from 1993 when a man was shot in the chest. He claimed he didn't know at the time that the victim had died, but wanted to get right with God. He went to trial, was found guilty of second-degree murder, sentenced to 15 years in prison. Combs commented on the situation during a serious XM radio show saying G. Depp, quote, did the right thing. Now, G. Depp's sentence was actually commuted by Governor Kathy Hokel and he was released just this month. Well, G. Depp looked back on his time with Combs very fondly during an interview with the Art of Dialogue after his release and after the rates. Oh, man. It was crazy. It was bananas, man. That had to be the wildest time in my

Starting point is 00:08:19 life man honestly you know what i'm saying that was that was a wild time man we was you know we was young in a separate interview with fox five in new york gdeb said that he would love to work with combs again despite the allegations against him he said he spent many days and nights with the rapper and ever saw any of the behavior described in the civil suits he even said quote and i'm like when did that happen we were in the studio for months on end with each other he went on to say that there's a difference between what people say and what is proven in court quote people should you know, give people, you know, the benefit of the doubt, people can say anything. Well, we've told you before about one of Combs' biggest supporters, and that is Stevie J.

Starting point is 00:08:59 Stevie J. is an award-winning music producer and DJ who's been friends with Combs for decades. In fact, he was seen at Combs Miami home recently and was reportedly inside the house during the Homeland Security raids back in March. And in an interview with Fox 5, New York, after those federal agents swooped in, Stevie J. said, my man would never break the law. We're law-abiding citizens. That's what we do. You know this is another crucifixion of a black man. Stevie J., by the way, was mentioned in Rodney Jones' lawsuit in connection with allegations of grooming. You see, Jones says that he's a heterosexual male, but claims Combs kept trying to coerce him into having sex with men. And one of the ways he did that,

Starting point is 00:09:42 according to Jones, was that Combs allegedly showed Jones a video of two men having sex and claim that one of the men was Stevie J. This is someone that Jones, as a fellow music producer, looked up to and admired. Jones claims that Combs was using this video to try to groom him. Now, to be clear, it was never confirmed that the video actually showed Stevie J, who dismissed the allegations by saying that Jones and his attorneys are just trying to make money. Stevie J also told TMZ, quote, whatever someone does in their bedroom, that's what they do. I got nothing to do with that. I've never seen my man do anything foul like they talking about. I've never seen it. I've known him for 29 years. Hey, I just want to take a quick

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Starting point is 00:12:33 Did you party with Diddy a lot? No, not really. I would go to the party and leave early. Why wouldn't you stay? I go to the party and leave early. I'm sorry. Yeah. I don't know what goes on after hours, but...

Starting point is 00:12:50 He wasn't trying to find out. I wasn't trying to find out. However, Uncle Luke has also expressed shock that more people haven't been speaking out on Combs' behalf and has thrown out some interesting conspiracy theories as reasons the government may be targeting Diddy. He believes this all may be connected to Combs suing major corporations that he'd been working with.

Starting point is 00:13:09 Uncle Luke talked about it on an Instagram live right after the raids. Do you want to talk all your kids? cash money and you want to go out to these people what ends up happening they start the smear campaign because they own they down with the media they got to smear you before you go into the courtroom of your peers he went on to say quote when you get your billions and they put you on a pedestal that's because they put you up on a pedestal they made you the guy they placed you on every network they sold you to all y'all on here they put you up on a pedestal because they you. He also said, never bite the hand that feeds you. This is how the major corporations work

Starting point is 00:13:50 when you try to come after them. Uncle Luke also said if there were underage girls at any of Combs events, it's up to the people around them to say that's not okay, like bodyguards to check IDs. Enes is another rapper who's been calling all of this a smear campaign. He is a former member of the MTV reality show created by Combs called Making the Band. After the second season of the show, Combs decided to disband the group, said it wasn't really getting along. But in an interview with the YouTube channel directed by CEO Nefiz, after the lawsuits were filed, but before we knew about the apparent federal investigation, Enes said he spent years with Combs and said, yes, he liked a party, but he never saw things like what were being

Starting point is 00:14:33 alleged in the lawsuits. That's what's happening with Puff, is a smerry campaign. And what they usually do is they go to your personal health. habits. So they start attacking your personal habits, your girlfriends, your exes, and then they try to find something to attack you through those vessels. And that's what they did. Enes went on to say this is also what happened to other black alleged celebrity abusers like R. Kelly, Michael Jackson, and Bill Cosby. Now let's talk about a different artist, Ja Rule. During an appearance on Peers Morgan uncensored, the artist Jha Rul, was asked about Combs and the civil lawsuit.

Starting point is 00:15:12 job rule said that his heart goes out to anyone who's a victim of heinous crimes like this but he says he wants to see all the facts before he makes any decisions i believe in in justice and i believe in the you know the crime fit in the you know the punishment fit in the crime i'm believing that as well and and if people get convicted of the things that these people are saying then they should be put in jail but i also believe on the flip side if people are lying about these things they should also be taken a court tried and be put in prison as well. Again, this interview aired before the raids happened on March 25th. Ja Rule went on to say that, quote, it's another black man in this industry going through some unfortunate circumstances. I wish him luck with everything he's going through. And if there's victims in this, I can't speak on things that I don't know about peers, but I wish everybody loved.

Starting point is 00:16:03 Morgan also asked Ja Rule if the hip-hop and rap industry are facing a reckoning similar to the Me Too movement, but the artist dodged the question saying he didn't know. finally let's close this out with slim thug he's commented online criticizing fans and fellow artists in the music industry for apparently reveling in combs downfall he took to instagram just after the homeland security raid to say quote we can't just really go off of the he say she say it's tough to see so many people want to see him crash out like this i don't want to see a black man who came so far almost to a billion dollars fall down that's our inspiration it ain't too many of us They took Kanye down. We losing another billionaire over allegations at this point.

Starting point is 00:16:44 Still ain't no criminal charges. And look, he's correct. Combs has not been charged criminally with any kind of sex trafficking or sexual abuse counts, anything like that. The civil actions are just that lawsuits in civil court that could potentially lead to a monetary settlement or a verdict. But after the raids, many are certainly anticipating a criminal indictment against the music mogul and even potentially his sons. And I will say, when I heard and read all these statements, I was putting my legal brain on. I was putting on my legal cap. And one thing I did think about is whether did he, if he were charged, if he were tried, if he were convicted,

Starting point is 00:17:21 would these celebrities speak on his behalf during sentencing? As we talked about in that 70 show star Danny Masterson's case after he was convicted of rape, his co-stars on that show, Mila Kunis and Ashton Coutcher, they wrote on his, behalf to the court during sentencing. And they took a lot of heat for that. So will celebrities come to Diddy's defense if that should happen? Now, of course, what I'm saying is incredibly premature. To be clear, once again, neither Diddy nor his sons nor his associates have been arrested or criminally charged in connection with anything with this ongoing investigation. And Diddy has not been found civilly liable by a court or a jury in any of these lawsuits I mentioned.

Starting point is 00:18:04 Having said that, we will, of course, continue to follow what happens next. That's all we have for you here on Sidebar. Everybody, thank you so much for joining us. As always, please subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next time. right now on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app,

Starting point is 00:18:38 Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

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Law&Crime Sidebar - P. Diddy: 8 Celebrity Supporters Push Back Against Sex Trafficking Allegations

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