Observations from the 2nd week of the Diddy trial

WARNING: This story contains allegations of ​​​sexual violence and may affect those who have experienced​ it or know someone affected by it.

Sean Combs, a.k.a. Diddy, returns to court today, continuing the second week of his trial for charges including racketeering, conspiracy and sex trafficking. The trial has already brought forward devastating allegations from witnesses, including Diddy's ex-girlfriend and musician, Cassie Ventura.

Today on Commotion, host Elamin Abdelmahmoud speaks to Refinery29 journalist Taryn Finley, who's covering the trial in New York City, about what she's seeing and why it's so important for us to pay close attention to the Diddy trial. 

We've included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion, listen and follow Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud on your favourite podcast player.

Elamin: Diddy's in court every day. We get to see him every day. What strikes you the most about his demeanour? 

Taryn: Oh wow. I think one of the biggest things is the eye contact. We have heard stories through the prosecution's indictment and through more informal social media accounts, or clips from celebrities and folks who have encountered Diddy, about how domineering and how threatening his presence allegedly has been over decades. And so it really is interesting seeing how he maintains eye contact with each person who goes on the stand. 

I also have to note that when Cassie came on the stand, she did not make eye contact with him. Cassie's mother, however, who was only on the stands for 15 minutes, did make eye contact with him, and she was the only one that he did not make eye contact with. Instead, he was very stiff-necked, stared straight ahead — and it was telling. Aside from that, he's been looking at the jury's reaction, nodding and passing notes to the defence when he agrees or disagrees with something. So yeah, we've seen some emotion come out of Diddy.

Elamin: I'm struck by the similarities and overlap between this trial and R. Kelly's trial. R. Kelly was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in jail. 

At that time, there were all these conversations, a lot of talk about the systemic issues in the entertainment business that enabled someone like R. Kelly to get away with his crimes while people looked away. Do you think this trial is maybe going to force us to have an even bigger reckoning within the music industry?

Taryn: I hope so. At the same time, I cannot say that I am super optimistic about that, especially considering the conversations that are going on around this trial — and even, to this day, years later, around R. Kelly's trial. I think there are a lot of unfortunately red pill conversations going on online that pose these questions and try to discount the experiences and stories of victims of sexual abuse. I mean, just this past week, we saw a lot of the reaction around the restraining order that Halle Bailey filed against DDG, accusing him of abuse. So I think that it chips away a bit at this notion, or at this bigger issue that we have. But I think there's so much work that we have to do just on a broader level.

You can listen to the full discussion from today's show on CBC Listen or on our podcast, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, available wherever you get your podcasts.

Interview with Taryn Finley produced by Jess Low.