Suge Knight, who was a big name in the US entertainment industry before being jailed, has named the people who allegedly used drugs, alcohol and sex to control Diddy, Usher and Justin Bieber.
Accusation from prison
As the world was in turmoil over the shocking sex scandal of Sean Combs (Diddy), News Nation reporter Chris Cuomo called to interview Suge Knight, co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records, on September 24. Notably, Suge Knight is serving a 28-year prison sentence for manslaughter (driving to kill someone).
Suge Knight caused a stir when he revealed that Diddy was not a regular sex offender, but also a victim of abuse.
The 1965-born former entrepreneur described Diddy as a product of a corrupt industry with a long history of sexually abusing and assaulting new members. Specifically, Diddy was “educated” by his elders and did the same to younger members.
“If you weren’t there, it’s hard to understand what was going on, but that doesn’t mean it’s a secret. Because this has been going on in the industry for years, decades, and all the time,” Knight said.
When Chris Cuomo asked if Diddy was truly a sexual abuser, Suge Knight immediately responded: “Yeah, I think that’s absolutely true. I think that happened to him.”
Knight stressed that Diddy was not the only one who subjected young artists to humiliating sexual acts.
According to Knight, the artists under his label used to only smoke marijuana, but after signing with other record labels, they got into harder drugs.
“Those guys introduced cocaine to my artists. Once they got into cocaine, drugs or alcohol, that’s when weird things started happening. I think that’s what set Puffy (Sean Combs) on that path,” the former music CEO said over the phone.
He even named three big shots, Clive Davis, Russell Simmons and Andre Harrell (owners of top record companies in the US) who used alcohol, drugs and sex to control Diddy. After “growing up”, Diddy applied the same method to Usher and then Justin Bieber .
Knight went on to say that music companies Interscope and Universal have a policy of not taking action against troubled artists. The labels often use hush money to cover up victims. One woman was placed on Interscope’s payroll to justify the payment after she accused Diddy of sexual assault.
There is no evidence to support Knight’s accusations. Davis, Simmons and Harrell are all high-profile figures who have never been tried for any sex crimes.
What did the person named say?
Davis’ spokesperson strongly denied the negative claims about the 92-year-old legendary music producer.
“This is a completely fabricated story spread by an incarcerated criminal. Mr Knight’s claims about Clive Davis are 100% false as nothing of the sort ever happened. Clive was a mentor to artists and as such would never condone any inappropriate behaviour,” the spokesperson said.
Clive Davis is known as the former president of Columbia Records, and was behind the success of a series of famous voices such as Whitney Houston, Barry Manilow and Aerosmith. He has never been accused or convicted of any sexual crimes.
Davis has, however, come out in defense of Diddy. In January, after Combs was sued for rape and battery by his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura, Davis sided with the Bad Boy for Life rapper and did not rescind Diddy’s invitation to his annual pre-Grammy Awards party.
Simmons did not respond to requests for comment. However, the Def Jam Recordings co-founder has been notorious for being accused of rape by multiple women in the past. Simmons has denied causing any harm, but the controversy has forced the 66-year-old businessman to leave the company and live a more private life in Bali, Indonesia.
Meanwhile, Andre Harrell, Diddy’s former mentor, died of heart failure in 2020 at the age of 59. He had a clean record during his lifetime.
Representatives for Sean Combs, Usher and Justin Bieber have all remained silent on the controversy.
