Diddy's acquittals herald the death of #metoo

Edmonton Journal

03-07-2025

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So much of the Diddy trial focused on the performer's distinct sexual depravity — most notably those lotion-filled 'freak-offs' described in nauseating ad nauseam. But this was a case equally defined by a pathological consumption of drugs. Indeed, as the proceedings revealed, Diddy had a constant supply of narcotics on hand: marijuana, ecstasy, Klonopin — which he fed to girlfriends like Cassie and their revolving door of hired and acquired paramours.
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Drugs complicate, well, everything and they complicated the Diddy case even as they took a backseat to sex. So much of the proceedings — along with the roots of #metoo — were wrapped up in consent, and nothing warps consent more than days-long binges of narcotics. This helps explain why Combs was exonerated on the most serious charges of 'sex trafficking' and racketeering conspiracy. His defense claimed the debauchery — the freak offs — were merely amped-up versions of old-fashioned swingerism, set — much like with Weinstein — against a backdrop of luxury yachts and five star hotels.
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Despite observers who insist there can never be consent when abuse is involved, Diddy's lawyers reiterated that consent was ever-present and implied. Folks freaked-off because they were being loved or paid — whether in cash or via career boost. Such combustible overlaps shadow many of the highest-profile #metoo-styled cases, which is why so few of them have resulted in actual jail time. Indeed, Weinstein is a rare movement outlier — imprisoned likely for life when men like Kevin Spacey, Matt Lauer and Charlie Rose merely languish behind the bars of ruinous disgrace and irrelevance.
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Such a future is unlikely to await Diddy, who as the New York Post noted on Wednesday could emerge from the trial as a 'martyr.' And why not (besides his clear cravenness)? In the near year since his arrest, article after article has appeared detailing some former friend, colleague, or interviewer recounting Diddy's alleged sexism or hypocrisy or penchant for violence.
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Yet besides Cassie, almost no one stepped forward. Many, as in many other #metoo cases, claimed fear — of his power, his proximity to guns and those who use them. Only Shyne, the Belize-born rapper who served nearly a decade in jail for that infamous 1999 nightclub shooting, had the guts to speak out. And perhaps only because he is now back in Belize serving as the Opposition Leader of its House of Representatives.
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As they say on billboards across New York City's subway system — 'if you see something — say something.' But when it came to Sean 'Diddy' Combs, almost no one said anything. For years, decades even. And the results speak for themselves: Diddy is likely to walk free, exonerated by a soft-on-crime New York City judicial system failing their soft-on-crime citizens.
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Social justice movements like #metoo are rooted in accountability — particularly from the alleged perpetrators. But accountability also extends to those who remained silent — or stoned or paid — at the sidelines. Because without their willingness to also demand justice, the actual justice system can only go so far. As Diddy prepares for likely bail and, ultimately, release, his trial may not officially kill #metoo off. But its already dwindling momentum is unlikely to ever recover.
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