Diddy is accused of sex 'freak off' parties, violence, abuse. What happened to 'transparency'?

On a January night in 2020, Sean "Diddy" Combs accepted the Industry Icon award at the Clive Davis pre-Grammy Gala. He preached accountability and diversity. He spoke about the need for "transparency."

Of course, he was talking about the Recording Academy (and society at large), not himself.

This week, federal authorities arrested the music mogul and charged him with racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. In the months leading up to his arrest, lawsuits have been piling up from his ex-girlfriend singer Cassie Ventura, former Bad Boy Records girl group Danity Kane Dawn Richard and erstwhile model Crystal McKinney.

But a few years ago, in a room full of A-listers, Diddy reigned supreme.

"I'm being honored by the industry that I love, the family that I love, but there's an elephant in the room and it's not just about the Grammys," Combs said well into a lengthy speech at the end of the party. "There's discrimination and injustice everywhere."

People listened. Laughed. Applauded. Stood up.

I know, because I was there, and wrote about it for USA TODAY. It was a post-Me Too, pre-pandemic world. And now I can't help but wonder. What – if anything – did people know? And was Combs allegedly skirting by all the transparency he spoke about?

There was an elephant in the room all right.

'Hip-hop has never been respected':Diddy slams Grammys in scathing Clive Davis event speech

Diddy and power in Hollywood

Diddy has long run in Hollywood's most powerful circles.

At the event I attended, he noted he was surrounded by top-tier names in music. They were there, in part, to celebrate him. He told the crowd, "We need the artists to take back the control. We need transparency. We need diversity. This is the room that has the power to make the change that needs to be made."

Power is at the center of the accusations Diddy is facing now.

According U.S. attorney Damian Williams, Diddy wielded his influence to maintain "control over the victims in certain ways." He "threatened and coerced victims to get them to participate in the freak offs," Williams said in a press conference, referring to the alleged "elaborate and produced sex performances" that were recorded without many victims' consent and at times used as collateral against them.

Combs is also accused of pressuring victims or witnesses to stay silent. The indictment alleges he had people who worked for him covering his tracks and threatening those who may speak out with financial or career ruin. That's power all right.

More details:Sean 'Diddy' Combs charged with sex trafficking for 'widely known' abuse, indictment says

'I want you to think of me'

The pre-Grammys speech was one of many honors Combs enjoyed over the years, including getting a key to New York City in 2023, which has since been rescinded. My colleague Anika Reed interviewed him at the time.

"God blessed me with a second chance at life," he said, "I've decided there's another mountain for me to conquer. I'm looking for the next era in my life, and that's the love era. That's really being a unifier, fighting for radical change and making some beautiful music for people to feel good to."

Like the party speech, his words feel different after his arrest and with the shocking details in the indictment.

He went on: "When you think of hip-hop, you think of celebration – I want you to think of me. That's all I ever wanted to do is make you dance, make you sing, make you feel good."

Reading through the indictment – the alleged non-consensual sex parties, the drugging, the violence, the abuse – "good" isn't the word I'd use. Good vanished months ago, when the horrific video leaked of Diddy striking and yanking Cassie by the hair.

I just hope that transparency in all its forms can ring true for the entertainment industry at large − and the real world.

Contributing: Anika Reed