Hip-hop mogul P Diddy, who was arrested in September (on charges of sex trafficking, abuse, racketeering, forced labour, kidnap and bribery – allegations he denies), is now facing a further 120 lawsuits alleging sexual misconduct, according to Texas-based attorney Tony Buzbee. Buzbee, who is representing the accusers and says the lawsuits will be filed in the coming weeks, did not name the accusers but said they come from men and women, with ages ranging from nine to 38 at the time of alleged attacks.
Diddy, whose real name is Sean Combs, is currently being detained in New York at the Brooklyn Metropolitan detention centre, on the initial charges brought by the US federal government. He pled not guilty but has been denied bail.
It’s a harrowing case that undoubtedly deserves our attention, but as seems to be the case with any high-profile criminal investigation these days, online sleuthing has taken a dark turn.
You can’t open TikTok or Instagram right now without being confronted with a P Diddy video. Conspiracies about which power players were involved in his alleged criminal empire, old videos of him interacting with beloved celebrities being re-examined, but most hauntingly, deep dives into who exactly P Diddy’s victims were. It started with just a few names, old pictures and videos of Diddy with certain child stars, scored by music meant to arouse suspicion (J Coles' 'She Knows' has been a fan favourite on TikTok).
Now, with the details from Buzbee about the alleged youngest victim having been just nine years old, online speculation has grown even more intense - any young star who was around or affiliated with the hip-hop industry, or Diddy’s record label Bad Boy Records, is now being dragged into public debate.
It might be well-intentioned, an effort to uncover just how far Diddy’s alleged criminal enterprise went in the exploitation of Hollywood’s most beloved young stars, but regardless of motivation: it’s completely wrong.
Under UK law, victims of sexual abuse are entitled to lifelong anonymity as part of the 1992 Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act. It means that it’s against the law for the media, or anyone else, to publish a victim’s name or identifying details unless they choose to waive their anonymity, and for good reason. As well as protecting the victim from public scrutiny that could further traumatise them, it creates a safer space for other victims to come forward. In the US, no equivalent law exists – victims are instead relying on media organisations giving them anonymity on the basis of sensitivity, but that’s not always the case.
Situations like this prove exactly why such laws are necessary. If any of the names being thrown out there are in fact those of sexual abuse victims, how traumatising must this be? You’ve already gone through the trauma of abuse, to then be forced to identify yourself as a sexual abuse survivor. The weight of the perceived stigma alone can be crushing, to then see your abuse being discussed with such intensity online that you can’t escape it, to be ridiculed or made memes of, to have so many others tell assumed versions of your story without any consent at all. Do those naming potential victims not see the irony? You’re talking about someone who has had their consent violated and abused in the worst possible way, only to take that agency away from them again in the way that abuse is made public.
Whether or not you feel incensed by a story or have some insatiable desire to uncover the ‘truth’, thoughtlessly naming potential victims of sexual abuse has an impact on all survivors.
And whether or not you feel incensed by a story or have some insatiable desire to uncover the ‘truth’, thoughtlessly naming potential victims of sexual abuse has an impact on all survivors.
It’s been terrifying to witness people reducing the alleged victims' experiences to statements like ‘Why didn’t they walk out?' or 'They paid the price for wanting to be famous that badly.’
As seems to be the case now with any high-profile criminal case involving sexual abuse, the nuance and sensitivity is lost in a world where everyone wants a viral video. Make no mistake, the way this case has been handled online will have a wider impact on victims and the way we discuss sexual abuse at large.