A Requiem For The Survivors Of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

After hearing Wednesday’s verdict in the sex trafficking and racketeering case of Sean Combs, I intended to write about the challenges of prosecuting cases involving sexual violence and the duty of care owed to survivors. But something felt off.

Instead of waxing about the policy implications and legal challenges of this case, I decided to send a simple message to those who survived Diddy: I believe you. I see you.

Diddy demonstrated that his potential for violence and sexual depravity is not only possible but probable.

Yet, on July 2, a Manhattan jury did what juries have done since the dawn of juries: found a way to once more, retraumatize survivors while delivering the appearance of justice.

In a split decision, Combs was found guilty of two lesser charges involving transportation for the purpose of prostitution, yet the jury acquitted him of the most serious ones for sex trafficking and racketeering. A system that claims to care about survivors and deliver justice, has again demonstrated the degree to which the brutality inflicted by a powerful man like Diddy can be sanitized, rationalized, and mitigated.

Make no mistake, he will spend time in a federal prison. Legal experts and survivor advocates are at odds regarding this verdict. Many advocates like myself believe that the verdict represents a significant setback for the #MeToo movement and #MuteRKelly. But beyond the legal analysis to follow, it is important to make space not only for your experience but also for your humanity.

During the trial, the litigation process must have been undoubtedly retraumatizing. Unbelievably so, I imagine. You were made to recount the parts of your life that I am sure, you tried to park away in a dark recess of your psyche, never to be accessed again. You, after years of attempting to heal from the psychopathic horror inflicted upon you by someone who you trusted, loved, and was certain would catapult your musical career, was forced to relive those moments of hell: drugs, fear, brutality, violence, grooming, coercion, compliance.

Let’s be explicitly clear: This verdict is a representation of the system of jurisprudence and criminal law that is less about truth and more about who put on a better show. A system that cannot overcome the built-in biases and cultural norms that have led generations of us to excuse the atrocious behavior of the powerful while blaming those of us who survive.

During this trial, the chilling details of your abuse became fodder for every podcast, irrelevant entertainment commentator from the 90s, and bottom-feeding abuse apologist who had internet access and a social media account. The system, which is meant to deliver justice, instead curated the most salacious details of your torture for people to drag out their outdated, cobweb-covered soapboxes to shame, malign, and victim-blame in a banal attempt to cosplay journalist and legal analyst.

Yet, none of this erases your truth.

There was video evidence.

There was testimony.

There were photographs and video of his torture and depravity.

And yet, a jury decided that he should be acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering.

You were forced to exist under the judgmental lens of people who despite this evidence, found that he was only guilty of the two lesser crimes. A system that very likely may have prioritized being done with this case with a long holiday weekend looming and not getting true justice.

This must have come as a gut punch for you. Hence, I wish to center you.

I stand with you. I believe every word of your testimony and honor the strength it took to share it with the world. Even as this verdict fails to deliver the justice you deserve, I want you to know that your truth is irrefutable.

This moment may not have brought the closure you hoped for, but I am proud of you for standing against an unformidable system, designed to break you.

I see you. I hear you. And I will continue to fight for you.

Kenyette Tisha Barnes is a political strategist, global human rights advocate, and Co-Founder of #MuteRKelly

Why Sean Combs Was Never Going To Be Fully Held Accountable [Op-Ed]