By Alissa Yoon and Harry Gustafson
Boston University News Service
A highly successful media figure spent decades forming a criminal network built on sexual abuse, using his own business as a vehicle to perpetrate illegal activity. If this description reads as vague, that is because this has become a common pattern in media industries, like Hollywood and the music business.
In the past few months, a case that has caught the most public attention involves music industry mogul Sean Combs, better known as P. Diddy. In September 2024, Combs was indicted on three counts of racketeering, sex trafficking by force and transportation to engage in prostitution, according to the Court of Appeals’ recent indictment.
The indictment includes information regarding how Combs used his business to establish a criminal organization that facilitated numerous criminal activities, including sex trafficking, interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution and coercion and enticement to engage in prostitution, amongst other offenses.
This network was known as “the Combs Enterprise,” which consisted of the mogul’s various businesses.
Combs has had a long history of criminal allegations since his rise to prominence in the early 1990s as a music executive for Bad Boy Entertainment. These prior charges and allegations include physical assault, sexual assault and destruction of property.
In November 2023, Combs’s ex-girlfriend, Cassandra Ventura, filed a lawsuit against him alleging years of abuse. While Combs and Ventura settled out of court, hotel surveillance footage released by CNN in May 2024 showed a 2016 incident in which Combs physically assaulted Ventura. According to the federal indictment, Combs then attempted to bribe the hotel staff into silence.
The release of the surveillance video opened the floodgates to Combs’ downfall, as the reality behind his infamous White Parties came to light. These parties would begin during the day, appearing to be innocent and family-friendly; however quickly took a dark turn.
Prosecutors allege Combs orchestrated “freak offs,” days-long sex parties where female attendees were coerced or even drugged into performing sexual acts with male commercial sex workers. According to the most recent indictment, during these parties, Combs “arranged, directed, masturbated during and often electronically recorded” the attendees.
While the allegations against Combs are the most recent examples of a high-profile media personality facing legal issues for sexual abuse and trafficking, it is not a standalone example.
In 2017, reporting from The New York Times and New Yorker revealed decades of sexual misconduct allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein. Weinstein used his prominence in Hollywood to coerce and silence victims over multiple decades, often settling out of court and paying for their silence through non-disclosure agreements.
The investigations into Weinstein, including those conducted by Jodi Kantor and Meghan Twohey from The New York Times and Ronan Farrow from The New Yorker, laid out a consistent pattern of behavior on Weinstein’s part. The producer often targeted young, aspiring actresses and attempted to coerce them into sexual acts with the promise of career advancement.
This kickstarted the #MeToo movement, leading to expanded public discourse about sexual assault, especially when power dynamics are involved. Empowered by the movement, assault victims came forward with their experiences, which highlighted clear patterns of established networks designed to protect and enable serial abusers.
In 2019, financier Jeffrey Epstein was arrested for operating a child sex trafficking network that transported prominent figures to a private Caribbean island to engage in sexual activity with minors.
In 2021, musician R. Kelly was convicted on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation of a minor. Many reporters — such as the Washington Post’s Geoff Edgers in a feature article called “The Star Treatment” — criticized the music industry for willfully turning a blind eye to Kelly’s behavior, which allegedly dates back to the 1990s.
These reports bring into question whether these large media industries have been keeping an open secret regarding the behaviors of these men, which now include Combs.
The indictment document that lists Combs’ charges claims that “physical abuse by [the defendant] was recurrent and widely known.” If that is the case, why has it taken so long for these allegations to gain traction with law enforcement?
Combs’ white parties were popular events with high-profile attendees. The indictment document stated Combs frequently made incriminating recordings during these events “as collateral to ensure the continued obedience and silence of the victims.” A guilty conviction for Combs could create a domino effect, leading to similar convictions for many other notable media figures.
There is a great deal of public interest in the Sean Combs case. Multiple documentaries about the allegations are being released, with more in production. Tubi has “TMZ Presents: The Downfall of Diddy,, while Hulu offers “IMPACT x Nightline: Diddy’s Downfall.” Netflix acquired the rights to develop another documentary produced by 50 Cent on these abuse allegations although they have yet to set a release date.
There is also a strong demand for media about similar cases. “Surviving R. Kelly” documents the stories of the R&B singer’s victims. “She Said” by Kantor and Twohey and “Catch and Kill” by Farrow are both bestselling books that detailed the investigative journalism that went into breaking the Weinstein allegations, with the former being adapted into a 2022 film.
Does the popularity of media that either reports on or dramatizes these stories offer victims the opportunity to tell their side? Or is this a case of sensationalizing serial abuse and organized crime for entertainment value?
Given TMZ’s background as a celebrity tabloid outlet, their documentary comes off as sensationalist. The Nightline documentary, produced by ABC News, could come off as the more credible investigation.
While dramatizations of such events can often miss the mark, journalists documenting their process in nonfiction narratives can provide a lot of insight into how difficult these investigations can be.
All these cases involve successful men in the entertainment industry who lure young aspiring talents with the promise of fame. If the allegations prove to be true, the Combs Enterprise is not the first of its kind, but instead, an example of a saturated issue that plagues the entertainment industry.
