Over the past couple of months we have heard about the singer/rapper Sean Combs, also known as Puff Daddy or Diddy and his recent charges. Everything he has been charged with dates back years ago. The singer/songwriter Cassandra Ventura, also known as Cassie, recently filed a lawsuit against Diddy, her former partner. Cassie stated that her ex had raped her, forced her to have sex with other people, assaulted her physically and sexually, drugged her, and even filmed her without her consent.
When Cassie and Diddy started dating, Cassie was only 19, he was 37. After years of abuse, Ventura finally ended the relationship after Diddy supposedly broke into her apartment and forced her to have sex with him, even though she repeatedly asked him to stop. At the time, Cassie didn’t want to speak out and testify against him because she was scared it would only give him all the more reason to hurt her. Diddy had also been mostly incharge of her finances and connections. Diddy’s lawyer has come out with a statement claiming he is innocent, despite several other women, and even some men, speaking out against Diddy with the same allegations.
During our daily check in about what is going on in the world, our teacher informed us about the recent lawsuits Puff Daddy faced and that his children had been escorted out of one of his houses. It is presumed that the raid was prompted because of sex trafficking, although we can’t be sure yet.
Recently, rapper Meek Mill has come out and stated that Diddy had made Mill have sex with him and a tape was apparently leaked of them. Rumors have spread that Diddy also did this with Usher and potentially other artists. There hasn’t been any recent updates on this.
With all this controversy about Diddy, there are some similarities between him and Kanye West. Both have been controversial artists for a while, but recently have sparked even more controversy. For instance, when Kanye worked with Adidas he would show some of the other employees pornographic videos and reportedly had an addiction. Some people may say to ignore their actions and separate the art from the artist but it’s definitely harder for Diddy because he has been accused of crimes that could land him in jail.
In class, we’ve continuously addressed the topic of separating the art from the artist. In some instances, it can be easy to appreciate someone’s creations while still keeping distance from their actions. In others, like the Diddy case, it is difficult to separate his actions or accusations because of how awful they are.
To know when you can excuse someone’s actions and when it is pushed too far, is something most of us struggle with. Excusing Diddy’s behavior tells people that hurting others can be waived because you’re rich. This act of separating the art from the artist in times where the artist’s actions are just too harmful, creates a cycle of ignorance in our society, creating even more harm.
