More details about Diddy’s operation are being revealed seemingly every day. The disgraced mogul has been denied bail twice, and is awaiting trail on a host of charges. Some of the most notable include sex trafficking, racketeering, and kidnapping. The full scope of Diddy’s crimes has yet to be uncovered. That said, an officer who participated in the raid on his home recently spoke with the New York Post. The officer is not named, but his allegations regarding what he saw are absolutely chilling to sift through.
The officer, who is part of Homeland Security, alleged that Diddy’s “freak off” parties would often go on for multiple days. They also claimed to have discovered multiple camera located around Diddy’s home. They were seemingly placed to capture the various participants of the “freak offs” in different positions. “If you were in those sex parties, you were being recorded from every possible angle,” the officer noted. “Including angles you wouldn’t have known about.” The more the officer shared, the more disturbing the allegations grew. They drew a direct parallel between Diddy’s alleged crimes and the innumerable crimes of sex offender and trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
“In my opinion, he’s as bad as Jeffrey Epstein,” the officer told the New York Post. The biggest reason why the Homeland Security officer made the comparison was due to the youthful appearances of the women who participated in the “freak offs.” They alleged that many of these women were also being forced to commit sexual acts against their will. “These women are young. Either barely legal, or barely illegal,” the officer claimed. “We have evidence that these women didn’t feel like they were free to go.” The article makes reference to video footage of these women being “clearly out it” while having sex.
The Homeland Security officer also alleged that Diddy would watch these “freak offs” from other rooms in his home. “He also was able to watch the action remotely on his phone,” they explained. “Cast it onto a TV in another part of the house. He didn’t have to be in the room when the sex was happening, although he frequently was.” The DHS officer alluded to the possibility that Diddy would record these events as a means of having dirt on other powerful figures in the entertainment industry. The New York Post claims to have reached out to Diddy’s reps to comment on these allegations, but they have not responded.
Taylor Swift does not stop. She’s been one of the hardest-working musicians of the 2020s. Between her new albums and the re-recording of her old albums, it’s any wonder she has time to tour. Things seemed to have cooled down after the less-than-stellar reaction to her last album, though. Swift hasn’t hinted at any new music, or announced re-recording plans. Her longtime producer, however, started cranking the rumor mill on September 18. Jack Antonoff posted a series of photos on Instagram, and one of them featured TDE producer Sounwave.
The black-and-white photo dump sees Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff and Sounwave occupying the same studio space. Sounwave is alone in his photo, but the background make it clear as day that he was at the sessions being documented. The only real clue that fans have regarding the session is a time stamp with the date December 21, 2023 in the corner. This is a crucial piece of information. Taylor Swift dropped her last album, The Tortured Poets Department, in April. It would be easy to dismiss the photo of Sounwave as being from the Poets sessions, but the producer is not listed anywhere on the album’s credits.
The music that Taylor Swift and Sounwave made in December has not yet seen the light of day, which is why Swifties think there’s a new release around the corner. Jack Antonoff is very much a partner in crime when it comes to giving the fans clues. His posts are often teases of what’s to come, so the chances of a Sounwave photo meaning nothing are low. Besides, Sounwave has an established working relationship with both Antonoff and Swift. The TDE producer is part of the supergroup Red Hearse alongside Sam Dew and Antonoff. He’s also produced smash hits on multiple Taylor Swift songs dating back to 2019.
Sounwave is credited as a producer on Taylor Swift’s “Lover Boy.” His biggest contribution to the Swift catalog came in 2022, though. He is all over the pop star’s album Midnights, co-producing singles like “Lavender Haze” and “Karma.” This collaborative dynamic proved to be a two way street in 2024. The TDE veteran produced Kendrick Lamar’s diss song “616 In LA,” and he enlisted none other than Jack Antonoff to help him out. Given that Lamar’s opponent, Drake, had previously referenced Swift on the “Taylor Made Freestyle,” the link up seemed just as intentional as Antonoff’s new Instagram post.
Diddy is persona non grata in 2024. The Bad Boy founder is the most reviled figure in hip hop. Based on the horrifying list of charges and allegations made against him, the revulsion makes sense. His family has continued to show support, however. Diddy’s sons: Justin Combs, Christian Combs, and Quincy Brown, have been present in court each day since the mogul was arrested. They wanted to see their father get his bond appealed, but unfortunately for them, the opposite occurred on September 18. Diddy’s appeal was denied a second time, and the Combs family was forced to leave their father behind as they left the courthouse.
Justin Combs, Christian Combs, and Quincy Brown were filmed leaving the courthouse following the bond ruling. The three men avoided speaking to press, and were escorted out of the courthouse by the nearby security. Christian Combs and Quincy Brown were also seen entering the courthouse prior to the September 17 arraignment. The former may have been a bystander in court this week, but he is dealing with legal troubles of his own. Christian Combs was accused of sexual assault, sexual harassment and infliction of emotional distress in April.
The woman who filed the lawsuit, Grace O’Marcaigh, alleged that Christian Combs assaulted her in December 2022. Diddy was named as a defendant in the lawsuit, which was openly criticized by Diddy attorney Aaron Dyer. The attorney called the accusations against Christian Combs “lewd and meritless” and criticized Grace O’Marcaigh’s lawyer, Tyrone Blackburn, of manufacturing “lies” to exploit Diddy’s family. Christian Combs has reportedly taken the most active role in Diddy’s indictment.
People Magazine reported that Combs, nicknamed “King,” requested a copy of the indictment during the September 17 arraignment. Witnesses claim they saw him reading the 14-page indictment against Diddy. The charges listed include sex trafficking, fraud or coercion and transportation to engage in prostitution, and racketeering. Justin Combs has remained silent on the charges made against his father. He did book a role in Power Book: Ghost II, however, which is a show run by 50 Cent. 50, notably, has become one of Diddy’s most vocal critics in the past year.
Earlier this year, Lifetime unveiled their controversial docuseries, Where Is Wendy Williams? The doc puts some of the beloved former talk show host’s most vulnerable moments on display, including her opening up about mental health issues. This resulted in mixed reactions among viewers. While some thought it was informative to showcase Williams’ struggles, others began to accuse producers of exploiting her. This was only compounded when it was revealed that she was diagnosed with dementia and aphasia.
Now, according to PEOPLE, Williams’ guardian Sabrina Morrissey has filed a lawsuit against A&E Television Networks and its executive producer. Reportedly, she accuses them of “humiliating and exploiting” Williams for money. Morrissey alleges that they’ve made “millions off Wendy’s back,” while only paying her $82K for her participation.
In the suit, Morrissey also alleges that the crew “kept filming, trolling for the most embarrassing and shocking footage to titillate and sell to their audiences.” Williams’ team is asking that A&E cover Williams’ medical expenses and supervision for the rest of her life. The lawsuit comes after Creature Films executive producer Mark Ford spoke with PEOPLE about the doc in February.
“There was a guardianship in place the entire time we were filming with Wendy that was court-appointed to oversee her finances and her medical care. So I think the larger question here is about what can happen to someone under a legal guardianship if the family is separated from them and there isn’t somebody there on a daily basis checking in on their well-being,” he said at the time. “Wendy’s attorneys and the guardianship attorneys were consulted and signed off on the project.” What do you think of Wendy Williams’ guardian filing a lawsuit against A&E Television Networks and its executive producer earlier this year? What about them accusing the network of exploiting her? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below and keep an eye on HNHH for more updates.
“It takes a team” isn’t just a saying to ODESZA. As one of the biggest electronic acts in the world, Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight have built up their global following by surrounding themselves with people who not only believe in their vision but help bring it to life. In fact, the band’s creative leads are very much considered members of ODESZA themselves.
Particularly, SOUND+VISION Award honoree Sean Kusanagi. As a longtime friend of Mills and Knight dating back to their college years at Western Washington University, Kusanagi has played a pivotal role in the creation and evolution of ODESZA.
“I actually ended up introducing Harrison and Clay because I knew both of them and that they were doing separate projects,” Kusanagi says. “Clay was doing BeachesBeaches, and Harrison doing Catacombkid. I was living with Clay at the time, kind of near our senior year, and I told the guys they should really just get together and play some music.”
ODESZA
When he encouraged Mills and Knight to meet, Kusanagi didn’t envision that the pair would end up forming one of the most renowned touring acts in the country or that it would forever change the course of his own career. Early gigs in ODESZA’s career saw Kusanagi wearing all sorts of different hats, from touring with the band, to playing guitar on the duo’s 2012 album Summer’s Gone, to mapping lasers on the band’s Last Goodbye tour, Kusanagi evolved as a powerhouse creative force in his own right as the band ascended to stardom.
“My role is to make sure that all of the creative elements are working together,” Kusanagi says of his current role in ODESZA. “We’ve always been obsessed with cinema and movies and building cinematic-type experiences. And the show’s no different. It is like we’re telling a narrative, we’re really building a movie on stage for people to see.”
ODESZA
“Music drives everything and being able to work so closely with my friends Harrison and Clay and Luke [Tanaka] thinking as a whole cohesive entity is where just a lot of the magic happens,” Kusanagi continues. “Sometimes it’s a visual that sparks the audio and sometimes the audio sparks a visual or a laser moment or a pyro moment or a costuming moment or a choreography moment. My goal is to just build a world on the stage so that when people show up, they feel immersed for those 90 minutes to two hours and feel like they live inside of this ‘ODESZA world’ that can only exist right then and there.”
We asked Kusanagi what he believes to be the main innovative components that have changed ODESZA’s live shows over the past two decades.
So this was one of the first elements that we really brought to life, dating back to around 2015 or 2016. ODESZA being an electronic group, they wanted to bring live orchestral and musicality to a show that is consistently made of computers and electronic elements. I think a lot of people can agree that it’s not very interesting to just watch someone behind a computer. So it probed the question of how do you bring to life all the elements of their music, which is so layered and so textural and has so many different types of worldly samples? That was really the first thing that excited us.
The first thing that we tried was adding some drumming. Harrison and Clay initially just started drumming on stage, actually bringing a drum kit up there. They brought a SPD, toms, and crash to just add some of those initial energies since that’s all they could afford at the time.
We kept wanting to make it bigger though as the shows got bigger. It’s not enough just for the two of them to drum. So we brought on a drumline to represent so many of these rhythms and styles. It was almost 10 years ago now when we partnered with the Colorado University drumline, and what’s fun is some of those members are still with us now.
We wanted to then keep building on ODESZA’s cinematic musicality. That’s where we thought to add string components as well, and we brought strings to one of ODESZA’s first Red Rocks headlining shows. That was the moment where we started realizing there are all these opportunities to build not just around these electronic moments, but around these musical and orchestral moments and make it come to life. ODESZA built on this “cinematic-ness,” which was and continues to be very future-thinking.
Creative Innovation 2: Pyrotechnics
ODESZA
It’s really easy to just put an explosion within a show because we have money and it’ll just make the crowd hyped. But for us, it comes back to the question, “What’s motivating it? Why are we doing it?” We want to think about why we’re doing this and why it makes sense to add any sort of creative element into the live show.
So for us, yes, pyro is a huge part of our show, but we also want to make sure that it feels motivated for how everything is working together. I’ll use “Loyal” as an example here, where we have this army of drummers on the stage and we have this king that is rising from the dead. They’re bringing this loyal king to life. And in that moment we’re like, oh, fire makes so much sense here to add on the stage just because we have this very almost war battle scene happening, both with the drum line and the visuals. The fire is helping accent that.
We use pyro to help tell the story of this ODESZA world that we’re in.
One of the challenges that comes with pyro is the many different stage formats we find ourselves in. With the drumline out, we have a lot of people onstage, sometimes 16 people, while also trying to set off pyrotechnics. We had to work a lot on the choreography or reworked stage positionings to make it work on certain stages for sure. The whole thing gets underestimated, which is why you also don’t see it that often.
We’ve incorporated pyrotechnics for the past five or so years, but it was The Last Goodbye tour where we really dove in and built time code around our pyrotechnics and our special effects like confetti. We had every second planned. Every moment is planned down to the millisecond when it’s happening and how it’s firing and how it’s being shot off in the show.
Creative Innovation 3: Visuals
ODESZA
The mastermind behind the visuals is my partner Luke Tanaka. He’s the lead on a lot of it, but he works with 30-40 artists from all over the world to create the visuals at ODESZA’s shows.
We get to map out the show plan, and what type of visuals for each song, and then work with these really talented artists across the globe to craft the narrative behind every show. This is really Harrison, Clay, Luke, and myself figuring out what type of style we want the visuals to be. Is it animation? Is it Cinema 4D, is it unreal? Is it after-effects?
What type of program do we want to use? What type of visual artists do we want to collaborate with?
An example is our work with Aeforia, this amazing artist up from Canada who did a lot of the album design and album cover design. He built these characters and then we started using these characters as the main representation of the Last Goodbye souls that you actually saw as inflatables up at the Gorge and are also just kind the narrative tie between everything in the show.
We really try to stay away from building your classic three-part loop for each song, which you can see the format of a lot of times, and instead get into what the actual narrative of this show is, how do all these visuals play and intersect together? And then most importantly, what type of visual wants to represent the music in a whole entirely new way so when someone shows up to the show they experience a song and it evokes something different for them and allows them to hear it in a whole new light.
Creative Innovation 4: Lasers
ODESZA
We’ve used lasers for a long time, but we specifically leveled them up for The Last Goodbye tour.
Specifically, the lasers that we brought into the Gorge were a very unique new thing. I think one thing that we’ve always tried to do is if we’re at a special venue [like The Gorge] we want it to feel extra special. So we wanted to see how we could use lasers in a new way.
We actually put lasers behind the crowd and shot them all the way across the Gorge, with more wattage and lasers than what has ever been at that venue before. Projecting them across the crowd and into the background created this expansive place for people. The amount we used was the first time that that’s ever been done in that capacity at that venue.
I think that’s also the main ethos for every single one of these things. How has it been done in the past and how can we break that mold and how can we recontextualize it or rebuild it in a way that feels like it has always belonged in this set? And even if it is pushing the boundaries of the visuals or the world-building or the lasers or the pyro, the number one thing for all of it is that it works together.
If it doesn’t work together, then it all falls apart. I actually think one of the most innovative things is just building this from friends and building this as a friend group, who have been together since the very beginning and knowing that these are some of the biggest shows. I never thought that I would be in this position of creative directing before Beyonce at Coachella, but to be able to look over and see myself doing this with my friends while sharing a stage with Beyonce or Eminem, and do three nights sold out at the Gorge, that’s everyone’s dream.
Kid Cudi and J Cole are hip hop legends. They have stood the test of time, released classic albums, and continued to brandish their Hall of Fame resumes with new music. Despite breaking out around the same time, though, Cudi and Cole have never collaborated. Kid Cudi tried to remedy this missed opportunity by reaching out to J Cole on multiple occasions. During a September 18 Twitter exchange, though, the rapper revealed that Cole effectively ghosted him the last time he reached out with a song idea.
The whole exchange came about when a fan asked Kid Cudi if he’d want to work with J Cole. The rapper didn’t hesitate to explain the situation, and why said collab has never happened. To put it bluntly, he put the blame on the Dreamville veteran. “I always wanted to do something so I reached out for INSANO, no response. So theres that.” Kid Cudi also revealed that he tried to get J Cole on his 2013 album, INDICUD, but things once again fell through. The two rappers even set aside time to work together in the studio. “I had a session [with] Cole for Indicud,” Cudi recalled. “He couldn’t write to the beat I produced. It was a bummer.”
Kid Cudi Assured Fans That He’s Still Cool With J Cole
I had a session w Cole for Indicud he couldnt write to the beat I produced. It was a bummer, and I always wanted to do something so I reached out for INSANO, no response. So theres that. https://t.co/3lPu9rLZKX
In today’s beef-obsessed hip hop space, Kid Cudi’s tweets could easily serve as the basis for a rumored feud. Fortunately, the rapper clarified that he’s an enormous fan of J Cole, and has no hard feelings over the failed collabs. “Cole dope I fux w him,” he wrote in a follow up tweet. “I don’t think Cole dislikes me I think he just didn’t connect w what I sent him. One day hopefully it happens.” Another fan asked whether Cole could appear on Cudi’s upcoming album, but the rapper clarified that his new release will be light on the features. “Maybe 1 or 2,” he explained. “Depends on if something comes up organically.”
This is not the first time Kid Cudi has made headlines for discussing collabs. He turned heads back in February when he told followers that he wasn’t interested in working with Childish Gambino. It sounded like Cudi was hating, but Gambino cut the rumors off at the pass. He told IG live viewers he didn’t have time for beef with Kid Cudi or anybody else, and assured fans there was no issue that he was aware of. It’s safe to assume neither Cole nor Gambino will be making the tracklist for Cudi’s next release.
Diddy was already losing credibility as a positive cultural force when the footage of him assaulting Cassie leaked online. It was harrowing to watch, and validated all of the heinous claims made against him in the preceding months. Diddy’s reputation has never fully recovered. Given that the mogul is now locked up and facing a possible life sentence in prison, it’s safe to assume it never will. That said, the incident with Diddy and Cassie has continued to be a talking point. The Assistant U.S. Attorney prosecuting the case, Emily Johnson, alleged that there was actually a third person present when the assault happened.
This allegation came to light on September 18. Diddy’s attorney, Marc Agnifilo, previously alleged that Cassie was the one who started the altercation by hitting Diddy in the head with a cell phone. Agnifilo also claimed that Cassie’s infidelity is what sparked the preceding argument. The AUSA, or Assistant U.S. Attorney, pushed back against these comments in court. Johnson alleged that Cassie did not hit Diddy. She supported this stance by alleging that a sex worker was in the room with them at the time. The Neighborhood Talk provides additional details below.
Johnson pointed to other small details in the security footage as a means of defending Cassie’s stance in the altercation. The Assistant U.S. Attorney noted that the singer wasn’t wearing shoes, which suggested she feared for her safety. She also alleged that Diddy, Cassie, and the unnamed sex worker had finished a “freak off” prior to the hallway assault, hence Diddy wearing only a towel. Johnson also read messages that the mogul sent to Cassie after the assault. “Call me, the cops are here,” Diddy allegedly texted. “I got six kids. Yo, please call, I am surrounded. You gonna abandon me all alone.”
The Bad Boy mogul was denied bail on Tuesday, September 17. Emily Johnson successfully lobbied to keep him behind bars before the trial. She cited Diddy as a “serial abuser and a serial obstructor,” and feared that he would attempt to flee the country if allowed to return home. She also directly opposed comments made by Diddy’s lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, about the trial focusing on one victim. “This is not a case about one victim,” she noted. “There are multiple victims.”
Earlier this week, Diddy was arrested and hit with various charges. According to TMZ, he’s accused of “racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and transportation to engage in prostitution.” He appeared in court today after pleading not guilty to all charges. His request for release on bail was denied for the second time. Of course, the Bad Boy Records founder’s legal saga has elicited reactions from several social media users and peers.
50 Cent was among the most outspoken critics of Diddy from the beginning. He even sold a docuseries about him to Netflix earlier this year, tentatively titled Diddy Do It. For now, it remains unclear exactly when that’ll be released, but it looks like he’s been beaten to the punch. Today, Investigation Discovery and Maxine Productions announce their own Diddy docuseries which is slated for release in 2025.
Sean “Diddy” Combs attends Black Tie Affair For Quality Control’s CEO Pierre “Pee” Thomas at Fox Theater on June 02, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
“Through access to archival footage and in-depth reporting from Rolling Stone, along with harrowing testimony from survivors as well as friends and colleagues who knew and worked with [Diddy] before his stardom, the multipart docuseries will offer insight into unfolding allegations against the once untouchable superstar,” ID said of the docuseries. “It will also highlight the toxic power dynamic that played out within the industry and kept many survivors silenced — until now.”
While it’s possible that ID and Maxine Productions’ doc will arrive sooner than 50 Cent’s, he appeared confident in his ability to deliver what nobody else can in a chat with The Hollywood Reporter this year. “I’m the only one from Hip-Hop culture that’s produced quality projects,” he claimed. What do you think of Investigation Discovery and Maxine Productions announcing a Diddy docuseries coming in 2025? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below and keep an eye on HNHH for more updates.
