Sean "Diddy" Combs got off on the biggest charges in his case: The jurors acquitted Combs of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking, the most serious charges, they found him guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
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Combs could be sentenced to 20 years in prison because the maximum penalty is 10 years for each transportation conviction. That means the 55-year-old might not get out until he is 75. That’s not nothing, but here’s the thing: If he had been convicted on any of the other counts, he would most likely have been sent to prison for life.
Should we be surprised...? No, not really. Anytime a rich man is put on trial, we should never be surprised if he gets off. But most of the discussion surrounding the trial centered mainly on Casandra "Cassie" Ventura, Diddy’s on-again, off again-girlfriend of over 10 years. Some were critical of her actions in their relationship with many asking was she even a victim because she seemed to sometimes willingly participate in these freak-offs with the music mogul.
But then the amount of her settlement was released. After that, here was a noticeable shift in how people talked about her.
Let’s be clear. Cassie was unquestionably abused by Diddy, as the hotel footage showed. She also has the right to be a willing participate in wild sex one day and not want it the next. That’s what consent is all about. If you need convincing of that truth, then the last few years of the #MeToo movement taught you nothing.
But once people found out that Cassie secured the bag from Diddy, many stopped seeing her as a helpless victim. Public sentiment changed after that.
The Diddy trial will be remembered as one of the biggest fiascos in American legal history. Both what we found out in the courtroom and the discussion surrounding it was incredibly messy.
But had we not found out about the millions of dollars Cassie received from Combs, she would have had the public on her side. Once we discovered that she got paid, much of the public started to ask hard questions that had few answers.
But ultimately, a rich man beat the legal system. He was not the first. And he won’t be the last.
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