Celebrities are lining up to condemn Sean Diddy Combs after the shocking footage was released showing him beating
up his then-girlfriend, singer Cassie Ventura, in 2016 in a hotel in Los Angeles.
In the wake of the release of the clip, Combs released his own video Sunday, for which he was roundly criticized, in
which he failed to directly address his actions.
Among those who reacted angrily to the video was supermodel Emily Ratajkowski who simply wrote: ‘Monster’
under a post showing the video on X.
Who’s the Boss star and activist Alyssa Milano posted about the video on her X page writing: ‘Between the devastating Diddy video, Harvey Weinstein having his conviction overturned, the asshole NFL kicker-guy and having our bodily autonomy taken away— THIS IS WHY WE CHOOSE THE BEAR EVERY DAMN TIME.’
A reference to a popular meme asking women if they would rather encounter a man or a bear if walking alone in the woods.
Influential radio personality, Charlemagne the God, host of The Breakfast Club, slammed Diddy, just a month after he defended the Bad Boy Records’ founder’s legacy.
‘Can’t believe anything that comes out of Diddy’s mouth. He’s not sorry, he’s sorry he got caught. He’s sorry that the video leaked, OK? If that video hadn’t come out, he’d still be lying right now,’ he said on Monday’s show.
Aubrey O’Day, who once worked with Diddy but has been fiercely critical of him in the years since he fired her from the singing group Danity Kane in 2008, wrote on X: ‘the picture is getting a lot more clear for you all I can imagine.’
She added: ‘Abuse survivors or anyone that triggers easily might not want to watch (images are disturbing). #Cassie #diddy #kimporter. Prayers up for all his victims.’
Diddy’s rival 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, tweeted sarcastically: ‘Now I’m sure puffy didn’t do it, he is innocent this proves nothing ! This is what his lawyers are gonna say, God help us all.’
Jackson also re-posted a defiant statement Diddy had issued last December in which he denied various sex crime accusations.
‘Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday,’ Diddy wrote in the statement. ‘Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.’
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has even suggested that he may rescind Diddy’s Key to the City, which was issued to him in 2023 in recognition of his contribution to music.
‘The bad boy of entertainment is getting the key to the city from the bad boy of politics!,’ Adams said at the time.
Shihata was instrumental in putting disgraced rapper R Kelly behind bars for 30 years for eight counts of sex trafficking in 2022.
Banfield told viewers that federal agents are now modelling their case against Combs on Shihata’s prosecution of R Kelly.
Combs has faced a number of civil lawsuits in recent years alleging sexual assault and other illicit activity.
He has denied any allegations of sexual misconduct and has not been criminally charged.
Shihata warned that witnesses connected to the federal investigation could be wary about speaking to federal agents if they have signed confidentiality agreements.
‘An NDA, that when push comes to shove, is not going to trump a grand jury subpoena or a federal agent or prosecutor asking you questions, but I wouldn’t say that they are, that they have no effect.
‘NDAs can make people very reluctant and hesitant to speak to law enforcement. So, if it’s someone that law enforcement is not already aware of, they may be wary to, you know, themselves contact law enforcement to provide information. And, so they can still deter people in that sense.’