Sean “P. Diddy” Combs is still navigating a number of legal issues related to several lawsuits as well as a federal investigation. Throughout it all, the music mogul has mostly laid low and hasn’t personally opened up about the allegations of sexual abuse and more that he’s facing. (Though he did recently share a cryptic video that emphasized the notion of weathering a “storm.”) Fellow stalwarts of the music community have mostly opted not to speak out on Combs’ legal woes as well. Now, however, Russell Simmons has commented on the matter and, in doing so, he’s come to Diddy’s defense.
The 66-year-old Def Jam Recordings co-founder recently dropped a live video, which has been split into segments on his Instagram. He covered a number of topics, with one being the recent rap beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake. While talking about the notion of people tearing each other down, Russell Simmons turned his focus to Diddy. Simmons didn’t specifically make mention of the legal entanglements the rapper is facing but did implore fans to think twice when relishing the recent remarks made about the embattled Grammy winner:
When you tear someone down or you watch someone tear someone down, try not to get so excited. I know it’s fun to watch for some people. If I had a nickel for every nasty meme sent to me by people whose lives were enhanced and built by Sean Combs – it’s like, it seems a bit hypocritical since the only reason you have a life is [because] you worked for him, or he gave you a job or lifted you up somehow.
At present, Sean Combs is wrapped up in several lawsuits from multiple plaintiffs. Former girlfriend Cassie claimed he raped and abused her during their decade-long relationship. The suit was settled a day later and, shortly after, a woman named Joi Dickerson-Neal sued Diddy, alleged that he raped her when she was a college student in the early ‘90s. Other suits sexual abuse-related suits have come from former producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, who says he was drugged and sexually harrassed by Combs, as well as well as two Jane Does.
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Via his legal team, Diddy has denied the allegations against him and, just this past week, he filed a motion to have a December 2023 filing from one of the Does dismissed. All of that aside, Diddy’s homes were raided back in March in connection to a reported sex trafficking investigation. The searches, which occurred at his residences in Miami and Los Angeles, saw the feds leaving with bags and boxes of computers, phones and other personal devices. As of this writing, the “Come with Me” performer has yet to be charged with any offenses on that front.
Russell Simmons’ video, in which he shared thoughts on the matter, comes several years after he himself was accused of sexual assault by multiple women. Said claims surfaced in 2017. He denied the allegations and eventually resigned from Def Jam as well as his other business ventures. In the clip, Simmons went on to discuss what it’s been liking “watching our brothers fall”:
Watching our brothers fall is hurtful. Having everybody get together and laugh at our brother’s fall or supporting the tearing down of our brothers is tough. You may think it’s entertaining. Some of the memes are funny, right? But we need to look up, train our mind to see the good in things and not the negative.
Suge Knight also reacted to Sean Combs’ legal woes, saying that although the two had beef years ago, these latest developments marked “a bad day for the culture.” Jason Derulo broke his silence on the matter as well, simply saying that he believed in the concept of being “innocent before proven guilty.” Time will tell whether others decide to follow them and Russell Simmons in sharing thoughts on Combs’ ongoing issues.