Why is hip-hop still struggling to create its own #MeToo movement?
American rapper and producer Sean "Diddy" Combs was convicted of "transporting persons for the purpose of prostitution" in a federal case in which he was tried on five separate charges. However, he was acquitted of more serious charges of "sex trafficking" and "conspiracy to commit racketeering." So why is hip-hop still struggling to create its own #MeToo movement? Petek Uğur translated it into Turkish.
One day in 2010, Sean “Diddy” Combs was in the kitchen of his Beverly Hills home with his assistant, Capricorn Clark. “I have something to show you,” he said to her, and called his girlfriend, Casandra Ventura, over to join them.
He turned to Ventura and began giving him orders:
"Sit down. Stand up. Turn around. Walk over there. Give me that. Now go back."
His girlfriend did exactly what he said.
Combs then turned to his assistant and said, "See? You don't do that. That's why you don't have a man like me."
The incident, which Clark shared in his testimony during Combs's final eight-week trial, offers a glimpse into Combs and Ventura's relationship dynamic and what went on behind closed doors.
R&B singer and former record labelmate of Combs, Ventura (who goes by the stage name Cassie) has described the violence she experienced during her long-term relationship with music producer Sean Combs, nicknamed Diddy. Ventura alleges that Combs, who is 17 years her senior, completely controlled her life, beating her, blackmailing her, and forcing her into sex acts with escorts while under the influence of drugs.
At the heart of the case was the allegation that Combs coerced his partners into sexual performances known as "freak-offs." These "performances" were often organized, recorded, and directed by Combs's staff.
Last week, a jury found Combs guilty of two counts of transporting people for prostitution, but he was acquitted of more serious charges of gang involvement and human trafficking.
After the verdict was announced, Ventura's attorney, Doug Wigdor, said she bravely came forward and "drew attention to the abuses of powerful men around us that have gone unpunished for years."
But now, survivors of sexual violence, advocates, and music industry insiders are asking: Why has it taken Combs so long to be held accountable?
In light of the MeToo movement, which began nearly a decade ago and exposed sexual misconduct in Hollywood, another question is on the agenda: Doesn't the music industry, and particularly the hip-hop world, need its own MeToo movement anymore?
"The Diddy case just exposed things we already knew," rapper Cristalle, formerly of the all-female group RapperChicks, told the BBC, highlighting how difficult it is to hold powerful figures in the music industry accountable.
In 2022, Bowen wrote a book addressing misogyny in the industry. The subtitle is “Navigating Hip-Hop and Relationships in a Misogynistic Culture.” “Being the ‘only woman’ on labels or crews, at best, leaves you subject to derogatory remarks. At worst, you’re exploited in some way. It gets complicated when money is involved. We’ve all seen the hush money, the stalled careers, and the way survivors are treated… It’s a very difficult process,” Bowen says.
Campaigners and industry insiders speaking to the BBC say sexual harassment and abuse isn't unique to hip-hop, but is widespread across all genres of the music industry. Sources say there's a "culture of silence" within the industry, with perpetrators protected while victims face the risk of being blacklisted, sued, or dismissed.
Caroline Heldman, an academic and activist and co-founder of the US-based Sound Off Coalition, which aims to end sexual violence in the music industry, shares this view. "Female artists who are exploited by men are often threatened and forced out of the industry," she said.
According to Heldman, the music industry operates under a "guideline" that shields perpetrators from liability, from musicians and producers to executives and those behind the scenes.
It is alleged that non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), which are legally used to protect trade secrets, are being abused in abuse cases and foster a culture of silence.
“This represents an extremely difficult decision for the victims,” said New York-based attorney Arick Fudali. One of Fudali’s clients, singer Dawn Richard, testified against Combs in the federal case and has a pending lawsuit.
Fudali notes that some of his clients choose to file a public lawsuit rather than accept a confidential settlement: “When they do that, they usually get less money, but they don’t stay silent.”
Cristalle Bowen says she has experienced this situation firsthand: “The bosses write the checks, the artists are left dependent on those checks, and when this happens, no checks or balances work.”
However, there may be other reasons behind this silence.
Survivors of sexual abuse and experts argue that this silence is deepened not only by money and power, but also by a combination of racism and misogyny.
Born in the 1970s in the African American and Latino communities of New York, hip-hop became a tool of resistance and liberation against authority and social injustice.
"Hip-hop allowed young black people to tell their own stories on their own terms, giving that generation a voice," says Mark Anthony Neal, a professor of African-American studies at Duke University. This was a major shift at a time when popular culture had limited representation of black Americans, Neal says.
Today, hip-hop is the most successful music genre in the US in terms of album sales and streaming. "Rappers are the new rock stars," says Thomas Hobbs, producer and writer for the hip-hop podcast Exit the 36 Chambers. "They're the ones filling the arenas the most today."
Sean Combs – or Diddy, as he goes by the stage name – who built an empire spanning multiple industries, including fashion, alcohol and television, as well as his record label Bad Boy Records, and with an estimated $400 million fortune, was praised not only for bringing hip-hop to commercial success but also for creating jobs and opportunities, especially for black men.
Combs, who has emphasized “black excellence” throughout his career, has made it a point to make visible the achievements of the black community and to call out the structural inequalities they experience.
His lawyers also emphasized this point, saying in court, "It's not easy being Sean Combs. He's a self-made black entrepreneur."
Fans gathered outside cheered as Combs was acquitted of serious charges. Some debated whether Combs had been unfairly targeted. "Of course he was," one onlooker said. "He's a strong black man."
For weeks, T-shirts bearing Combs' '90s stage name, "Free Puff," were sold and his music blared from the speakers.
Sociologist Katheryn Russell-Brown calls this “black protectionism.”
“Those who have achieved large-scale success despite extraordinary legal, economic and social obstacles are seen as ‘racial pioneers,’” says Russell-Brown, whose book, “Protecting Our Own: Race, Crime, and African Americans,” inspired by the OJ Simpson trial, notes that when these individuals are accused, the black community generally reacts with skepticism.
Treva Lindsey, a professor of women's, gender, and sexuality studies at Ohio State University, says there's a deeper fear behind the silence, especially for black women. "Presenting hip-hop as specifically sexist, violent, or harmful can have negative consequences not just for men, but for the entire black community," she says.
A broader look at the entertainment industry reveals a recent shift toward confronting the past. This is driven by shifts in societal perspectives and the introduction of certain legal regulations.
The Adult Survivors Act, passed in New York and California in 2022, allows accusations of sexual abuse to be brought in court for one year, regardless of how much time has passed since the incident.
Cassie filed a lawsuit against Sean Combs for physical and sexual abuse under this law in November 2023. The lawsuit was settled just one day after it was filed, and Combs denied all accusations.
But Combs now faces more than 60 civil lawsuits, allegations spanning his entire career, from both men and women alleging that Combs abused them by drugging or forcing them to do so.
The statement from Combs' team included the following statements:
“No matter how many lawsuits are filed, it never makes the allegations true that Sean Combs sexually assaulted or trafficked a woman or a man – minor or not.”
Other prominent figures in the hip-hop world of the 90s and 2000s have also been the focus of similar accusations in recent years.
A lawsuit alleging sexual assault was filed against music producer Antonio “LA” Reid, who has worked with artists such as Usher, Kanye West (now Ye), and Rihanna, in 2023. Reid denies all accusations.
Meanwhile, more than 20 women have made allegations of violent sexual conduct against Def Jam Recordings co-founder Russell Simmons since 2017. Simmons denies all the accusations.
One of those names is Drew Dixon, who worked in the music industry in the 1990s and 2000s, serving as vice president of artist relations at Arista Records.
Dixon alleges that she was abused by both Simmons and Reid. In a statement to The New York Times, she said:
"You're not just facing the person who attacked you, but everyone who benefits from their brand and their revenue. These forces are orchestrated against any accuser. It's very scary."
Author and gender-based violence activist Sil Lai Abrams began working as an executive assistant at Def Jam in 1992. Abrams is one of the women who have accused Russell Simmons of sexual assault. Simmons denies all allegations.
"Women have been conditioned to see abuse of power and sexual harassment as a price to pay for being in this industry," Abrams says, adding that it's particularly difficult for Black women to speak out in the music industry. Abrams argues that this situation remains true today.
But another challenge is how the public reacts. When Cassie filed a lawsuit against Sean Combs, she was accused of being a "gold digger" on social media, ridiculed by memes and criticized by some in the music industry.
“Stop making money by exposing people,” US rapper Slim Thug told his two million Instagram followers in a video.
But public opinion began to shift after CNN released hotel security footage from 2016. The video showed Combs dragging and kicking Cassie down a hotel hallway.
Slim Thug issued a public apology following the footage.
Combs shared a video message on Instagram and said:
"My behavior in this video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility... I will strive to be a better man every day... I am truly sorry."
“Before the footage of Combs beating Cassie was released, people thought he was lying,” says Dr. Nikki Lane of Duke University’s Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Feminism Studies.
However, according to Lane, society still needs a much more radical transformation: “Black women’s bodies are reduced to mere images that are constantly mocked and instrumentalized in hip-hop culture.”
Lane cites the example of rapper Megan Thee Stallion, who was shot in the ankle in 2020. The perpetrator, rapper Tory Lanez, received a 10-year prison sentence. However, the incident sparked widespread outrage after Drake's 2022 song Circo Loco: "This woman says she got shot, but she's still a stallion."
So, what happens to the bond established with art and artists after such cases?
R&B singer R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2022 for sexual abuse of women and children, human trafficking, and gang activity. But his music still racks up millions of streams. He's been streamed 780 million times in the US since 2019 and has an estimated 5.2 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
"There are still people defending R. Kelly. I wouldn't be surprised if Diddy's streaming numbers remain as high as R. Kelly's," says podcast producer Thomas Hobbs.
According to Hobbs, there is a kind of “cognitive dissonance” at play here:
"These songs are so ingrained in people's lives that it's hard to let them go... They've become a part of their identity. That's why some people choose to ignore them."
The real question is: How will the music industry react to this situation?
Following the MeToo movement, which began in 2017, at least 200 men accused of sexual harassment lost their jobs and workplace policy changes were made.
But according to Ohio State University Professor Treva Lindsey, the Combs case will not transform the industry as a whole:
"Diddy, like R. Kelly, is seen as an exceptional figure in the history of black music. So these events aren't seen as reflecting a systemic problem. This isn't a cultural reassessment. No one's asking, 'How is this happening?'"
Yet, according to some industry insiders, this is precisely what's missing. "There's no political platform for victims to rely on," says Sil Lai Abrams. "There's no pressure to change the structural conditions that allow someone like Combs to act so freely."
The use of privacy coordinators for sexually explicit scenes has become commonplace in Hollywood since the MeToo pandemic, and some industry insiders hope this practice will be extended to music video sets.
The Sound Off Coalition is calling for new rules requiring those in executive positions in the music industry to report allegations of sexual assault.
Dr. Lane says that a true reckoning can only be achieved with tangible steps: “I can only believe it’s a turning point if I see change in laws, policies, and procedures… And that depends not on how many years Diddy gets, but on how the system transforms.”
Source: BBC
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