There’s a reason Diddy’s famous friends have stayed silent amid his arrest. PR experts say it’s the best strategy.
There’s a reason Diddy’s famous friends have stayed silent amid his arrest. PR experts say it’s the best strategy.
After decades of throwing lavish parties and surrounding himself with musicians, models, actors, and royals, Sean “Diddy” Combs is locked up in New York’s infamous Metropolitan Detention Center, awaiting a trial that’s expected to send shockwaves through Hollywood.
Combs is a superrich, influential figure in the music industry with a vast network of connections. Throughout his career, Combs has dated singers like Jennifer Lopez and Cassie Ventura. He counts A-list stars like Jay-Z and Naomi Campbell among his longtime pals. His recent musical collaborators include Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, Mary J. Blige, and John Legend. He teamed up with Mark Wahlberg for a business venture. Even Prince Harry was mentioned as having rubbed elbows with Combs in a civil lawsuit filed in February.
But Diddy’s empire began to crumble when Ventura sued Combs last year, accusing him of rape and abuse. Although they reached a settlement one day after the lawsuit was filed, Ventura’s bold stroke seemed to break the seal; Diddy has since been sued by 11 more people, alleging assault, sexual misconduct, and other crimes.
Last week, Combs was arrested and indicted on racketeering and sex trafficking charges by federal prosecutors in Manhattan. Combs pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he could face life in prison.
Sean “Diddy” Combs depicted in a courtroom sketch from September 17, 2024.
As discussions and theories have swirled around Combs’ felony counts, his famous friends, colleagues, and labelmates have also become sources of speculation.
Old quotes about Combs and his notorious parties have resurfaced online, while photos he’s taken with other celebrities continue to make the rounds on social media.
There’s been no suggestion from prosecutors that other celebrities will be charged in the case, although US Attorney Damian Williams said in response to a question from B-17 last week that “nothing is off the table.”
At the heart of the charges against Combs is what he called “Freak Offs,” which prosecutors describe as sexual “performances” — often lasting days — that Combs directed between victims and male sex workers, who were often illegally trafficked.
Combs masturbated and often recorded his “Freak Offs,” prosecutors say, creating what they describe as a strong body of evidence in the case against him. According to the indictment, Combs used violence and the resources of his business empire to arrange the “Freak Offs” and control his victims’ lives.
Prosecutors have detailed the circumstances of only one particular “Freak Off,” which took place in a hotel room that Ventura tried to flee before Combs assaulted her and dragged her back. For the most part, they appear to have taken place behind closed doors, distinct from the hard-partying music world Combs is a part of.
Still, onlookers are hungry for more information about Combs’ social circle, including (but not limited to) who still supports him, who might be forced to testify, who severed ties with the self-proclaimed “Bad Boy for Life,” and who barely knew him in the first place. A photo can only tell us so much about a relationship, after all.
But if the celebrities in question are listening to their PR teams, it’s unlikely those onlookers will get the answers they crave — at least, according to experts, not anytime soon.
‘The name of the game right now is distance’
Naomi Campbell threw a birthday party for Diddy on November 9, 2023.
Some people and publications have criticized Combs’ friends and collaborators for remaining “conspicuously silent” about his alleged behavior. However, according to Evan Nierman, CEO of the crisis PR firm Red Banyan, that silence is almost certainly strategic.
“The name of the game right now is distance, and the more distance they can supply between themselves or the more distance they can create between themselves and Diddy, the better it is for them,” Nierman told B-17.
“There’s nothing to be gained by wading into the conversation around his arrest or the allegations,” he continued. “For all of these people who have known him through the years and been associated with him, or been photographed with him, they should be avoiding this topic to the greatest extent possible and trying to stay out of the public spotlight on anything related to Sean Combs.”
Speaking publicly about Combs while his arrest is so fresh — whether to condemn or defend him — would effectively bind that person’s brand to Combs’ allegations. In the public’s mind, Nierman said, they’d become associated with the scandal, regardless of how close they actually were with Combs.
Even releasing a public statement to disavow Combs might backfire, attracting more unwanted eyes, opinions, and assumptions about that person’s involvement in his life.
“It’s in their interest not to weigh in and not to call attention to themselves if they want to avoid being unfairly tarnished by this,” Nierman said.
Diddy, Justin Bieber, and Chris Brown performed together in 2010
For Eric Schiffer, a crisis PR expert and chairman of Reputation Management Consultants, he’d recommend the topic be completely “off limits” in his client’s interviews and public appearances — both for brand maintenance and potential safety concerns.
“I wouldn’t let them be asked about it,” Schiffer told B-17. “Assuming that I had a client that fell into that category, I would not have them comment for many reasons.”
“What you’re seeing today is a combination of fear, both from the celebrities and their teams about their brands being severely destroyed over ties to Diddy, or worse, that he could wreak havoc on them personally because of retribution,” Schiffer added.
As B-17previously reported, a federal judge has ordered that Combs remain in jail to await trial after prosecutors argued he could attempt to meddle with the investigation. The judge cited the music mogul’s alleged history of violence, telling Combs in court, “I don’t know that you can control yourself.”
If Combs doesn’t switch to a guilty plea, a trial — which would likely take place about a year from now — would almost certainly feature testimony from Combs’ employees, Ventura, and other potential victims.
Prosecutors can subpoena people around Combs, forcing them to take the witness stand and swear under oath about what they saw. Combs might also try to summon friends to his defense to testify on his behalf.
But until that day comes — and the PR strategy is handed over from publicists to lawyers — celebrities whose names have been dragged into the fray have no obligation to speak on Combs’ legal woes.
Nierman also noted that Combs has not been convicted yet, which could make wading into the discussion even riskier.
“I would advise against a rush to judgment, just because everyone is entitled to their day in court and everyone is innocent until proven guilty,” Nierman said. “Now, does it look really bad for him right now? Does there seem to be a lot to be concerned about? The answer is yes. Could he ultimately be convicted? Absolutely. But we don’t yet know.”
One move that PR experts wouldn’t recommend? Wiping social media pages
Usher and Sean Combs at an AMAs after-party in 2002.
Usher, who lived with Combs when he was a teenager and continued to keep his company into adulthood, made headlines on Sunday when he deleted all his posts on X (formerly Twitter).
Many people found the timing to be suspicious, and Usher’s relationship with Combs quickly became a trending topic on the platform.
Later that night, Usher reappeared on X, claiming his account got hacked and the public simply “ran with it” — but according to Schiffer, the damage had already been done.
“It’s a giant red flag, and it brings up the whole concept of the Streisand effect, wherein the attempt to try to hide information, you’re only bringing more attention to it,” he explained. “It’s foolish because the media can ultimately get the things that are being suppressed.”
Nierman agreed that he would not advise a client to scrub their socials in this kind of situation, describing the move as “raising more questions than it answers.”
“Imagine if nothing had changed and he was as active as he’d normally been and was posting about the typical material, no one would’ve even noticed,” Nierman said. “It definitely raises eyebrows and makes you focus more if your account suddenly is wiped clean.”
Nierman also added that claiming to be hacked is “a played-out tactic” that many fans won’t buy at face value.
“No one really knows, other than Usher and his team, what happened. Was it an accident that he did something? Did they do it by design? Was he actually hacked?” Nierman said. “It’s hard to know, but it is strange.”
At this stage, with a relative lack of information available to the public, the PR advice from both Nierman and Schiffer would be fairly straightforward: Don’t engage, don’t draw attention to yourself, and don’t jump to any conclusions.
“You’re at the mercy of how the prosecutor’s going to play this. There likely will be other charges,” Schiffer said. “So you want to allow it to roll out. And you never know what Diddy’s going to do.”
