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‘Depraved': How Diddy's trial has changed everything for the elites
Warning: Distressing
'I am The Great Gatsby.'
That's what Sean 'Diddy' Combs once said when asked if he'd read F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel.
A millionaire party promoter at the time, Combs no doubt wanted to attach himself to the shallowest take on what the book is about.
The power of VIP parties.
The Great Gatsby does chronicle a mysterious millionaire who throws extravagant soirees to climb into the upper echelons.
It's no mystery why he'd be seduced by such romanticism. Combs himself rose from poverty in Harlem to superstardom, thanks partly to the once-prestigious parties he threw for the world's most 'important' people.
But these days, the embattled music mogul has been tainted by the deeper, cautionary tale that Gatsby is really about: the moral decay of the elites.
On Wednesday, Combs was found guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution in a federal New York court. When he was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges that threatened to throw him behind bars for life, he dropped to his hands and knees. But he still faces scores of civil lawsuits – where the burden of proof is lower than in criminal cases.
In all its sordid details, the trial has gripped the world. But a lesser said side of the saga is how so much of the alleged depravity happened amid the glitz.
Combs's conviction – albeit of the lesser charges – is the latest stain on the brand of the VIP party. Their blinding glitter now feels like a mask for the monstrous real reason these events exist.
To expose what really lurks behind, it's time that mask is lifted.
'If you went, you'd made it...'
You won't hear them talking about it these days.
But not so long back, many of America's most rich and powerful people were begging to get into Combs's gatherings.
Being seen in these events did more than just attract this crowd. It defined them.
First hosted in 1998, these annual events – known as White Parties for their all-white theme – marked Combs's move to New York's Long Island.
The same enclave that inspired Gatsby's fictional setting.
Within his iron-spiked gates, the parties seemed like a cartoon of excess. Flowing fountains of champagne. Scantily clad performers walking on stilts. White-veiled chandeliers hanging from the ceilings.
Combs was said to sometimes arrive late. Sometimes via helicopter. Like Gatsby – who was noticeably absent from his fictional bashes – Combs reportedly appeared distant at one early event.
He also used the parties as fundraisers for causes he supported, promoting a generosity not unlike his literary idol.
In hindsight, this philanthropy can be viewed as a smokescreen for a darker reality. But at the time, nobody was asking questions.
Rapper Jay Blaze, who attended his first Combs party in 2009, said the invitation was a stamp of status.
'If you went to a Combs party, you'd made it.'
Don't just take his word for it.
Beyonce. Donald Trump. Michael Jordan. Even Leonardo DiCaprio, who would play none other than Gatbsy himself in the 2013 movie adaptation. That's just a handful of his guests.
Socialite Paris Hilton put it simply at the time.
'Everyone was there.'
While these celebrities are unlikely to talk about the parties they once vied to attend, there's no indication any were involved in the alleged abuse.
An insider who helped 'wrangle' guests for Combs recently claimed there came a stage of the night when guests got a thinly-veiled message.
'Girls would start to lose their clothes,' the source said. 'That was the signal for people to leave.'
According to this source, this is when the drugs started flowing. Along with the darkest claims of depravity.
Dirty secrets
It all started when Combs's ex Cassie Ventura filed a lawsuit against him in 2023. She accused him of a decade-long 'cycle of abuse, violence and sex trafficking'.
Since then, many other alleged victims came forward.
It must be noted that the allegations against Combs focus on what he called 'Freak Offs', rather than the star-studded bashes.
In these smaller sex parties (sometimes held directly after the larger ones), drugged victims were allegedly forced to perform sex acts so demanding they eventually needed IV fluids to recover from the fatigue.
Some civil filings included allegations that abuse occurred during elite events. These allegations were consistently denied by Combs were not proven in court.
However, some civil lawsuits not addressed in the criminal trial included allegations that abuse happened during elite events. Combs has denied these allegations.
These lawsuits included allegations such as a 16-year-old boy being assaulted at a 1998 White Party, and others claiming they were drugged and sexually violated at Combs's events. No court has found him guilty of them.
These accusers were not rich or famous, but rather lured by the promise of a better life.
It takes a lot of power to keep these kinds of skeletons buried. That's why Combs allegedly relied on a whole enterprise to conceal these allegations.
But as the trial unfolded, they could not protect the cracks from appearing in Combs's public perception.
To many, his conviction may not come as a surprise. We're talking about a man who once offered this omen: 'You're going to hear about my parties. They're going to be shutting them down. They're going to probably be arresting me.'
Some of the allegations in the civil lawsuits were harrowing – one involved a nine-year-old. But these were not adjudicated in the criminal trial. According to lawyer Tony Buzbee, these allegations involve 'many powerful people' and 'dirty secrets.'
With the trial's curtains closing, people are watching intently to see who will next be thrust into the flames.
But the implications are bigger than your average celebrity trial. This case could change how we look at power.
Bigger picture
Combs's parties are not new.
Time and again, the elites have been accused of abuse in plain view and relying on others to cover up their tracks.
Look no further than the case of Jeffrey Epstein, which exposed the world's suspicions that abuse can thrive in elite circles — sometimes in plain view. While Combs's case is very different, it has revived the same anxieties about the intersection of wealth, power, and secrecy.
The late billionaire-turned paedophile sex trafficker once hosted some of the world's most powerful men for exclusive events on his secluded Caribbean island.
Epstein, who took his life in 2019 while awaiting trial, was accused of luring underage girls for sex under the guise of professional massages. Images would surface showing very young-looking girls at his island events.
His guests – including President Trump and Bill Gates– were flown in on a notorious private jet dubbed the 'Lolita Express'.
There's no suggestion these guests were involved in any wrongdoing.
American-Australian survivor advocate Virginia Giuffre did historically accuse Epstein and Prince Andrew of abuse, settling out of court in 2022. Recently, she was found dead by suicide.
Or take the 'VIP parties' of Dubai, where foreign women, including Australians, are contacted via social media, flown in and paid lavishly to be 'a guest at a VIP party'.
Once inside the luxury hotel or yacht, they're locked into a cycle of abuse by super-wealthy men.
Some women are left with permanent physical and psychological injuries. After accepting one of these invites, one Ukrainian model was recently found bloodied, broken, and clinging to life on a Dubai roadside.
In these cases, glamour is used in a bait-and-switch scheme. Teams are used to silence alleged victims. And human beings are used as toys.
Behind the shine
Like Combs, Gatsby's fortunes would turn with spectacular speed.
In both cases, rumours, lawsuits, and raids shattered the public facade. But in Combs's case, only some charges stuck.
But while Combs may have been using Gatsby's literary charm as a marketing tool, they're not the same breed.
Unlike Combs's, Gatsby's crimes – bootlegging – are relatively harmless.
And unlike Gatsby, who was driven to throw his parties in search of love and acceptance, Combs was motivated by power.
Gatsby was chasing an elusive American Dream. Combs was clinging to his control.
Combs is no Gatsby.
The lesson is timeworn: all that glitters is not gold. Learn to look beyond the shimmer of showcased wealth.
It might not produce the same magnetic pull, but perhaps a more accurate literary comp title for Combs's parties would be Hunger Games.
This series is set in a dystopia where the rich watch people fight for their lives as entertainment.
Perhaps it's time we started looking at elite events through the same lens.
Or maybe we should consider Kendrick Lamar's advice.
'It's time to watch the party die.'
