There’s going to be a (large) percentage of readers whose eye will roll at this headline: You don’t listen to Sean Combs… or P. Diddy… or Diddy… or Puff Daddy… or whatever he’s calling himself today. Not your jam, not your bag: “So, okay, Combs was busted this week for sex trafficking and racketeering, and is currently sitting inside a jail cell on suicide watch. But why should I care?”
For a couple of reasons:
First, this seems to be a story with nice, long legs that even Tina Turner would envy. There’s sex, celebrities, wild parties, debauchery, baby oil(!), and more — the bad boy of Bad Boy Records acted very badly, indeed. Plus, Combs seems to have (stupidly) videotaped much of it. This is gonna be in the news cycle for a while. Might as well buckle up and enjoy the ride.
Second, Sean Combs was considered a “celebrity in good standing” because he was closely aligned with the Democratic Party. Kamala Harris has warmly Tweeted to him, thanking Combs for hosting her town hall event. (No word if Kamala later attended his “freak off” after-party celebrations.) FOX News has also detailed Combs’ intimate ties to Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and other prominent Democrats. For decades, Combs has supported liberal causes, including the MTV-affiliated “Rock the Vote” and launched 2004’s “Vote or Die” campaign. He’s had particularly close ties to black Democrats, especially the Obamas. Combs endorsed Joe Biden in 2020 and said “white men like Trump need to be banished” during a radio interview.
So, this won’t just be a sex scandal. Before it’s over, it’ll be a political scandal, too.
And third, given what we know about human nature, there’s absolutely ZERO chance that prominent Democrats weren’t lathering themselves in baby oil and getting freaky at Puffy’s “freak offs.” Jay Leno used to joke about politics being show business for ugly people, and there’s truth to that: Politicians seek celebrities to look cool, and celebrities seek politicians to gain legitimacy. When it works, it’s a win-win relationship.
The trouble is, most celebs shouldn’t be legitimatized, and most politicians are uncool dorks. (Just being honest, folks.) So, it’s always been a relationship that favored style over substance — and fantasy over reality.
Sean Combs became exceedingly wealthy (and extraordinarily famous) by selling a fantasy: The coolest parties, the hottest women, the smoothest liquor, the best music. And if Puffy deemed you cool enough to escort you into the VIP room behind the velvet ropes? That means you’ve made it.
Congrats! You’re now one of the cool kids.
Alas, we might be on the verge of learning EXACTLY who made it — and with whom: Allegedly, Combs placed hidden cameras in every room of his home.
Are there naked pics of the Obamas? Of Kamala Harris? Videos of celebrities (like Kevin Hart) misbehaving? Or of young, underage celebrities, including Justin Bieber, being abused by a 40-something-year-old Diddy?
Combs doesn’t strike me as the kind of person who’ll roll over and take the fall for everyone else. There’s absolutely nothing in his track record that suggests that. Instead, it’s far more likely he’ll go the route of the Joker — and if he’s going down, he’s gonna make the world burn: Everyone’s going down with him.
Getcha popcorn ready.
PR-wise, there’s really nothing for Combs to do right now. His image is 100% going to be dismantled and destroyed; when the trial is over, maybe it can be reassembled. But before a trial, there’s nothing to be gained by winning a media cycle. Whatever happens at the trial’s conclusion, good or bad, will instantly make it old news.
Better to keep your powder dry.
At this stage of the celebrity scandal, your legal fate matters more than your PR fate. Gaining a nice headline at the cost of a criminal conviction is an asinine tradeoff. Combs’ PR team was almost certainly instructed to copy Combs’ attorneys on all emails because otherwise those communications can be subpoenaed by federal prosecutors. (A lesson I learned the hard way during the General Petraeus scandal, when the Obama administration actually subpoenaed all my texts and emails… including my off-the-record PR communications with FOX News.)
Already, the Puff Daddy scandal has disconcerting similarities to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. We never got to see the guest list for Epstein Island. This is our second chance.
Despite all the media sensationalism, the fact remains that there were real-life victims in Combs’ criminal charges — young, naïve people who dreamed of being famous. Instead, they were (allegedly) assaulted, violated, abused, and destroyed. It’s not right.
Combs thought he was untouchable because he had so many big-name Democrats in his pocket (and, allegedly, straddling his pockets). He thought he was bigger than the law.
He thought wrong.
And now, the real story is just beginning.
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