Do Wah Diddy Diddy Dum Diddy Do

Grab the Popcorn, It's the Sex-Drugs-and-Hip-Hop Trial!

Here’s a bit of musical trivia. The old Manfred Mann Song “Do Wah Diddy” was a cover; the song was originally released by The Exciters back in 1963. The Exciters were big-adjacent Black do-wop group; back in the day, they even opened for the Beatles. Now they are largely forgotten but they did write Do-Wah-Diddy, which they called an exuberant love song. According to the internet, Do-Wah-Diddy was a name given in Black American folklore to an imaginary city, where nobody had to work and everybody had plenty to eat. In some versions, this fairy-tale city was called Diddy-Wah-Diddy. Either way, it seems sort of fitting that Sean Combs, a.k.a. Puff Daddy, took the name P. Diddy, or as we’ll call him here, just Diddy. Maybe Diddy named himself for a mythical place. He certainly created his own world where he lacked nothing.

In case you don’t know, Diddy is the self-made multimillionaire (some say billionaire) and entrepreneur who is now on trial for his sordid “freak-off” parties that included things like drugging guests, sexual assault, assault and battery, rape, transporting people across state lines for prostitution, and who knows what else. It’s an ugly rock that just got turned over. But anytime you go near our entertainment industry, you find really sickening stuff just beneath the surface.

Hollywood Babylon

In 1959, a very strange man named Kenneth Anger published the first of a series of books called Hollywood Babylon, describing the tawdry and salacious exploits of our celebrity caste. Kenneth Anger was a weird-looking man who died in 2023 at the ripe old age of 96. He had the word Lucifer tattooed on his chest. His natural look was so demonic, it’s hard to believe he needed to identify as a Satanist.

The Hollywood Babylon books—which had a couple of sequels—became underground classics but today they read like Mad magazine. It is sort of like comparing the hideous stuff involving kids or violence on PornHub to the old Hugh Hefner centerfolds. Our pre-millennial idea of porn seems positively quaint when you look at what’s going on now—Only Fans, women who want to have sex with hundreds of men in one day, a political party in Europe dedicated to Man-Boy love, drag queen story hour, and Pride parade with naked men on bicycles waving to little kids. Old-school Hollywood Babylon was mainly about extra-marital affairs, crimes of passion, and in-the-closet gays.

Diddy is a whole nother animal. As risqué, disgusting, and even violent as old-school Hollywood could be, it cannot compare with what Diddy did on a pretty regular basis. I fear that the Diddy adventures may be just a prequel to other unsavory things we’ll find out our celebrity overlords are doing.

Diddy pleaded not guilty to the many charges filed (including a RICO case), but there is a good chance that some of the many charges leveled against him will stick and he’ll spend time in prison. He’s 55 years old, not exactly the ideal age to be starting out on a prison term.

Is Diddy Like Epstein?

It’s easy to want to link the island perversities of Jeffrey Epstein to the Diddy freak-off orgies, but there are some important differences. Of course, there are likely some people who have been to both Epstein Island and a Diddy Freak-Off. Those guest lists likely form a Venn diagram.

Epstein ran a very different operation than Diddy. Jeffrey Epstein was likely gathering information from a network of politically plugged-in informants. I think Epstein was intelligence (just don’t know for whom and it may be for several agencies). Spies, as a general rule do not sneak around like James Bond and steal information. No, actual spies build friendships and networks of people who have access to secrets and then persuade them (through charm or blackmail, whatever works) to give up their secrets in return for protection. In other words, a really good spy is more of a salesman than a jewel thief.

Epstein cultivated friendships with a large number of celebrities, but he was more interested in Stephen Hawking and Bill Gates than the latest rappers. (Although, it must be noted that like Diddy, Epstein himself was a musician—Epstein played piano well enough as a kid to win a national competition in 1967.) Unlike Epstein, Diddy was not particularly attuned to the world of science or medicine and preferred to invest his time and efforts into the entrepreneurial side of show business. Epstein was interested in politicians, but Diddy only seemed to go for those politicians who crossed over into the celebrity caste. In other words, Epstein might entertain World Economic Forum members, but Diddy’s main political friends were folks like Obama. Diddy was a pop-culture thug, while Epstein was a more refined and educated sort of character, but in terms of morality, both are pretty similar.

Epstein, like Diddy, grew up in less than privileged circumstances. Epstein was a math wiz-kid, a musical prodigy, but he came from a lower-middle class family living in Coney Island. When Epstein was first plucked out of obscurity by Donald Barr (father of Bill Barr, former Attorney General under Trump), he had no connections to the world of power and privilege. (Donald Barr hired the young Epstein—not even a college graduate—to teach at the prestigious Dalton Academy. Epstein taught their two years and then zoomed on to a Wall Street career. It’s interesting that a young guy who could not have gotten a teaching job at a public school in New York taught at one of America’s most elite and expensive private prep schools. It’s also interesting that Donald Barr, “former” intelligence officer, was headmaster at this fancy prep school when he had no background in education, either.)

Diddy was born in New York, too, but in Harlem. His father was shot and killed before young Sean went to kindergarten and by all accounts, he grew up in a single-mother household with one sister. The father’s death brought enough money to his mother, Janice Combs, that she could move to a better neighborhood, but by all accounts, Sean and his sister Keisha grew up in a struggling, single-mom Black household, trying to make ends meet. Very little is known about Keisha Combs, not even where she lives. She has not attended the trial and keeps a good distance from her brother.

Why Diddy’s Case May be Tough for the Prosecution

The main problem for Diddy’s prosecution is that the defense will argue that these freak-offs and other rancid activities were consensual. After all, adults can consent to some pretty gross things and it’s all legal and none of our business (see Glen Greenwald, but that’s another story for another day).

Another thing the defense will use to hurt the prosecution is that some of the people testifying against Diddy are not the most credible of witnesses. Some of those now claiming to be brutalized by Diddy gave off very mixed messages at the time. Some communicated with him by text about their affection for him or their interest in attending future parties, the very freak-offs they’re now complaining about. It’s hard to claim a man viciously assaulted and raped you when you send him a love text a short time later.

Many of these victims were in the Diddy orbit for years. Was their friendliness to Diddy coerced? And many of Diddy’s victims were actually free to leave him—but they didn’t. Does accessibility imply consent?

One person who is testifying against Diddy (her in-court alias is Mia) had previously settled with him for $400,000 and never brought up sexual abuse—until now. It all reeks of “me-too” antics where women descend years later on a rich man claiming abuse of bygone decades. (See Russell Brand, again, another day.)

The other problem for the prosecution is that Diddy is up on RICO charges which are complicated to begin with, and in Diddy’s case involve lots of sketchy people with lots of weird names over the course of many years. These many victims have told conflicting stories and given mixed signals—even after being allegedly beaten or abused or harassed—that they still consider Diddy a friend. First, it’s very tough to overcome the “reasonable doubt” burden in such a complicated case, and it gets even dicier with some of the witnesses having less than impeccable backgrounds. Can a thug be the victim of assault? Perhaps theoretically, but it’s hard to prove in court. Can a woman who willingly goes to an orgy be the victim of rape? Again, tough to sell that to a jury.

It is likely Diddy will get convicted on lesser charges and I think it’s likely he’ll do time, but predicting a jury verdict is tough business. On Polymarket, the betting site, there is an 89% chance that Diddy will be convicted of sex trafficking but only a 10% change that he will be found guilty on all charges. And there is an 11% chance based on Polymarket gamblers that Trump will pardon Diddy in 2025, the same probability that he will pardon Derek Chauvin and Julian Assange.

What is Going on at the Trial?

Much to my viewing disappointment, the Diddy trial is not being televised. Various totally fake reports appear almost daily on the internet, claiming to be voice-over readings of actual trial transcripts. This is particularly amazing since they claim to testimonies by people like Johnny Depp or Tom Cruise, who were not even at the trial.

The actual news from the trial is sparse, sketchy, and confusing. Either the reporters are too stupid to follow what’s going on or mainstream media wants to bury this trial. But I suppose both can be true at the same time.

Some people are trying to make links between Epstein and Diddy. While the Diddy trial looks like the Black version of Epstein, it’s still important to consider the distinctions. While both deal with disgusting sex crimes, Epstein is in a different category than Diddy.

• Epstein died before he could go to trial. All we got was the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, which brought forward the names of a few victims and revealed next to nothing about the Epstein empire. Diddy is facing massive exposure.

• Epstein seemed to have protectors. His first conviction got him a sweetheart deal. Nobody has ever released the Epstein videos—if every room in all of his houses was monitored, why don’t we have videos? We’ll be more likely to get a gimpse inside the Ark of the Covenant than get a glimpse at the Epstein files. But Diddy’s gang are all turning on him. It just goes to show, Epstein had a different clientele than Diddy, and Diddy’s celebrity pals are not a protected class.

• Diddy owned obvious businesses, some of which were legitimately quite lucrative. What I mean is that there was a real record company, real brands of premium liquor, a line of fragrances, branded fashion—in other words, real products and services. Say what you want about Diddy being evil, the guy had an eye for seeing business opportunities among a particular well-heeled luxury-loving class and those who aspired to join their ranks. With Diddy, we know where the money was coming from. Epstein had obscure and opaque financing and as far as I can tell, never started or ran a business, although he allegedly did a lot of “consulting work” for the rich and powerful. (I believe most of Epstein’s “work” involved top-secret financial consulting with corrupt politicians as to how to hide their ill-gotten gains securely offshore.)

• Epstein had a partner in crime who served as his surrogate. Ghislaine Maxwell got a 20-year sentence for her work in human trafficking and sexual abuse of minors. Despite her conviction—and we know a few of the names of her victims—not one of the persons to whom these young women were purveyed has been prosecuted. They haven’t even been mentioned. Maxwell got a long prison sentence for trafficking people—but we don’t care to know to whom her young victims were offered. In the Diddy trial, a lot of names are being named, and Diddy does not have a clear right-hand man or woman who helped in his various crimes. He’s going to bear the full weight of the charges.

• Epstein and Diddy were both famous for racy events on private premises that were secretly videotaped. With Epstein, it’s speculated that the videos were used for leverage via blackmail. Epstein’s main client class were rich, powerful people, such as politicians, royalty, high-profile business types. Diddy also filmed a lot of questionable activities by famous people, and the trial is exposing that he used these tools to control the artistic careers of mainly musicians and artists. Once again, it is clear that the power-class of elites with whom Epstein cavorted are more protected than the celebrity-class of elites that Diddy entertained.

I guess in the culture wars, politicians rate higher than celebrities. Epstein was far more protected (even in death) than Diddy is now.

The Diddy trial is much bigger than you think. It’s mostly about the “Combs Enterprise,” a business venture Diddy ran from 2004 to 2024, which he used to grow his many businesses and activities, particularly on the entertainment side. Allegations against Diddy include just about everything except mail fraud, and who knows if that might not be introduced later. Diddy has been alleged to have been involved in sex trafficking, kidnapping, forced labor, bribery, use of illegal substances, assault, sexual assault, and obstruction of justice. Oh, and he also transported people over state lines for the purposes of sex acts for money. Some of this stuff involved underage kids.

In the trial, a video tape was played of a vicious assault in a hotel on Diddy’s former girlfriend Cassie Ventura. The tape is old but authenticated. The problem with the Ventura assault is that the attack happened in 2016, they reached a settlement on the matter, and Ventura maintained an at least semi-positive relationship with Diddy after the assault. In other words, it’s hard to claim assault today when you continue to hang around your assailant and accept a settlement for an attack.

Then there is Mia (not her real name). She was Diddy’s personal assistant, and she testified that Diddy raped her. Reports from the trial say that the cross-examination of Mia was brutal and, indeed, there are ways to poke holes in her stories. All of these people were unsavory, damaged people of mixed messages. While I think Diddy may very well have raped Mia, it is hard to explain why she kept working there. I know people who have quit a job for much less.

Kid Cudi, a male rapper, alleges that Diddy threatened to murder him. This is where you start to see the problematic nature of the Diddy accusers. Cassie Ventura (of the famous hotel assault) was dating Diddy at the time that Kid Cudi was “discovered” by Diddy. While Kid Cudi was working with Diddy and Cassie Ventura was Diddy’s girlfriend, Kid Cudi put the moves on Cassie Ventura and the two of them started sneaking around together. Apparently, Cassie Ventura was terrified of Diddy’s brutality, but not scared enough to stop dating him or avoid cheating on him. Bear in mind, she’s stepping out with a guy who worked for Diddy in an environment Diddy tightly controlled and kept under surveillance. If she wasn’t too scared to cheat so blatantly on Diddy, was she actually really scared of him? In the olden days, men were sometimes found innocent of murder if they killed in a “crime of passion.” The threat of Diddy to kill Kid Cudi may not be as far out as it seems—and it also makes Cassie Ventura look a little sketchy.

Other witnesses claim that Diddy drugged them without their knowledge and seemed to exert a sort of “mind control” over them. Drug use at Diddy’s parties was quasi-mandatory; drugs were part of everyday life in his businesses. However, were people at the freak-offs using drugs with or without their knowledge? If Diddy offered a guest cocaine or ketamine or anything else and the guest willingly took the drug—did Diddy “drug” the person? Again, the consensual question comes up.

The real power Diddy exerted over young artists was career control. He could take anybody—even a person with ordinary looks and minimal talent—and make them a superstar, but he could also derail the career of a superstar with a phone call. All of this gave Diddy leverage. It is implied but not proven that if Diddy took a liking to a young performer, a weekend at his private home could launch the guy’s career. Allegedly, Diddy did this to Justin Bieber when he arranged that the two of them spend about 48 hours alone. They had their private weekend together; Bieber became a mega-star; and now Diddy is on trial, and Bieber has mental problems.

Diddy was using sex, drugs, music, money, his industry connections, and his sexual appetites to elevate some people and punish others … all while demanding absolute loyalty from those whom he helped. For some rising stars, the only path to success ran through the Diddy freak-offs. So, were they there of their own free will? Were the activities at these parties truly consensual, when they were as mandatory as the “casting couch” in old-school Hollywood? For Diddy, loyalty included participation at his many parties and activities and keeping quiet about the drug use and violence that seemed to follow Diddy’s activities.

Diddy did push some artists to the top, like Biggie Smalls (the Notorious B.I.G.), May J. Blige, Mase, and Faith Evans. And he likely kept some uncooperative types out of the spotlight, whose names we will never know.

A Short History of American Music

Of course, Diddy didn’t corrupt the music industry. The American music industry has always been corrupt. In fact, the American music industry is so corrupt it would make Vito Corleone envious.

The current music industry corruption did not begin in 1938 when Variety coined the term “payola,” but it’s as good a starting place as any to tell the story. Payola was a semi-organized system whereby radio stations were given financial inducements to play certain records. It may have started out as a simple sort of low-level bribery—after all, back in the 1930s, there were hardly 200 radio stations in the country. Inducements might have been anything—small gifts, a little cash. But by the 1950s, the music industry found out what their brothers, the Mafia, have known all along. Bribery works, and it works even better when some violence is thrown in as encouragement. It’s sort of like when Pablo Escobar modified the carrot-and-stick principle to “plata o plomo” (offering his victims silver or lead, that is, cash payoffs or bullets).

Like enterprising and successful criminals, the music industry bribery racket had to adapt as the industry changed. As streaming music got popular, this system was exploited by “streaming farms,” which utilized bots or other forces to play certain songs to excess, resulting in getting them higher on the charts or paying out royalties to specific artists and not others. Just like paid influencers can tilt the social media algorithms, influence could be leveraged to pump certain songs to the top of the charts and, likewise, to scuttle other songs. Digital music has also allowed for easier sharing and streaming of music, circumventing payment to the artists. Notice that in the music industry, the big guys almost never got cheated out of money. It is mainly the artists.

Meanwhile, music moguls with armies of lawyers set out to strangle the hopeful kids who entered the music industry with only talent and a dream. The music business is notorious for thuggish contracts, by which the artists retain only the most minimal control over their work and only a tiny slice of the overall profits. The Artist Formerly Known as Prince (hereinafter Prince) tried to expose these practices, naming himself a “slave” to Warner Brothers, whom he argued were exploiting him. This happened in 2015 when he was very famous and trying desperately, with all of his resources, to get out of his contract with Warner Brothers. (He died soon afterward in 2016.) Prince was not so much interested in the revenues from his contract, instead, he chafed under the fact that the contract spelled out when and how he could release his music. Prince was more about the music than the money, and the record label that brought him fame and a slice of his fortune wanted to control his music output. Interestingly, Prince died with over 8,000 unreleased songs that now belong to his estate. He kept them locked in a specially constructed vault in the basement of his home. Only he had the combination, and it took an actual “safe cracker” to break into the vault and retrieve the 8,000 unpublished songs. To the best of my knowledge, this music has never been released.

Music is big business, not just in revenues but in its willingness to indulge in evil practices to sustain the business. In 2020, recorded music was a $22B industry. In today’s era of streaming services, music has become very valuable. And, sadly, most musicians are not skilled business moguls or deft negotiators. At the outset of a career, few aspiring musicians can afford the teams of legal experts they would need to protect their interests adequately against a record company’s predatory contracts.

While it is easier today for independent artists to gain recognition and maybe even make a little money, it’s still like climbing Mount Everest without the big recording labels.

Even experienced musicians still get fleeced. They underestimate the value of their catalog or simply grab for what sounds like “big money” as soon as they can get it, not realizing they’re leaving “huge money” on the table. Even seasoned stars undersell themselves. In 2021, Tina Turner sold the rights to all of her music to BMG, including the rights to her name, image, and likeness. She got $50M for the deal and it’s estimated the rights BMG acquired were worth over $300M. (Of course, Tina had by this time reached her golden years and was pursuing Buddhism; she possibly knew she was selling off cheaply and just didn’t care. Or perhaps she wanted to get out of the business entirely and offered BMG fire sale prices.)

A talented young musician is keenly interested in making music and not very interested in reading contracts or studying balance sheets. The glitz and materialism of even beginner-level fame can dazzle and confuse these young artists and even their well-meaning parents or guardians. It makes me wonder what the American music industry would have done with Mozart, back in the day. And that makes me wonder if we had guys like Diddy and Epstein and freak-offs back in history. One difference—we didn’t have video or the internet way back when.