Diddy's Defenders
America is riveted by the Diddy trial for many reasons: celebrity, kink, drugs, violence, guns, baby oil. You can almost hear Ryan Murphy calling FX now to pitch American Crime Story: Diddy Do It? Influencers are staking out the courthouse, live-updating X with witnesses' testimony, and providing TikTok updates that one creator calls 'Diddy-lations.' And people are eating it up.
Diddy—whose legal name is Sean Combs—has pleaded not guilty to the charges he faces of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. Many Americans have taken to the comment sections to offer their full-throated belief in his innocence. Despite the video evidence of domestic violence, the photos of Combs's guns with serial numbers removed, and the multiple witnesses testifying that Combs threatened to kill them, this group insists that Diddy's biggest sin is nothing more than being a hypermasculine celebrity with 'libertine' sexual tastes.
The trial is estimated to take eight to 10 weeks; we've made it through just two. No one can predict the outcome. But why do so many men—and a surprising number of women—feel the need to defend this man? The jury has already watched the now-infamous surveillance footage of Combs dragging Cassie Ventura, the prosecution's star witness, by the collar of her sweatshirt through a hotel—and that's not even one of the things he's on trial for.
I can't look away from the Diddy trial, because it feels like the trial not of one man, but of something much larger. The jury—made up of eight men and four women—will decide whether to convict Combs, but the broader culture, in its response to this trial, is deciding whether #MeToo was a movement or a moment.
Sophie Gilbert: The movement of #MeToo
At the center of the trial is the question of coercion. Did Ventura participate in hundreds of drug-fueled sexual encounters with strangers for Combs, who liked to watch, because she enjoyed them? Or did Combs use his power over her to force her? When they met, she was 19, an eager and ambitious singer. He was 17 years older, and arguably the most powerful man in the music industry. His label, Bad Boy, signed her to a highly unusual, long-term 10-album deal. He was her boss and, soon, her boyfriend. The evidence presented by both sides serves as a Rorschach test. How you see it says a lot about how the #MeToo movement did—or did not—alter your vision.
The facts seem clear. Ventura was a legal adult, but barely, when her career was effectively handed over to Combs in 2006. Today, musical artists such as Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter invent their own persona. But in the mid-2000s, many artists were strictly controlled by their labels. Particularly when the artists were women. The people paying the bills didn't just dictate what these women sounded like—they dictated their hair color, their weight. You have to watch only one episode of Combs's MTV show Making the Band to get a taste of the climate he created. He made artists compete in singing battles to earn a bed to sleep in and ordered them to walk miles from Manhattan to Brooklyn to get him a specific slice of cheesecake. Behind the scenes, things were worse. One singer said Diddy controlled every aspect of her appearance ' down to my toenails.'
Sure, maybe Ventura loved him. But sometimes hostages fall in love with their captors. Even the ones who beat them. Sure, women have an array of sexual tastes, just like men. But it's hard to imagine a woman enjoying having intercourse while, as Ventura said in her testimony, suffering from a painful urinary tract infection. It's hard to imagine feeling aroused after your partner threw a glass bottle at you, as a male sex worker said he witnessed Combs do to Ventura. And when people are having a consensual good time, they don't usually try to sneak out of the room, barefoot—as Ventura was seen doing in the hotel surveillance footage —only for their partner to catch them, grab them by the back of the neck, throw them to the ground, and kick them. Repeatedly. Ventura said that the sex acts made her feel ' worthless.' But, as the video showed, attempting to extract herself came with a price.
It's been almost eight years since the Harvey Weinstein story broke and the #MeToo movement forced a reassessment of abuse and power. In the future, I remember thinking, we will not just speak out against bad actors; we will refuse to participate in the systems that protected them. Going forward, everyone would understand that, in a world of power imbalances, the difference between what a woman chooses and what happens to her can be very big indeed.
Danielle Bernstein: #MeToo has changed the world—except in court
Instead, something else happened over the subsequent years. American women have seen our rights eroded and our access to lifesaving health care curbed. An accused sexual abuser is president of the United States, and his administration is hard at work on schemes to persuade more women to stay home and have kids. Many men have fought hard to undermine the progress of the #MeToo movement. Like Combs running after Ventura in that video, they have tried to drag women back into the past, where they could do as they liked.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
33 minutes ago
- USA Today
Watch: The Rams had the best time singing karaoke at a bar in Hawaii
Safe to say the team-building aspect of having minicamp in Maui was a success Sean McVay mentioned this week in Maui that the Los Angeles Rams have the makings of a 'really special group' with the work ethic and camaraderie they've shown this offseason. This video of players singing karaoke at a bar perfectly encapsulates what the head coach is talking about. After wrapping up minicamp, several players stayed in Hawaii a bit longer to take in the culture on the beautiful island of Maui. A video was shared on TikTok of the Rams singing 'Unwritten' by Natasha Bedingfield at a local bar and they were having the time of their lives. Braden Fiske, Jordan Whittington and Larrell Murchison were among those in the video, all belting out the words to the hit song. NFL on FOX shared the video on Instagram, as well. McVay said he didn't know how much actual work the Rams would get done in Maui, indicating it was more about experiencing the culture and community as a team, and he was probably right. The team-building aspect of the trip certainly seems to have been a success.
Newsweek
37 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Man Living at Sea Shares Daily Life—Then Brings Out the Metal Detector
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A 27-year-old man from Australia gained traction on social media after sharing what a day in his life, living full time aboard a catamaran, looks like. Then he brought out his metal detector and shocked internet users with an incredible find. In a viral TikTok video shared in June under the username @thegood_pirate, Baden LeSueur shares what a "realistic day as a solo pirate treasure hunter" looks like. It starts with a golden sunrise and a cup of coffee, before he sets sail to find local hidden treasures. After climbing a palm tree to get a fresh coconut on Hammerhead Bay, and leaving his pup to nap peacefully, LeSueur grabs his metal detector and starts the search. Immediately, the metal detector starts beeping, signaling something is underneath. However, when LeSueur unearths the finding, it turns out to be just a coin. Refusing to give up just yet, he continues the search, and after finding a bunch of waste, he finally gets another beep. "I see a tiny bit a gold and at this point my heart is racing; I wonder if it's real gold," LeSueur can be heard saying in the clip, as he showcases his finding, a 22-carat gold ring with a red stone on top, which he still hasn't been able to identify. Pictures shared by LeSueur show him documenting a day in his life as a "solo pirate." Pictures shared by LeSueur show him documenting a day in his life as a "solo pirate." thegood_pirate Jewelry can have different metal density, and 22-carat gold is about 91.7 percent pure. According to at the time of writing this article, the price of gold is approximately $3,366 per troy ounce, although it fluctuates throughout the day. LeSueur told Newsweek that, before living on his catamaran, he had started his own business, straight after high school, a jumping castle company that he owned for many years. But his goal was always to save up for a catamaran of his own that he could use to sail around the world. "I used to post lots of ocean content and dreamed about producing my own videos to inspire people and help fund my adventures out on the sea. One day, I decided to take the gamble, sold everything, and bought a broken-down boat down in Sydney. This is when my online career really kicked off," LeSueur said. Now he lives full-time on his catamaran with his number-one crew mate, his pup Kida, who follows him on his daily adventures. LeSueur said: "From battling storms, to catching our own meals so we can eat, to finding people's long lost treasure on the bottom of the seabed and the crystal-white beaches along the Australian shoreline. With any luck, I'll hopefully be able to return the lost items to their owner or sell to a jeweler to help cover the costs of boat maintenance." The pair eat a lot of what they catch along the way, spearfishing and lots of coconuts. LeSueur also always makes sure to have appropriate safety equipment and protocol on board, to keep himself and his companion safe. He checks he is always carrying an emergency position-indicating radiobeacon (EPIRB), and that he always lets someone know where he is and where he is headed. "My dream is to continue the adventure, live off the ocean, and hunt for artifacts and treasure around the world. Since sharing my content, people call me 'The Good Pirate.' Sailing has been in my blood ever since I was a kid. My dad was a sailor and his dad was also a sailor. As a child, we spent a lot of time on the water," LeSueur added. Among his findings, there has been "mostly junk," but also some occasional rings made of platinum, silver, or gold. LeSueur said: "We've also found lots of coins, which I use to do my laundry. "Every day is an adventure, even from a sail tearing in 35 knots of wind to a glass-out sunset with fish under the boat. Each day is an adventure," he added. The video quickly went viral on social media and has so far received almost 60,000 views and more than 6,000 likes on the platform. One user, James, commented: "I'm stuck doing my dead job while you're doing this …" Mike said: "Do you run any calculations on your lucky finds? I curious how much money does a pirate do from selling the gold." Betty added: "What an incredible find! Must have been an amazing feeling to uncover such a treasure." Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@ with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
New York Post
43 minutes ago
- New York Post
Police sound alarm on dangerous ‘jugging' robbery trend sweeping across America
As surveillance footage of an increasingly popular violent street crime has surfaced from South Carolina, police are warning Americans of the disturbing trend. The crime is known as 'jugging,' a type of robbery in which criminals surveil banks and ATMs, watching for victims who withdraw large sums of money. When those victims finish their transactions, the 'juggers' will usually follow them to a secondary location, where they will rob the victims, often inside their vehicles. 'Jugging rhymes with mugging, it's spread from Texas to South Carolina,' Fox News Senior Correspondent Steve Harrigan said on 'America Reports' on Friday. 'Some police there weren't even sure what the word meant until the crime started happening in their own districts. Law enforcement warns that it could be over in a flash.' In the footage, captured on April 26, a man can be seen struggling inside the front passenger area of a red truck, before jumping out of that vehicle and into a silver SUV. 3 Jugging is a type of robbery where perpetrators watch for victims who take out large amounts of money at banks and ATMs. FOX News The SUV then speeds off, and it is captured from different surveillance angles fleeing the parking lot. Cpl. Cecilio Reyes of the Mauldin, South Carolina, Police Department explained how the crime typically plays out. 'They are scoping, and they will watch you as you're either coming in or going out of the bank, or watch you do ATM withdrawals, seeing how much you're getting cash wise,' Reyes said. 3 When the victims finish the transactions, the criminals typically follow them to a second location where they will rob them. FOX News 3 The type of crime originated in Texas. FOX News Harrigan described a wave of jugging arrests in Texas, before the practice began spreading to North and South Carolina. 'In one place in South Carolina, a landscaping business owner went in a bank unaware that he was being observed, took out his weekly payroll, stopped at a gas station for a soda, and two juggers – they usually work in teams – pulled up alongside his Chevy, broke through the window and made off with what his entire payroll was, $6,000.' Harrigan also reported that the Texas legislature is working to make jugging a specific felony, with harsher penalties than simple robbery.
