Several companies are reportedly cutting ties with Sean “Diddy” Combs following the string of sexual abuse allegations brought against the music mogul.
Eighteen companies have terminated their partnership with Combs’ e-commerce platform Empower Global, according to a report from Rolling Stone published Sunday. Founded by Combs in 2021, Empower Global aims to promote Black-owned businesses with a digital marketplace that creates “opportunities for Black entrepreneurs to build and scale successful businesses and for everyone to ‘Shop Black’ daily with ease,” according to its official website.
One company that’s parted ways with Empower Global is lifestyle and fashion brand House of Takura, which confirmed its departure from the company in an email to USA TODAY Monday.
“We take the allegations against Mr. Combs very seriously and find such behavior abhorrent and intolerable,” founder Annette Njau told Rolling Stone. “We believe in victims’ rights and support victims in speaking their truth, even against the most powerful of people.”
Undergarment and shapewear line Nuudii System has also terminated its professional relationship with Combs’ company. In an email to USA TODAY Monday, Nuudii System CEO Annette Azan said the decision was quickly prompted by the allegations of sexual assault against Combs.
“Nuudii System is a women’s brand, (owned and run by me and my two daughters). We believe women and stand in support of them,” Azan said. “Frankly, we are sick of men trying to control our bodies and using their power to harm us.”
USA TODAY has reached out to Combs’ representative for comment. Other companies that have reportedly left Empower Global include skincare brand Tsuri, jewelry label Fulaba, footwear line Rebecca Allen and sunscreen brand Baby Donna. USA TODAY has reached out to representatives of these companies for comment.
The exodus of these companies isn’t the only shake-up in Combs’ business life. Last month, cable TV network Revolt (which Combs co-founded) revealed that Combs had stepped down as chairman of the company. The network did not disclose the reason for Combs’ departure in its statement.
Combs, one the most influential hip-hop producers and executives of the past three decades, has been caught up in a whirlwind series of legal battles, including a bombshell lawsuit by ex-girlfriend Cassie that accused him of rape, sex trafficking and physical abuse. The pair settled the case Nov. 17, just one day after Cassie filed her lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
After Combs and Cassie’s settlement, two more women came forward to accuse him of sexual abuse. Both suits were filed in late November on the eve of the expiration of the Adult Survivors Act, a New York law permitting victims of sexual abuse a one-year window to file civil action regardless of the statute of limitations.
The filings detail acts of sexual assault, beatings and forced drugging allegedly committed in the early 1990s by Combs, then a talent director, party promoter and rising figure in New York City’s hip-hop community.
Last week, an unnamed woman filed an additional lawsuit against Combs on accusations of rape and sex trafficking, alleging Combs and two others gang raped her when she was 17 years old. Harve Pierre, former president of Combs’ Bad Boy Entertainment, was also named in the suit.
“For the last couple of weeks, I have sat silently and watched people try to assassinate my character, destroy my reputation and my legacy,” Combs said in a statement at the time. “Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”
In other news – Ciara welcomes her 4th baby
The singer, 37, and her quarterback husband Russell Wilson, 35, have welcomed their new arrival, they announced on Instagram Monday. Daughter Amora Princess Wilson was born on Monday, Dec. 11, weighing 9 lbs., 1 oz., the happy parents announced.
“We Love You so much!” the happy couple shared in the caption of their joint post. Read More
