10-01-2024
News of the arrest of Sean Combs has raised the possibility of a #MeToo reckoning within the music industry. Combs, also known as “Diddy,” was arrested on September 16th after being indicted on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. There is some discussion that the arrest could create the conditions for change within the music industry, an industry that has mostly avoided “the scrutiny and accountability that swept Hollywood, politics and much of the media world at the peak of the #MeToo movement in the late 2010s” according to the New York Times.
The industry has a long history of harassment and abuse often fueled by a culture steeped in alcohol and drugs. A 2018 survey conducted by the Music Industry Research Association (MIRA) found that women, who make one-third of musicians, experience high rates of discrimination and sexual harassment. The study stated at that time that “seventy-two percent of female musicians report that they have been discriminated against because of their sex, and 67 percent report that they have been the victim of sexual harassment; corresponding figures for U.S. women more generally are 28 percent and 42 percent, respectively.”
Combs has faced multiple lawsuits including a suit filed in November 2023 by his former girlfriend Casandra Ventura. That filing was possible due to New York’s “lookback” law, also known as the Adult Survivors Act, enabling people alleging sexual abuse to file civil suits after the statute of limitations had expired. According to Tamara Burke, who coined the phrase “me too,” the law “was a direct result of survivors organizing as part of the #MeToo movement.” While Combs’ team has asserted his innocence saying that he “has nothing to hide,” the case against Combs could be the catalyst for further changes in the music world.