Source: Variety / Getty
As if he didn’t have enough to worry about, Sean “Diddy” Combs is now looking at a steep drop in his streaming numbers. Per The Hollywood Reporter, Combs’ music is not being played at the level it was prior to explosive allegations and the release of surveillance video that showed him assaulting his former girlfriend Cassie Ventura.
Diddy has recorded under multiple monikers but both his ‘Diddy’ recordings and his ‘Puff Daddy’ saw a drop in streams. Luminate a digital music date company reports that streams under Diddy dropped 51.8% while streams under ‘Puff Daddy’ showed a loss of 48.3%. Songs recorded under ‘Diddy’ fell from 2,626,000 streams to 1,265,000. ‘Puff Daddy’ streams went from 1,359,000 to 703,000.
Diddy’s most recent release Off the Grid: The Love Album was nominated for his first Grammy in 20 years, but given the controversy around Ventura’s lawsuit last November, he opted not to attend the ceremony. The project did not win in its R&B Album Category. It was released last September when Diddy was also honored with MTV’s Global Icon Award.
No further promotion has happened on the project, which included collaborations with Jazmine Sullivan, Herb Alpert, John Legend, The Weeknd, Summer Walker, H.E.R. and Teyana Taylor. Diddy’s friends, cohorts and collaborators have remained silent in the wake of multiple lawsuits and the release of surveillance video that showed him assaulting Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel in 2016.
Combs apologized for the assault, which showed him kicking and dragging Ventura in front of a set of elevator banks as she tried to leave the hotel. “It’s so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you got to do that,” Diddy said in a video posted to his Instagram. “I was f-cked up — I hit rock bottom — but I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable.”
Diddy has been accused of sexual assault in multiple civil lawsuits but has denied all the allegations. His homes in Miami and Los Angeles were raided earlier this year, but no charges have yet been filed. Public sympathy has expanded for Ventura after the release of the video. though at first, some people accused her of filing the lawsuit, despite its detailed allegations, as a payday.
She responded to the release of the video on social media, saying in part, “My only ask is that EVERYONE open your heart to believing victims the first time. It takes a lot of heart to tell the truth out of a situation that you were powerless in.” She added, “I offer my hand to those that are still living in fear. Reach out to your people, don’t cut them off. No one should carry this weight alone.”
