For decades, Sean “Diddy” Combs presented the image of a wealthy, Black music mogul, one who broke business barriers, threw lavish parties and even created iconic TV moments. But behind the scenes, prosecutors say, was a more sinister picture, with allegations of violence, sex trafficking and severe abuses of power. 

Throughout his career, Combs’ dominated music, television and fashion, amassing a fortune worth hundreds of millions of dollars. In public, he was a shrewd music producer, generating hip-hop hits under his Bad Boy Records label, which he founded in 1993 and helped establish him as a cultural magnate. Combs was at the center of one of rap’s most notorious — and deadly — beefs between the east and west coasts culminating in the deaths of Tupac and Notorious B.I.G. He capitalized on hip-hop’s shift into mainstream culture at the dawn of a new millennium. His “All About the Benjamins” was parodied by “Weird” Al Yankovich. He famously dated Jennifer Lopez when she made a splash on the red carpet at the 2000 Grammy awards in an iconic Versace gown. On the surface, Combs presented himself as the fun-loving producer who danced in music videos and the tough business mogul developing fresh talent. 

But in private, prosecutors allege in an indictment unsealed Tuesday, Combs, now 54, and his associates “wielded” his “power and prestige” to orchestrate sexual, emotional and physical abuse against the people around him. While Combs’ explosive temper was an open secret and rumors long swirled about his sex life, his power and influence, experts say, has shielded him from accountability for years of alleged illegal activity.

Combs was arrested Monday and charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. It came after months of lawsuits and several allegations of sexual assault, gender violence, misconduct and other “serious illegal activity” that took place over several years. He pleaded not guilty on Tuesday, and a judge denied him bail after U.S. Attorney Damian Williams argued Combs is a flight risk and a danger to the community. Combs is currently being held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York, and is on “procedural” suicide watch, as is typical with with high profile clients.

“We’ve seen this pattern before — someone in a position of power and influence chooses to exploit others for their own gain, using fear, manipulation and violence to maintain control over his victims,” Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center, said in a statement.

The charges stem from Combs’ hours- and dayslong sexual performances called “freak offs,” which allegedly included coerced sex acts that Combs is accused of orchestrating and recording. The indictment said Combs sought “to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.”

“Combs relied on the employees, resources, and influence of the multi-faceted business empire that he led and controlled — creating a criminal enterprise whose members and associates engaged in, and attempted to engage in, among other crimes, sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice,” it reads.

“These allegations reveal not only a gross abuse of personal power but underscore a systemic use of networks and his employees to perpetuate sexual violence,” said Goss Graves, who is also the co-founder of the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund, which provides legal aid to people who have experienced workplace sexual harassment.

The indictment listed Combs’ security staff, household staff, personal assistants, “high-ranking supervisors” and others among the “associates” who made up a criminal organization, which the indictment calls the “Combs Enterprise.” Combs and these associates allegedly engaged in forced labor, sexual coercion and trafficking, drug offenses, kidnapping, arson, bribery and other crimes under Combs’ leadership.

Since late 2023 and as recently as last week, several women and some men have filed lawsuits against Combs alleging everything from abuse to sex trafficking. A flood of lawsuits came after Combs’ former girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura sued him in federal court in November, accusing him of years of physical abuse throughout their 11-year relationship, during which, she said, he exerted complete control over her. Combs and Ventura were first romantically linked in 2007 and split in 2018.

She and Combs settled the suit a day later but did not disclose the terms of the settlement. At the time, Combs denied the allegations. Singer Dawn Richard, Combs’ producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, several unnamed women and a Michigan man have filed lawsuits against Combs accusing him of various forms of abuse and misconduct. Combs has denied the allegations, and a judge halted a $100 judgment in favor of the Michigan man, Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith, in order to hold more hearings.

Before Ventura’s allegations last year, Combs’ reputation had remained intact despite all of the accusations, legal troubles and rumors that trailed him over the last three decades. Combs’ behavior had long fueled social media chatter among fans and artists, including rivals and those who had worked with him. But the accumulation of assault charges, filmed outbursts and erratic behavior, capped by Vetura’s allegations in November, finally tipped the scales. That it took so long for Combs to face legal repercussions and public rebuke speaks to the power of his celebrity and the image he had maintained since his ascent, said Oronike Odeleye, activist and co-founder of the #MuteRKelly social media campaign.

“The music industry is built on exploitation,” she said. “Behind all of the sensationalism, the drama and the rumors are actual survivors, people who lived through these experiences. We should keep them in the forefront of our minds.”

The indictment alleges that Combs threatened people with firearms, offered bribes and leveraged his money and influence to both control victims and ensure their silence.

The culture of silence fostered by Combs’ power and celebrity is similar to the protective network that kept singer R. Kelly from being held accountable for his abuse of girls and young women, Odeleye said. Kelly was convicted of sexual exploitation and enticement of a minor in 2022.

“Some of the silence is, ‘I need to be in proximity to this person because they’re powerful and they can make or break my career,’” Odeleye said, adding that she believes unhealthy ideas of masculinity have played a role in Combs’ alleged behavior. For some men, she said, “violence against women, unfortunately, props up your masculinity.”

How Combs’ bad behavior was excused for so long

Combs experienced a rapid rise from unpaid Uptown Records intern to music mogul in just a few years. In the early ’90s, Combs tapped now-legendary artists Notorious B.I.G., Craig Mack, Faith Evans, 112 and Mase to fill the roster of his then-fledgling Bad Boy Entertainment label. He released his own successful albums initially as Puff Daddy, a nickname he said stemmed from his own volatile temper. Through the 1990s and early 2000s, his artists topped the charts.

Combs’ lineup of rappers and singers presented a different sound from the gangsta rap, pop and grunge rock that were popular at the time. The music represented a brand of hip-hop that mixed different sounds that appealed to different demographics but never felt inauthentic.

“They were trendsetters,” Richard, one of the singers who later sued Combs, said of his signature artists back in 2015. “It was due to Puff’s ear and his ability to pick voices that were like no other.”

As the years went on, Combs expanded his empire to include clothing, fragrances, hit MTV shows, alcohol brands and more. As of June, Combs’ estimated net worth was $400 million, according to Forbes, even after losing hundreds of millions as allegations against him have piled on.

He became associated with wealth and power along with music and culture. His ever-growing empire earned him a reputation as a wealthy, business-minded man and the picture of “Black excellence,” with a bootstrapping, rags-to-riches story that served as inspiration especially for young, Black men.

Over the years, the public has gotten glimpses into Combs’ behind-closed-doors demeanor, most notably in interviews, short clips and when he led the MTV reality series “Making the Band.” From 2002 to 2009, Combs developed musical acts on the show with a tough, no-nonsense attitude. From making contestants walk several miles to get him a slice of cheesecake to his verbal altercation with choreographer Laurieann Gibson, Combs bolstered his reputation as a prolific but intimidating figure in the industry.

Combs spoke about his go-getter attitude in a clip he shared to promote the 2017 documentary about his life, “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: A Bad Boy Story.” In the clip, Combs finishes setting up a business deal on the phone before excitedly throwing equipment in his office and yelling, “I’m a savage! Whatever I want I have to get!”

“We see this and we’re like, ‘Diddy has to be demanding.’ You see him being abusive and terrible. There are so many instances of Diddy telling us some version of this dark s— publicly and everybody just ignored it because rappers are expected to use hyperbole to a certain degree,” said A.D. Carson, a professor of hip-hop and the Global South at the University of Virginia.

“So, when rappers are talking about their propensity for violence, or their propensity for assault … in the name of moguldom, we’re like, ‘Oh, that’s just what it takes. He probably doesn’t do that for real.’”

Decades of fame — and suspicion

Combs has leaned into this idea of aspirational wealth, most notably with his lavish Labor Day White Parties.

From 1998 to 2009, Combs’ annual party was one of the hottest tickets, with guests like Paris Hilton, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mariah Carey, Jay-Z and Beyoncé attending. Combs said he launched the White Party to associate hip-hop with wealth and the upper echelon. “I wanted to strip away everyone’s image and put us all in the same color, and on the same level,” he said in a 2006 interview with Oprah.

“Rappers kind of operate with this symbolic value to people. That’s the Diddy phenomenon,”  Carson said.

Carson added that Combs’ wealth and influence in Black culture had made him someone whom Black celebrities wanted to associate with, sometimes at the cost of ignoring his alleged misconduct and abuse.

“That kind of power produces all kinds of results, including people organizing themselves in such a way that this seems to be the price of participation,” Carson said. “In the culture, people are concerned with what they stand to gain by” remaining silent.

While Combs regularly smiled for photos with A-listers and happily hosted bashes, behind closed doors, according to the indictment, he was punching, dragging, striking, kicking and throwing objects at people, including women and his employees, and bribing witnesses to ensure their silence.

The recent wave of lawsuits isn’t the first time Combs’ conduct has been called into question. For years, Combs has been criticized for allegedly keeping his artists’ publishing rights, and he’s been linked to shootings, accused of assault, and associated with abusive sexual behavior.

Some of Combs’ past artists have been critical of him in recent decades and accused him of owing them millions of dollars. Mase, one of Combs’ major collaborators in the late ’90s, has often called Combs out over his business practices, including keeping Mase’s publishing rights.

In 2023, Combs announced that he would give Bad Boy artists and songwriters including Mase, the Lox, 112, Faith Evans and other creators their publishing rights. This was welcome news to many except Aubrey O’Day, a member of the now-disbanded all-girl Bad Boy group Danity Kane. O’Day said in an interview that as part of receiving her publishing rights, she would have to agree to sign a nondisclosure agreement that barred her from making any negative comments about Combs publicly.

O’Day has long been critical of Combs and said she was fired from the group in 2008 after refusing to comply with Combs’ commands “not talentwise but in other areas.”

“I never thought I would see this day,” she told TMZ this week. “We all buried this inside of us in order to be able to keep going. And not just me, but victims you don’t even know yet. We are all processing what that type of vindication can actually feel like now. Every conversation I’ve had with victims last night has been beyond moving on all levels.”