A New York jury’s decision to acquit Sean “Diddy” Combs on three out of the five federal charges he faced has thrown many social media users for a loop.
Brian Allen, a podcast host with more than 160,000 followers, captured the prevailing sentiment on X when he posted, “So let me get this straight. Diddy was found NOT guilty of sex trafficking… but somehow guilty of transporting someone for prostitution? How does that even work?”
He wasn’t the only one left wondering how the jury came to its decision, which was not guilty on charges of racketeering and sex trafficking by force but guilty on two prostitution-related charges.
Some chalked up the partial acquittal to Combs’ fame and fortune; one X user wrote that “This Diddy trial is proof that you can do anything if you got money.”
Others connected the verdict to a broader retrenchment of the public’s empathy for sexual assault victims, and speculated about possible negative knock-on effects.
Meanwhile, several political figures and everyday users pointed out Combs’ past connections to President Donald Trump and mused that Diddy might receive a presidential pardon.
Democratic Representative Eric Swalwell, for instance, asked “Anyone tracking what time Diddy goes to [the] White House?”
Trump has acknowledged that he and Combs used to be friendly, and promised last month to “look at the facts” of the case.
In perhaps the weirdest response to the trial’s outcome, fellow hip-hop artist 50 Cent took to Instagram to congratulate his long-time rival, writing “that boy a bad man!”. The rapper called Diddy the “Gay John Gotti” in an apparent reference to the infamous mafioso who was also acquitted of federal racketeering charges.
It wasn’t lost on some that the Diddy verdict has drawn media attention away from Republicans’ efforts to pass their massive tax and immigration bill, one that’s been criticized by some as the “largest wealth transfer in American history.”
Indeed, journalist Aaron Rupar wrote sarcastically that “As Republicans are poised to pass legislation stripping healthcare from more than 10 million Americans, all three major cable news networks are covering… the Diddy trial.”
Nevertheless, the tweets will likely keep pouring in.
