The Diddy Verdict and The Perfect Victim Fallacy

Sean "Diddy" Combs blows kisses to people in the audience Monday, May 19, 2025. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

On July 2nd, the court found Sean “Diddy” Combs guilty on only two of the five felony charges he had faced. I, for one, am outraged. 

Combs was found guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, which, if sentenced to the full extent, could put him away for twenty years. But you and I both know that’s not going to happen. Prostitution charges are rarely sentenced to the full degree. Instead, miraculously, Combs was saved from the all-too-gentle punishment of spending life in prison. Which is what he was facing had he been found guilty of the other two counts of racketeering and two counts of sex trafficking he’d been charged with. 

I’m outraged because, given the legal definition of sex trafficking, Combs was guilty. In every sense of the word. At least, and I feel as if I have to say this, in my opinion. To convict someone on counts of sex trafficking, the prosecution must prove without a shadow of a doubt that the defendant, Combs, manipulated sexual interactions either through force, fraud, or coercion. Now, just so we’re all on the same page, since clearly the jury was not, coercion can be many things. It’s defined as the practice of persuading someone to do something by using force or threats. 

If you were like me and followed the trial closely, you would know this had been proven ten times over. Victim after victim came forward, testifying how they were invited to a hotel for a casual evening, only to arrive, be given a pill, told an escort was already on the way, and would be met with verbal badgering, if not literal violence, if they did not submit. To me, that is as clear-cut as it comes. It wasn’t sex they wanted to engage in. They were given drugs. And if they said no, as we saw in the infamous video with Cassie Ventura, they would have most likely faced horrific violence. The threats don’t have to be verbal if they’ve already been alluded to or experienced. That’s coercion. 

I mean, take a moment and imagine walking into a hotel room to meet someone, only to be told that a different man is on his way to have sex with you. Would you feel safe? Would you feel like you could say no? Even without knowing the violent background? 

Story after story rolled in, the same as the next, happening multiple times to victims. The only problem? They were Comb’s ex-girlfriends. 

This isn’t true for every victim, as many were ex-employees or people he invited to parties only to sexually prey on. However, the ones who could account for a pattern of force and coercion over a period of years had been in relationships with the defendant. 

And this is where the fallacy of the perfect victim lies. 

Cassie Ventura as drawn by Jane Rosenberg.

Because to me, if you have a man with a history of violence. And I do mean a HISTORY– the amount of threats he’s given, the amount of victims he has, violence done with guns, violence done in public, violence done in hotel hallways, it’s honestly astonishing. So if you have this man who has admitted to violent acts and is asking these women, his girlfriends at the time, to engage in sex with strangers, which was always met with hesitation, it’s not hard to understand why they agreed. Especially when he’s supplying the drugs and the men and flying them over for “hotel nights”. None of that is exactly consensual, is it? 

And to me, it’s not hard to understand why they don’t leave. It’s difficult to leave, for one. You love the person. You want to see the best in them. You’re also scared for your safety.

In most cases, you’re scared for your financial security. Cassie Ventura met Combs when she was just 19 years old. An up-and-coming musician who wanted to make it. Within a year, Ventura was signed to Comb’s label. He was paying for everything. Her phones, her cars, her home. He dictated when she made music, and played a big role in her career plateauing shortly after. He recorded many of the nights she was forced to share with other men and would constantly threaten to post them if she did not participate. 

She testified and stated she never wanted to engage with random men for sex. But yes, she planned some of the hotel nights, because she’d rather have a say in who’s going to be violating her than not. To me, all of this is incredibly simple. He was an intimidating man, and his victims were too scared and felt they were in too deep to say anything. 

It should have been cut and dry. Adults or not, he used force, he used fraud (pretending these nights wouldn’t go further only to spring it on them once they were alone), and he used coercion in every sense of the word. So why wasn’t he charged? 

Because the jury, and people in general, do not want a Cassie Ventura, they want a perfect victim. They wanted someone who had no ties to Combs. A victim who, after such a horrific assault, left and never spoke to him again. Someone who called the police. Someone who didn’t take years to speak out. Someone who wasn’t in a relationship with him. Someone who didn’t “profit” off of him. And let’s be honest, someone who probably isn’t black. If Comb’s victims were “perfect”, maybe he’d be facing the rest of his life instead of 20 years. 

Sean "Diddy" Combs reacts Wednesday after the verdicts were announced in Manhattan federal court in New York. Elizabeth Williams / AP

But this idea is a racist, sexist, outdated myth. Life is messy. Relationships are messy. Victims can be any age, any race, and any gender. Combs’ certainly are. And it takes time before survivors can process everything that’s happened. When you’re in an abusive situation, you are just existing. There’s hardly any reflection, let alone plans of leaving. Then comes the aftermath, where you finally accept the true nature of what happened. The abuse you endured, and you’re able to reframe the entire relationship. Then there’s rebuilding, where you work on healing yourself, finding your inner strength, and loving yourself to the point that you would never allow this again. Then, finally, comes justice. When you’re able to stand up and bravely speak your truth. Even if to no one but yourself.

It’s easier if the perpetrator is a stranger, but most of the time, they’re not. According to the National Sexual Violence Research Center, “More than half (51.1%) of female victims of rape reported being raped by an intimate partner and 40.8% by an acquaintance.” Yet people cannot comprehend the idea of being sexually violated by a partner. They can’t imagine why, partner or close friend, you wouldn’t just leave and never talk to them again. They don’t understand trauma, and would rather feed into sexist stereotypes than try. They would rather side with a man who has admitted to violent acts, a man who they saw be violent, than the actual victim. 

And for that, and for victims everywhere, I am outraged.