The mounting allegations against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

For decades, hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has been a music powerhouse. He’s now subject to lawsuits alleging abuse, sexual violence and sex trafficking. Today, what we know about the allegations and the ripples in the music industry.

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Late last month, armored trucks, helicopters and swarms of federal agents descended on two homes owned by Sean “Diddy” Combs in Los Angeles and Miami. 

The searches were part of an ongoing investigation into Combs by the Department of Homeland Security. He is now the focus of six lawsuits alleging physical violence, sexual abuse and sex trafficking stretching back to the beginning of Combs’s career in the early ’90s. 

The artist and producer – who has also been known onstage as Puff Daddy, Puffy and P. Diddy – has denied all allegations against him. The lawsuits claim that many people in Combs’s circle helped facilitate his abusive behavior, implicating a web of high-profile names in the music industry.

Anne Branigin has been watching the investigation unfold. She says the allegations could lead to a larger reckoning about misogyny, violence and the exploitation of women in the music industry.

Today’s show was produced by Sabby Robinson with help from Emma Talkoff. It was mixed by Sean Carter and edited by Lucy Perkins.