The media must approach the Sean “Diddy” Combs-Andscape saga with caution

There is an African proverb that claims, “Until the lions tell the story, the hunter will always be the hero,” which serves as a contemporary reminder of the power of storytelling. This sentiment seems especially relevant as we learn more about the accusations and federal indictments filed against disgraced music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs. The stories about Combs and his alleged a long time of sexual violence are multi-layered, complicated and nuanced. People reporting details can shape the narrative and influence how future generations reflect and learn from a subject.

Combs’ ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, got here shortly after testifying lawsuit against the Bad Boy Records founder in November 2023 over allegations of harassment, rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson announced that he intended to provide a documentary about the multiple allegations made against Combs. Jackson has a successful track record of leveraging his rap profession to construct a far-reaching television empire that features shows including ABC’s Starzand. I believe an upcoming documentary on Combs that I apparently found house on netflixwill resonate with an excellent larger audience, underscoring the need to speak such a critical issue with great care.

As with all true crime stories, Jackson likely won’t be the just one tackling Combs’ story. Combs is such a pivotal figure in hip-hop that historians, documentarians, journalists, essayists, and even reckless conspiracy theorists will proceed to explore the decline of his legacy for years to return. And rightly so. He was greater than only a music mogul. The idea itself was powerful: a young black man who went from being a celebration promoter to creating one in every of the most culturally significant and commercially successful record labels in hip-hop history. Now the once-iconic businessman’s legacy is becoming parallel to that of a person accused of a long time of sexual violence against ladies and menharassment, sex trafficking and other types of harassment. I believe the depth of Combs’ depravity has yet to be revealed, but there continues to be much to investigate. Nevertheless, for the sake of hip-hop’s history and, most significantly, the survivors of that history, evaluation and deconstruction can’t be mired in sensationalism (like the response to alleged “freaks” and disgusting amounts of Combs baby oil allegedly purchased for sex parties), anti-gay gossip or prejudice disguised as jokes. Storytellers have an enormous responsibility to get this job right. As a culture, we should always arm ourselves with criteria for access to the frame chosen by storytellers.

Correctly determining this, or reasonably completing an evaluation of the multitude of variables which have contributed to abuses that allegedly span a long time, is incomplete at best unless well-versed experts add critical context to the information being reported. We especially need thought leaders from the Black LGBTQ community to share their knowledge. Their insights can illuminate the intersection of hip-hop culture and LGBTQ issues, enriching the narrative while making content more inclusive. The molestation allegations against Combs look like sparking increased speculation about his sexuality. Navigating the sea of ​​sensationalism would require keen evaluation by someone expert enough to notice which aspects are irrelevant to allegations of harassment, while also identifying anti-gay bias masquerading as take care of alleged victims.

“I hope these documentaries will show how victims of violence begin to rebuild their lives, to show that they can lead stable and healthy lives after violence.”

— Elsamarie King

A comprehensive evaluation also requires making an allowance for the opinions of experts who may discuss the correlation between violence against women and hip-hop culture. Brilliant black feminists like Joan Morgan and filmmaker Dream Hampton have been interpreting this complex narrative for a long time. In recent years, authors comparable to He feels sorry for Bowen, Taylor Crumpton, AND Jamilah Lemieux took on this task and offered high-caliber analyzes of the intersection of race, gender, and hip-hop culture. But these are only just a few women who can share their knowledge on this topic. And although there are only just a few of them, there are still caring Black journalists who’ve addressed this issue topic fastidiously. These too ought to be included, not only to offer context, but in addition to partake in a few of the labor that will probably be required in examining violence against women in hip-hop. A documentary about sexual violence against women at the hands of Jackson, one in every of hip-hop’s strongest moguls, can be incomplete without the care and nuance offered by caring Black feminists who even have a body of labor focused on hip-hop and Black journalists who’re unafraid to talk out truth.

Nuance is the operative phrase. Contextualizing the thread between the allegations made in Combs and the way systemic racism in the Black community may contribute to the abuse of power by some hip-hop legends is important to telling this story more fully. This is a level of nuance often demonstrated by Black sociologists.

But on this, the best sociologists, the most prolific Black feminists, and the insightful thought leaders of the Black LGBTQ community won’t outweigh the need for special take care of survivors, which each and every upcoming document must entail. According to Elsamarie King, a licensed social employee with over 15 years of experience working with survivors of sex trafficking and domestic violence, “each time their story is shared, the emotional and physical well-being of survivors is at stake.” King continued: “(It is important to) make sure that sharing the story will benefit the person rather than harm them. You don’t want to re-traumatize them. King goes on to note that “minimizing and sensationalizing can lead to self-harm, relapse, or suicidal thoughts.”

Asked what key elements she hopes any upcoming disclosure about Combs will include, King replied: “The lasting effects of the violence a victim has endured take years, sometimes even a long time, to heal. Some survivors suffer from Stockholm syndrome, wherein they feel sorry for the perpetrator and sometimes blame themselves for the violence. “I hope these documentaries will show how victims of violence begin to rebuild their lives, to show that they can lead stable and healthy lives after violence.”

These projects should reflect the desire for survivors of violence to steer healthy lives and the overall well-being of those that will watch the upcoming documentaries. Countless stories of abuse from someone we felt connected to through our love of hip-hop are usually not only infuriating, but painful to digest, especially when the victims are members of historically marginalized communities.

No wound hurts as much as the one you inflict at the hands of a community that ought to embrace you and never hurt you. But that does not imply you should not make movies about painful experiences. Rather, it signifies that filmmakers must go into these projects with a plan to take care of audiences and survivors. The author Alice Walker once said, “Those who love us never leave us alone with our sadness. The moment they show us our wound, they reveal that they’ve a cure. Walker made this statement in the case The work of Zora Neale Hurston. Walker acknowledged that Hurston took the pain of her audience under consideration when she wrote about the horrors of slavery. Journalist and filmmaker Brooke Obie she was the first author I can remember who adopted this litmus test for film criticism and evaluation, while also using it to solidify her assessment of whether a movie ought to be considered trauma pornography. I learned to treat it as an anchor in my writing and use it as a lens when viewing content focused on painful narratives. In particular, content that presents a harrowing story should offer viewers a spot to place that pain, a kind of drugs for the wound. In this case, exploring what the path to healing for survivors and culture may entail can act as a balm for viewers.

When dealing with the Combs case, the need for take care of spectators and survivors, nor the importance of context from insightful experts in the field, can’t be overemphasized. If we’re to do that well, the framework mentioned above must be taken under consideration. Those with the platform and resources to unravel this narrative should achieve this with the understanding that its articulation may shape future generations. The hip-hop community, and most significantly, survivors of sexual assault, deserve for these projects to be a manifestation of hip-hop at its best – unafraid to talk truth to power, informed by context, and good storytelling that serves as a voice those that are sometimes silenced by society.