America


P. Diddy Case Shines Light on Hollywood’s Dark Secret


Tinseltown avoids confronting abuse of young actors.


T BY ALICE GIORDANO


he federal investigation into the hip-hop mogul known as P. Diddy is shining a light on a corrupt Holly-


wood culture that turns a blind eye to the abuse of children. Many insiders say they have been


sounding the alarm about crimes rou- tinely committed against underage actors, but they have always just been swept under the rug. Will this time be different? “Bank robbers go to the bank to


get money,” Matthew Valentinas, a top entertainment attorney and doc- umentary producer, told Newsmax. “Pedophiles go to the entertainment world.” P. Diddy, whose real name is Sean


Combs, is currently in U.S. custody in New York awaiting trial on charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. His arrest in September came amid a series of civil suits alleging sexual assault and physical violence, some going back to the 1990s. More than two dozen people


have filed lawsuits against the rap- per, accusing him of using his influ- ence in the entertainment industry to do everything including drugging, assaulting, and raping people. The latest batch of lawsuits include allegations from two men who were underage at the time of the alleged sexual assaults. Both say they thought Combs could help jump-start their careers in the entertainment industry. The Harlem-born rapper, 55, has


denied all the allegations, both those laid out in lawsuits and in his federal indictment.


30 NEWSMAX | DECEMBER 2024


DOWNFALL Sean “Diddy” Combs is in U.S. custody in New York on charges of racketeering and sex traficking — behavior which, critics charge, is widespread in Hollywood but always swept under the carpet.


In late October, when a story


broke that the latest in the litany of his alleged victims was a 10-year-old boy, a group of actors sent a letter to the industry’s union, SAG-AFTRA, demanding it expel Combs. Boston’s Finest actor Chuck Slavin,


who spearheaded the demand, told Newsmax the union’s silence is “high- ly noticeable,” especially since it’s rid- dled with double standards. He pointed out this is the same


group that orchestrated the expulsion of President Donald Trump over the Jan. 6 insurrection allegations. “An attack against one is an attack


against all,” wrote then-SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris, hailing the union’s move against Trump. Slavin pointed to a litany of other high-profile examples, including the union’s quick move to issue a state- ment in support of Black actor Jussie Smollett. The actor claimed in 2019 that two masked, verbally homopho- bic men assaulted him and threw a noose around his neck. He identified one man as white and both as MAGA supporters. The incident eventually was


exposed as an elaborately faked hate crime by Smollett. “Just connect the dots,” said Bad Boys for Life actor Carlos Guerrero,


who told Newsmax he is among a “silent majority” of actors outraged by the union’s silence. Earlier this year Jenny Kilgen, a


former Nickelodeon writer, sent a let- ter to SAG-AFTRA demanding safer protocols for child actors in the wake of the Max docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, which exposes sexual exploitation of child actors by producers and talent managers. SAG-AFTRA said in a statement:


“The Union takes young performer safety very seriously and devotes considerable time to advocating for important legislative protections for minors and administering contract requirements for young performers.” Valentinas says local prosecutors


have long avoided prosecuting Hol- lywood sex offenders. It took Home- land Security, a federal agency, to bring the first criminal indictment against Combs. According to a sex trafficking civil


suit filed against Combs by rapper and music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, the rapper “consistently made it clear that he has immense power in the music industry and with law enforce- ment” and that people who have police run-ins should call his head of secu- rity because he has the power to make “problems disappear.”


HOMELAND SECURITY/GIORGIO VIERA/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES / COMBS/DAVE BENETT/GETTY IMAGES FOR TAO GROUP HOSPITALITY / MUGSHOT/SOUTHERN NYPDD


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