After the Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein scandals that exposed the sexual exploitation of women by powerful men, we have arrived in 2024 with ANOTHER criminal case so offensive that it is necessary to recover and distance ourselves to evaluate what is happening in Hollywood. Now the target of a process that can lead to life in prison is none other than the billionaire and celebrity Sean Combs, known as P. Diddy, who was arrested this week and is awaiting negotiations to await trial under house arrest. The FBI charges define the rapper-producer-actor as the head of a “criminal enterprise” that includes sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.

The hip-hop mogul claims to be innocent of the charges, but the evidence – which includes videos made and kept by himself – seems to prove otherwise. He, who built a career as one of the biggest names in music, has always flirted with crime. In 2000, when I lived in New York, I interviewed him months after he had been investigated and arrested by the NYPD in December 1999 and charged with possession of a firearm after a shooting at a Manhattan nightclub. At the event I attended, he was donating computers to a school in Harlem and the children present seemed to be in the presence of God when he entered the room. I was shocked by the influence he had already exerted for almost 25 years. He has only become more powerful since then.

The orgies and criminal acts organized or led by P. Diddy were apparently famous and involved many important people in the entertainment world, but he was untouchable. Or so he felt until, in 2023, a series of civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault and other allegations of sexual misconduct became public and he, as well as his businesses, began to be investigated by the FBI.

Basically, everything started to go wrong on November 16, 2023, when his ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, accused him of sexual misconduct and abuse during the time they were together. In less than 24 hours, the musician reached a financial settlement with her, but he still had to deal with other similar lawsuits that began to pop up against him. Obviously, he denied everything but decided that social media would be his best platform and posted that he was being the victim of lies and extortion.

“ENOUGH IS ENOUGH,” he wrote. “Repugnant allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday. Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the horrible things that are being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family, and the truth.”

In other words, by defying the truth, Diddy only kicked the avalanche into overdrive. The pressure grew so much that on March 25, the FBI raided the music mogul’s homes in Los Angeles and Miami to search for evidence. What they found is more than enough to put him behind bars for life, it seems.

Illegal weapons, videos, drugs, and over a thousand bottles of lube… the details are enough to make anyone’s jaw drop. Prosecutors are out to prove that he is the mastermind behind a sprawling criminal enterprise that has been involved in kidnapping, forced labor, arson, and bribery since at least 2008. There is physical evidence and witnesses to support these charges.

The orgies that P. Diddy called “freak off” were “highly orchestrated performances of sexual activity” in hotels and other locations that were fueled by drugs and could last for days. The women who were forced to participate were forcibly drugged into “obedience” and coerced into having sex with prostitutes, some of whom were transported across state lines.

According to the report, he watched these events, sometimes while masturbating and recording videos. These records, authorities say, were used as a guarantee to maintain a culture of silence and obedience. Physical abuse and even death threats were another way to keep the women quiet. He controlled where they were, dictated how they dressed, and monitored their medical information, in addition to providing drugs.

But the most significant turn in the case was when in May 2024, CNN published surveillance footage from a hotel, taken in 2016, in which the rapper can be seen physically assaulting and kicking Cassie, as she accused him of in the lawsuit. We see P. Diddy grabbed her and threw her to the ground, kicked her twice, and started to drag her down the hallway by her sweatshirt and taking her purse. The images are shocking.

After that, also on social media, he apologized. “It’s so hard to reflect on the darkest moments of your life, but sometimes you have to,” he said. “I hit rock bottom — but I don’t make excuses. My behavior in that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I’m disgusted. I was disgusted then when I did it. I’m disgusted now.”

Five more women have since filed lawsuits alleging sexual assault, and three other lawsuits include allegations of sexual misconduct. One of the unnamed women in the lawsuit claims she was “sex trafficked” and “gang raped” by Combs, former Bad Boy Records president Harve Pierre, and another individual in 2003 when she was just 17. He’s taking a terrifying step toward turning Epstein’s horror story into a fairy tale, and it’s terrifying.

The story is just beginning. Diddy was arrested in Manhattan on September 16, 2024, after a grand jury indictment. The next day, the indictment was made public, and bail was denied. So he’ll be behind bars until his trial. And we’ll be watching.

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