Of all the disturbing details to pour out of the trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs, what might infuriate me the most now is the image of his supporters outside of the courthouse, spraying baby oil over each other and bouncing around in jubilation, after he managed to escape accountability for his most severe charges.
Diddy’s reported reaction alone irked me.
Before Diddy exited the courtroom, he reportedly knelt to the ground in front of his chair and bowed his head in prayer. After that, he turned toward the gallery and clapped, which led to an eruption of applause and cheering from the onlookers.
Given the testimonies of so many people from Diddy’s life—particularly Cassie Ventura, whom he subjected to physical abuse that no one can deny happened given the viral footage of it—I would like to think the God of Abraham has that man on mute and is more concerned with his victims and the safety of those who testified in the trial trying to get them justice.
Still, it is undeniable that despite insurmountable odds against him, Diddy managed to secure as much of a legal victory as plausibly possible. Rarely do federal prosecutors from the Southern District of New York lose high profile cases like the one lodged against the Bad Boy Records founder and mogul, but on Wednesday morning, the third day of deliberations, the jury found the 55-year-old not guilty of one count of racketeering conspiracy and two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, but guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
Even if I can understand why the devil might give the Lord a nod, the antics of his supporters outside the courthouse are another story.
Diddy’s kink for baby oil has become comedic fodder for some, but oh how I wish the ground would have fell beneath the teeth of each one of those goofy, stupid Negroes.
The issues of domestic violence, sexual assault, coercion and rape should not be treated with such flippancy, but considering the defense strategy employed that got Diddy off the hook for most of the charges, perhaps that’s where they’ve taken their cues from.
In the defense team’s closing arguments, Marc Agnifilo, who served as lead on Diddy’s defense team, mocked the government’s closing argument and warned that prosecutors were employing a novel approach to sex crimes that risked turning the swinger lifestyle into potential crimes for all Americans.
“I guess it’s all worth it because they found the Astroglide. They found it in boxes, boxes of Astroglide taken off the streets. Whew, I feel better already,” he said in his closing remarks. “The streets of America are safe from the Astroglide!”
“They took Astroglide and they took baby oil, and that ends up being the evidence in this case, because his businesses are outstanding. There’s nothing about the businesses to find. There’s nothing about the businesses to make into a criminal case,” he continued.
“They go into the man’s bedroom. They go into the man’s most private life. Where is the crime scene? The crime scene is your private sex life. That’s the crime scene.”
Let Agnifilo tell it, by charging Diddy, federal prosecutors had launched an unjust attack on a prominent and wildly successful Black entrepreneur.
I found that argument absurd a year ago when it was first employed by his legal team, but based on social media, select podcasters, too many men I hear in the barbershop when getting a fade, and apparently this jury, it’s not as far-fetched.
Yet even if one is to acquiesce to the idea that federal prosecutors overreached to bring down the Black man (that doesn’t pay his Black artists, allegedly, mind you), does that warrant the trivialization of the abuse the women in Diddy’s life endured?
Not just by the clowns on the street cheering for Puffy, but his main defense attorney.
Despite acknowledging the physical abuse between the couple, Agnifilo claimed in his closing argument that the relationship between Diddy and Cassie was “a great modern love story.”
“No one’s forcing her to do this,” Agnifilo said at one point. “She’s a woman who actually likes sex — good for her.”
Cassie’s own words contradict this, though.
Does stomping on a woman on her head indicate a great modern love story to you?
I struggle to articulate just how soulless it is to describe coercion by way of physical abuse, blackmail, and financial control as “a great modern love story.”
It’s one of several reasons why I rolled my eyes when Agnifilo claimed on Wednesday, after the verdict, “Mr. Combs has been given his life by this jury. He treasures, I assure you, the opportunity that he has been given, and he will not run afoul of anything this court imposes on him.”
On what grounds should any of us think he’s learned a damned thing? His legal defense? The actions of his family members and supporters?
Thankfully, at least for the sake of those who testified against him in the trial anyway, the judge said that Diddy and his lawyers have not met their burden to show that the mogul poses “no danger to any person.”
Diddy will stay in jail until he is sentenced in October – unless his lawyers successfully rush it.
Even if they fail in that respect, haven’t they won enough already?
In her closing arguments, Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey said Diddy in his mind “was untouchable.” She noted that one former personal assistant even described him as a “god among men.”
“For 20 years, the defendant got away with his crimes. That ends in this courtroom,” she argued. “He is a person. And in this courtroom, he stands equal before the law. Overwhelming evidence proves his guilt. It is time to hold him accountable. Find him guilty.”
Comedy maintained that “The defendant is not a god.”
No, but he is a powerful man with a lot of money, engaging in abusive behavior towards women, and like many men of that sort before him, has managed to escape the worst of consequences.
With a cheering crowd of fans dancing in baby oil for him over it, mocking his victims one last time.
None of these people have learned anything and we are all worse for it.
SEE ALSO:
Diddy Please: Yes, You’re A Bozo For Cheering For Sean Combs
Why Sean Combs Was Never Going To Be Fully Held Accountable [Op-Ed]
Op-Ed: What Has Diddy And His Fans Learned From This? Probably Nothing.
was originally published on
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