Diddy sex trafficking probe brings unwanted scrutiny to stars: 'Silence is the best option,' expert says
As news of Sean "Diddy" Combs' arrest in New York City last week continues to grab headlines, some of Hollywood's elite are gaining unwanted attention and scrutiny due to their recent and past ties to the music mogul despite not being implicated in Diddy's criminal case.
Diddy was arrested and charged with racketeering conspiracy; sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and transportation to engage in prostitution. He faces a minimum of 15 years behind bars and a maximum sentence of life in prison if found guilty.
While some stars have spoken out, others — those who have been known to have close ties with Diddy — have remained quiet. Despite the immediate speculation surrounding their silence, not addressing the noise is actually "the best option," according to Doug Eldridge, founder of Achilles PR.
"In high-profile situations like this, an informational vacuum creates an opportunity for that void to be filled with misinformation, driven by inaccurate assumptions, often based on speculation and lack of concrete evidence," Elrdige told Fox News Digital.
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"For those in Diddy's circle — no matter how tangentially they might have been affiliated — it's guilt by association; at least in the court of public opinion. Innocent or guilty are objective outcomes; fair is a subjective sentiment that doesn't really exist anymore.
"A fire requires oxygen to survive; in this case, celebrities need to think twice about whether they want to blow on this flame and make it grow brighter," Eldridge continued. "Right now, there is a dual consideration for celebrities who are being associated with Diddy — whether rightly or wrongly. The first is their legal liability and vulnerability; anything they put out in the public sphere will be admissible and relevant.
"The second goes more toward the court of public opinion; if there is no basis or validity to the speculation, then making a statement or addressing it publicly only serves to draw undue attention and possibly give unintended credence or legitimacy to otherwise baseless speculation," he continued. "In other words, silence is sometimes the best option, especially in our current 'fire hose' media environment. While the Diddy storyline isn't going away anytime soon, the individual speculation ebbs and flows."
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Though these stars are not implicated in Combs' criminal case, Eldridge said "social media prosecutors" are quickly "passing judgment," which, in turn, is creating negative buzz surrounding their brand, career and personal lives.
"It's important to remember that Combs, like every American, enjoys a presumption of innocence, irrespective of the national sentiment or the severity of the allegations," he said. "This case is still several months from being tried in a court of law. But, in the meantime, ‘social media prosecutors’ are taking the breadcrumbs and speculation and passing judgment in the proverbial court of public opinion.
"That's less a statement about Diddy's guilt, innocence or involvement, and more a fact about human nature — especially in the age of the internet and social media," he added. "It's a different world, and defendants now have to fight a battle (and present their case) on two fronts."
TMZ PRESENTS: THE DOWNFALL OF DIDDY
Here's a look at stars who have yet to speak out who have gained unwanted scrutiny due to their past ties to Diddy.
Kutcher and Combs, who first met while hosting various TV shows on MTV, have had a yearslong friendship.
The "That ‘70s Show" actor first bonded with Combs over their shared love of pranking people. During an appearance on "Hot Ones" in 2019, Kutcher was overwhelmed with his memories and couldn't pick one Diddy "party story" to share.
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"Wow, I've got a lot I can't tell. I can't tell that one either," Kutcher said. "Actually cycling through them. ... Our relationship is really bizarre because it started over ‘Punk’d’ cause he’s like, ‘Yo, you can’t punk me.’ I was like, ‘I don’t know what to tell you, everybody’s on the table,'" he said.
Diddy apparently said, "Not me, I'm off the table."
Recently, Kutcher and Kunis, who have been involved in sex advocacy through their work with Thorn, an organization that fights child sex trafficking and human trafficking, have been at the center of split rumors allegedly stemming from the actor's past ties to Diddy.
"This is absolutely ridiculous and false," a source told People magazine of the speculation circulating online.
"Ashton has no involvement in any of this," another source told the outlet. "He doesn't belong in this conversation about Diddy. Ashton has only seen Diddy in a handful of social and business events, all of which have been documented by the media."
Kutcher and Kunis also caught heat earlier this year after writing letters of support on behalf of Danny Masterson during his sexual assault trial, for which they issued a public apology.
DANNY MASTERSON SUPPORTED BY ASHTON KUTCHER, MILA KUNIS IN LETTERS TO JUDGE FOR RAPE CASE
"We are aware of the pain that has been caused by the character letters that we wrote on behalf of Danny Masterson," Kutcher said in a video posted online.
"We support victims. We have done this historically through our work and will continue to do so in the future," Kunis added.
"A couple of months ago, Danny's family reached out to us and they asked us to write character letters to represent the person that we knew for 25 years so that the judge could take that into full consideration relative to the sentencing," Kutcher said.
"The letters were not written to question the legitimacy of the judicial system, or the validity of the jury’s ruling," Kunis said.
"They were intended for the judge to read and not to undermine the testimony of the victims or re-traumatize them in any way," Kutcher added. "We would never want to do that, and we’re sorry if that has taken place."
Representatives for Kutcher and Kunis did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Usher and Diddy first met in 1994, after music executive LA Reid, who initially signed a 15-year-old Usher to his record label, sent him to live with Diddy, who was about nine years older.
During an interview with Rolling Stone in 2004, Usher said Diddy "introduced me to a totally different set of s---, sex, specifically. … There was always girls around. You’d open a door and see somebody doing it, or several people in a room having an orgy."
During an interview with Howard Stern in 2016, Usher admitted there were "very curious things taking place" that he didn't "understand."
"It was curious. I got a chance to see some things," Usher said. "I went there to see the lifestyle, and I saw it. And it was. … But I don't know if I could indulge and understand what I was even looking at. It was pretty wild. It was crazy."
While Usher and Diddy have been spotted embracing each other at various public events throughout the years, the "U Got It Bad" crooner has remained tight-lipped when it comes to his relationship with Diddy these days.
USHER SAYS SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT WAS ‘HACKED’ AFTER DIDDY ARREST
Days after Diddy's arrest, the entirety of the "Confessions" singer’s social media history disappeared from X.
"Account got hacked and damn y’all ran with it!" he wrote that day. "See you tonight at Intuit Dome." He was referring to the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, the latest stop on his Past, Present, Future Tour.
A representative for Usher did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Diddy's relationship with Justin Bieber dates to when the "What Do You Mean" singer first kick-started his career at a young age.
In a resurfaced 2009 video from Bieber's YouTube channel, "Bieber's 48 Hours with Diddy," Diddy tells the camera, "Where we’re hanging out and what we’re doing, we can’t really disclose, but it’s definitely a 15-year-old’s dream."
In another video one year later, Diddy told the young star, "You starting to act different, huh? You ain’t been calling me and hanging out how we used to hang out."
During his late teens and early 20s, Bieber was often spotted with Diddy at various parties.
In 2019, the "Lonely" singer opened up about childhood fame and the difficulties he endured, including addiction and mental health struggles.
"I started doing pretty heavy drugs at 19 and abused all my relationships," he wrote on social media at the time. "I became resentful, disrespectful to women ... hiding behind a shell of a person that I had become.
"Have you noticed the statistics of child stars and the outcome of their life?" he added, explaining the pressure on a developing child and having everything handed to him.
"So, by this point, I was 18 with no skills in the real world, with millions of dollars and access to whatever I wanted," Bieber said. "This is a very scary concept for anyone. I felt like I could never turn it around. It's taken me years to bounce back from all these terrible decisions, fix broken relationships and change relationship habits.
"Luckily, God blessed me with extraordinary people who love me for me," Beiber said, adding that the "best season" of his life, marriage, is teaching him "patience, trust, commitment, kindness, humility and all of the things it looks like to be a good man."
A representative for Bieber did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Diddy, Jay-Z and Beyoncé all rose to fame in the '90s with their respective careers.
They've often supported each other throughout the years and have been spotted at various parties together.
In 1997, Jay-Z and Diddy collaborated on a track, which was featured on Combs' debut studio album, "No Way Out."
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During a 2015 appearance on "Sway in the Morning," Combs discussed his future plans to go into business with Jay-Z.
"Me and Jay — we’ve talked about it. We said we want to pick the best one," he said, via Vibe. "It’s going to have to be that one thing that gets it all the way popping. I think that’s the only way we’ll be able to get true economic power. If we do more things together. That’s the next level for Hip Hop."
Representatives for Jay-Z and Beyoncé did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Combs dated Jennifer Lopez from 1999 to 2001 during one of his breaks from Kim Porter but called it quits due to his alleged infidelity.
In 2003, Lopez spoke about the breakup to Vibe, telling the outlet, "It was the first time I was with someone who wasn’t faithful. I was in this relationship with Puff [Combs] where I was totally crying, crazy and going nuts. It really took my whole life in a tailspin.
"I never caught him, but I just knew. He’d say he was going to a club for a couple of hours and then never come back that night."
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Lopez, along with Diddy and former rapper Shyne, was present during a 1999 club shooting that wounded three people.
Lopez, Combs and his bodyguard, Anthony "Wolf" Jones, fled in his Lincoln and were later pulled over by the NYPD for running a red light.
A gun was found in the vehicle, and Lopez and Diddy were arrested. Lopez was let go, but Diddy, Jones and Shyne were each charged with multiple offenses. Diddy and Jones were both found not guilty at trial, while Shyne was convicted on five of eight counts and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Lopez and Diddy reunited at the after-party of her Las Vegas residency in 2018.
A representative for Lopez did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
The music mogul was charged with racketeering conspiracy; sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and transportation to engage in prostitution. He faces a minimum of 15 years behind bars and a maximum sentence of life in prison if found guilty.
Combs appeared in Manhattan federal court, where he pleaded not guilty. Not only was Combs denied the proposed $50 million bail, he was sent to jail immediately after the hearing.
He has been placed on routine suicide watch as he awaits trial in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, a source previously told Fox News Digital.
The source added that "this is common practice for high-profile individuals as they are admitted to a federal facility and not indicative of his mental state."
Prior to the U.S. Attorney's press conference last week, Combs' attorney said they plan to fight for the rapper to be released.
"His spirits are good. He's confident," Combs' attorney, Marc Agnifilo, said outside the courthouse Sept. 17. "He is dealing with this head-on, the way he's dealt with every challenge in his life. And he's not guilty. He's innocent of these charges. He's going to plead not guilty, obviously. He's going to fight this with all of his energy and all of his might and the full confidence of his lawyers. And I expect a long battle with a good result for Mr. Combs.
"I'm going to fight like hell to get him released, and he should be released," Agnifilo added. "With all that he's done and coming here voluntarily."