The rise and fall of Sean Combs

For years, the rapper, record producer and executive Sean Combs – better known as Diddy – was one of the most revered artists in music, with three Grammy Award wins from 13 nominations, numerous entrepreneurial ventures, and a $1bn net worth that placed him alongside Jay-Z and Dr. Dre as the rappers who had risen above and beyond to become titans not just of music, but of global business.

Then, in November, 2023, it began to fall apart, with multiple accusations of sexual assault, an FBI raid, and now a leaked video showing a brutal assault in a hotel hallway. Combs, 54, has denied his alleged wrongdoings, but there was no getting around video evidence that showed him hitting and kicking singer, and former partner, Cassie Ventura.

As more tales of abuse are unveiled, it seems there is no stopping the rolling stone of Combs’s demise.

The Notorious B.I.G. and Sean Combs on the set for 'Hypnotize'. Image: Getty

Combs grew up in Mount Vernon, a suburb of New York City, located to the north of The Bronx. He was just two when his father, Melvin Earl Combs, was murdered. An associate of legendary heroin kingpin Frank Lucas, portrayed by Denzel Washington in American Gangster, his father’s death left his mother, Janice Combs, working overtime to provide for Sean and his sister.

“One day we woke up and there was so many roaches on my face and I was like, No, I’m not going to do that. I’m going to get out of here. I’m going to be somebody,” Combs told Apple Music, as reported by Vulture.

The fire drove Combs to succeed. In his early days, he was a talent director at Uptown Records before branching out to start his own label, Bad Boy Records, in 1993. The talent he helped discover there would go on to define ‘90s and early Noughties rap and R&B. Notably, he managed The Notorious B.I.G.

Released following Biggie’s murder, Combs’s debut album ‘No Way Out’ (1997) marked the beginning of his rise as a performing artist in his own right.

Image: Getty

As his star rose, so did his business interests. Alongside his musical ventures, much of his income came from his clothing line, Sean John, his involvement with Cîroc vodka, and other interests such as a major equity stake in Revolt TV and Aquahydrate, a calorie-free drink for athletes.

By 2002, Fortune had ranked him as No.12 on its top 40 entrepreneurs under 40. In 2017, Forbes estimated his annual earnings at $130m – making him the highest-earning entertainer in the world. And though Jay-Z beat him to become rap’s first billionaire, in 2019, Combs caught up, crossing the ten-figure mark in 2022.

But, all the money in the world couldn’t stop the storm to come.

Combs’s legal troubles didn’t start with allegations of sexual abuse. For a long time, he embodied the persona of the bad-boy rapper, getting into fights and disagreements – some of which were more public than others.

Then there were more serious issues. In 2003, it was revealed that factories producing the Sean John clothing brand in Honduras were violating labour laws, with workers reportedly subjected to body searches and involuntary pregnancy tests. Reforms were later made, including allowing the formation of a labour union.

Image: Getty

Then, in 2008, the Los Angeles Times alleged that The Notorious B.I.G. and Combs were responsible for the 1994 robbery and shooting of Tupac. The paper later retracted the story.

More recently, in March, music producer Rodney Jones Jr., also known as Lil Rod, alleged Combs and his son, Justin, engaged in a “massive” cover-up of their rumoured involvement in the shooting of a 30-year-old man at a “writers and producers camp” that was held at Combs’s Chalice Recording Studio, in Los Angeles, in September, 2022.

In May, 2017, Cindy Ruela, who had worked as Combs’s personal chef, filed a lawsuit against him with claims including sexual harassment and retaliation. The lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed amount in February, 2019.

Then, in November, 2023, the singer Cassie Ventura, with whom Combs was in a relationship from 2007 to 2018, filed a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against the music mogul for sexual assault, sex trafficking, and physical abuse. Reportedly, the claim also alleged that Combs was responsible for blowing up a car belonging to Ventura’s then boyfriend, the musician Kid Cudi. The claim was settled inside a single business day, with Combs’s camp explaining it was “in no way an admission of wrongdoing.”

It wasn’t the end. In the following days, three more claimants filed similar lawsuits, including allegations of sexual assault and revenge porn. Then, in December, 2023, another lawsuit was filed by a woman who claims Combs raped her when she was 17. The same day, Combs posted on social media denying the allegations.

Image: Getty

This February, Rodney Jones Jr. also brought a lawsuit against Combs, claiming Combs drugged him, sexually assaulted him and forced him to have intercourse with sex workers. Combs’s lawyers described the allegations as “pure fiction.”

Jones amended his lawsuit in March, accusing Combs of paying to keep sex workers, and naming actor Cuba Gooding Jr. as a co-defendant. It was also implied Prince Harry and other famous figures were associated with Combs and were used to draw guests to his parties, although they were not accused of wrongdoing.

Yet another lawsuit, in May, accuses Combs of four instances of sexual assault, as well as assault, battery, and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

Through this mountain of allegations, Combs had been trying to keep his head above water through denials, but with the FBI having raided properties belonging to him and confiscating computers and other electronic devices in March, and federal agents questioning the rapper at Opa-Locka Airport the same month, it was even clearer that none of this was just going to go away.

Perhaps the final straw came when CNN released surveillance footage of Combs physically assaulting Ventura at a hotel in Los Angeles. Released in May, the video dates back to March, 2016. Combs had reportedly paid to suppress the video, and upon its release posted online to apologise, calling his actions ‘inexcusable.’

Christian Combs. Image: Getty

It isn’t just Combs who is in the line of fire, but also his son, 26-year-old rapper Christian ‘King’ Combs.

In a lawsuit filed in April, both Christian and his father were named as defendants by a former employee who claimed that the former sexually assaulted her in December, 2022, when she worked as a steward on a yacht charted by Combs senior.

The suit claims Combs senior aided and abetted his son in the assault and paid to cover it up afterwards.

The foundations of the empire have been irreversibly shaken, and the buildings are already beginning to crumble. In November, 2023, department store Macy’s pulled all Sean John clothing from stores and online. The same month, Combs stepped down as chairman of Revolt TV, meanwhile Hulu cancelled production for a planned reality show on Combs and his family.

That the allegations against him are only now coming to light shows just how powerful he is. What the outcome of these manifold lawsuits will be and what the FBI investigation will reveal remain to be seen. Online speculation and rumour as to further misdoings are unproven, but hint at even more that might lurk beneath the choppy surface. But one thing is certain: for Combs, there is no coming back from this.

At this point, his avoiding jail time would seem like a miracle.

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