September 22, 2024

"Sean Combs was able to stay relevant for many years, in part because he used his power to intimidate people in the industry, particularly women, who might say no to him."

"In an article for The New York Times Magazine in July, Danyel Smith, who was the editor of Vibe Magazine in the late 1990s, wrote about the 'menacing encounters' she had with Diddy. He threatened he would see her 'dead in the trunk of a car' if she didn’t show him a cover before publication. Smith describes the ethos of the music industry at the time: 'To report sexual misconduct — whether it was to attorneys or law enforcement or even your supervisor — often meant losing your job. Being ostracized. Or being a girl that just didn’t "get it," or didn’t know how to fend for herself.'"

Writes Jessica Grose in "Sean Combs and the Limits of the 'Family Man' Defense" (NYT).

I didn't excerpt the references to the "family man" defense. I don't think that's necessary, but I would like to quote the last sentence of the column so you can click on the link it contains, which will get you to a high-impact photograph: "There are limits to the ‘family man’ defense no matter how many photos you take with your kids wearing matching pajamas."

I'm less interested in Combs's groping to defend himself now than I am in how so many people supported and protected him for so long. Danyel Smith's article — "I Knew Diddy for Years. What I Now Remember Haunts Me" — is about things that happened in the 1990s, a quarter of a century ago! Why didn't she do anything to help anyone? There is a lovely photo of her laughing and smiling as Combs kisses her cheek. But now — now that he's exposed — she's "haunted." Will we see a column from Jessica Grose about the limits of the I'm-haunted defense? Combs was useful to Smith's magazine, and she sold this image of menacing to the young people of the time:

 
But Smith portrays herself as a victim, and she gives it a feminist spin: "There’s no safe space for an ambitious woman. Not anywhere, and definitely not in the entertainment business...."

53 comments:

John henry said...

Is she a victim or victimize?

By writing pieces favorable to him (it sounds like) back in the day, she enabled him.

John Henry

MayBee said...

And yet we constantly hear conspiracies can’t happen because people talk.

Jaq said...

Wait a minute, what would it mean if the father in law of a guy who famously "didn't kill himself" in prison was a spy chief for the Mossad, what kind of power would having all of that kompromat on so many powerful men give to the person who held it?

Well, in the case of Epstein, it was meant to be used against individuals who swayed from the party line, strayed from the herd, so to speak, and the idea that it could be used agains the entire bunch of powerful men at the same time was foolish.

Regardless, it's pretty obvious that such operations can go on for a long time. People made Weinstein jokes in Hollywood, and yet Hillary Clinton, who was warned about him explicitly by her Hollywood friends, still embraced him, due to his power.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

But Smith portrays herself as a victim...

Best way to publicize yourself after one of your old running buddies is set to b become a pariah.

john mosby said...

“Combs’s groping to defend himself” - don’t you mean his defense to groping?

JSM

Dave said...

I'd be interested to know why the people defending him turned on him.

Original Mike said...

"I'm less interested in Combs's groping to defend himself now than I am in how so many people supported and protected him for so long."

Now do Joe.
No joke.

Spiros said...

Another fake survivor. But is so obvious that playing the victim, especially the virtuous victim, is a good strategy. Most people go out of our way to help "victims" and expect nothing in return. And we even make excuses for their bad behavior because of what they’ve already been through.

So expect to hear all sorts of BS about how P Diddy was molested as a child, how being Black exposed him to all sorts of micro and macro aggression and so on.

Peachy said...

Coming after people decades after the "crime" or offense - it really suspect.
If someone assaulted you or raped you - you go to the police.
If someone groped you - do something about it right away.

We have no way to know what really occurred ... and pretending to know is also very tired.

Yancey Ward said...

A much better question is who exactly did Diddy piss off enough that the federal hounds were loosed onto him?

Yancey Ward said...

It is enough to make me suspect that Diddy, at some point in the last year, offered/threatened to endorse Donald Trump for President.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

Bill Clinton was also active in the 90s.

GrapeApe said...

Let’s get to the simple stuff. He is a thug. Always has been. Yeah, he made a ton of money. Now his influence is on the wane. He should have expected that. Now all the creepy crawlies are coming out of the woodwork. Play in the big league, go to the big jail. Think that sums it up.

narciso said...

so to speak

Dave Begley said...

The hip hop culture is criminal.

Bob Boyd said...

If it was Hillary, he would have just killed himself.

Jupiter said...

Lie down with dogs ...

Ice Nine said...

Danyel is getting ready to hop on that Oh-yeah-I-just-remembered-that-I-was-sexually-assaulted-thirty-years-ago lawsuit gravy train that is starting to roll down the tracks.

wendybar said...

Exactly what I was going to say.

Peachy said...

Indeed. To make it all go away - he should come out and endorse Kamala.

Peachy said...

crossed my mind. The time is quite suspect.

Shouting Thomas said...

“Smith describes the ethos of the music industry at the time…” This has been the ethos of the popular music biz since, well, the beginning of time. It still is the ethos of the popular music biz and always will be. This is a problem that cannot be fixed, and probably should not be fixed. Everybody involved, from the exploiters to the exploited has agreed to play by these rules. Even that is an inadequate explanation. The nature of humans dictates that the popular music biz operates in this fashion.

tcrosse said...

Meanwhile, in the UK, the big hoo-hah is about Mohamed Faye, the Saudi zillionaire. He owned Harrods and the Paris Ritz, and his son Dodi died in the Paris car crash with Princess Diana. He is accused as a serial rapist and ass grabber. The multiple victims are now appearing. He moved in the highest of British society, although the Telegraph says that the Queen knew what was up.

Shouting Thomas said...

If you want to truly understand the popular music biz, I suggest Jean Cocteau’s 1950 movie “Orpheus.” Or the trailer park version, the first “Blues Brothers” movie.

William said...

There's not much ambiguity to Combs. He's definitely evil. I don't know what to make of Danyel Smith. I guess being a successful hip hop journalist has its rewards, and the lifestyle itself was sufficiently seductive to keep her coming back for more. Maybe it's something like being a professional football player. You know you're going to rupture a tendon or blow out a knee, and maybe you're setting yourself up for early dementia, but the game is fun and there's a lot of money and other perks.....I don't think Smith was evil, but she definitely enabled evil......Congrats to Jessica Grose for somehow in some vague way linking Republicans to the Sean Combs scandals.

Roger Sweeny said...

I hate that my mind goes this way, but was part of the refusal to complain "reverse racism". "I don't want to be part of the problem that is keeping black people down."

narciso said...

Actually he was of Egyptian trootd butregardless (his son was behind FX 2 amng other pojects

Dave said...

It was a strange thing in my life when I realized women were chasing me.

William said...

Charles DeGaulle went to church every Sunday. So far as anyone knows, he never cheated on his wife. He had a daughter with Down's Syndrome. He doted on her, and, contrary to the custom of the time, she stayed at home with the family until her death. The French left hated DeGaulle. They considered him worse than Hitler. Literally. And by literally I mean literally. They wouldn't fund a tank brigade for him because they thought he'd use it not to fight Hitler, but to throw a coup. During the closing months of Nazi occupation, Gaullist resistance members had a much higher rate of apprehension than those in the Communist Party. (Much of the French left was Communist.) There is speculation that the Communists were identifying them to the Gestapo. Probably just another conspiracy theory though. (s/)....Remember that grand revolution of 1968 that forced DeGaulle out of office. Sartre was a big hero back then, and just about everybody thought he held the moral high ground. I know I did. Why is it so hard to recognize good and identify evil?

Shouting Thomas said...

The rich and powerful practice sex orgies because sex orgies are a source of power. People have known this for thousands of years. Those who object morally do so in conscious rejection of that power. It’s like swearing off a high powered drug.

Michael K said...

Also the Movie and TV business. If Cosby had only kept his mouth shut about the black family. I also suspect Trump was mentioned somewhere.

Old and slow said...

"hip hop culture" is oxymoronic. It is a stain, a perversion of what is decent and human. How many lives has this sort of stupidity destroyed? It is very sad. Perhaps Mr. Combs will find peace and humanity in prison. It is possible for everyone.

Zavier Onasses said...

Althouse: "... to a high-impact photograph:"

Presume you mean the one of infant daughter with spangles photoshopped (hopefully, not tattooed) onto eyes.

Or perhaps the clickbait links at the bottom to sixteen other "famous" people pimping out their children.

Mikey NTH said...

Wait - the entertainment industry consists of predators and their enablers?

Who knew? Other than anyone with an ounce of awarenwss, of course.

n.n said...

Leverage with "benefits".

Aggie said...

"I'm less interested in Combs's groping to defend himself now than I am in how so many people supported and protected him for so long. ...."

Well.. I've got a little bad news, then. The people who supported & protected him for so long are the same group responsible for prosecuting him, so it's unlikely any embarrassing revelations will be forthcoming any time soon.

Jeffery Epstein did not kill himself.

Not an oldster. said...

Justin. Bieber.
There were boys victims too...
It wasn't well hidden what Diddy 's pack did to that child... Who was instructed to have sex with him and who did they force him to fuck?
If it's a guy, it's supposed to be a reward not a rape 😕

n.n said...

Coulda, woulda, shoulda, but they didn't. #MeToo #HerToo #SheProgressed #VP

Darkisland said...

Neither did Diddy

n.n said...

Sean-did and Karma-la pronounced Sodom and Gomorrah

n.n said...

It happened in India. And let's just say that hell hath no fury like a diverse lot of women rape-raped, probably raped, too. Limb from limb and that was the end of #HimToo

Sebastian said...

"how so many people supported and protected him for so long" Basic self-interest in a decadent industry in a blue rap culture that sees nothing wrong with Combsian behavior.

"Why didn't she do anything to help anyone?" Help how, for what? They were all adults helping themselves. Strictly business all around. Except that women's regrets can come back to bite.

"sold this image of menacing to the young people of the time" Right. The image and the surrounding culture were accepted and legitimated as worthy and positive by prog PTB. Woe to any deplorable racists objected.

A problem for amoral progs: they gotta stay useful to the cause, otherwise they're vulnerable. Under no circumstances go over to the other side.

Michael K said...

Nor did Vince Foster.

Michael K said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
William said...

What if they gave an orgy and only Sean Combs "came"? I have nothing against orgies run under the supervision of responsible university scholars, but Sean Combs ran the kind of orgy that gives orgies a bad name. Apparently the only purpose of his orgies was to inflict degradation on the other attendees. From what I've read, his events were sordid and ugly and a total power game without even the redeeming vice of prurience.

Butkus51 said...

Seems Oprah knows a lot of sexual deviants.

And all the liberal white woman go, "do do doo, do do doo........

Iman said...

Hey, diddle diddle they put Diddy in the middle

wendybar said...

Usher stayed with Diddy when he was 13 years old. He has said he wouldn't let HIS kids anywhere near Diddy or his parties...but of course....Usher deleted his accounts when this hit.

https://people.com/usher-saw-very-curious-things-when-he-lived-with-diddy-at-age-13-8621029

JIM said...

Harvey Weinstein was pals with Hillary Clinton and Oprah Winfrey. Jeffrey Epstein had a stable full of notable figures as clients.
Not shocking that people look the other way.

n.n said...

Queer sexual orientations (e.g. sadomasochism, pedophilia) are legal under Democratic law.

Michael K said...

Ever see "Almost Famous?"

Zev said...

These women chased after him back in the day, now they're pretending to be victims and lining up for payouts.

oldirishpig said...

Just as they all knew about Weinstein, and Epstein, and all the other predators, the scumbags all knew about this scumbag.