Sean Combs, Russell Simmons And The Reckoning Of Men In Hip-Hop

Among the funniest pieces of news I encountered in an otherwise unfunny news cycle was that Russell Simmons, hiding out Bali, still managed to receive a court summons all the way from the United States. The honors came from Drew Dixon, who is suing Simmons for defamation of character after he denied sexually assaulting her.

It takes a full 24 hours to get to Indonesia, a country with no extradition treaty with the U.S., from most states. But I wish I could’ve seen Simmons’ face when he received the one thing that (most folks assume) he moved out there to avoid. He reportedly got the summons in front of people. There was swearing involved.

A much flashier show, of course, was the Department of Homeland Security’s March 25 raids on the homes of Sean “Diddy” Combs, who probably suffered his Worst Week Ever, or at least the worst since Cassie aired him out in a lawsuit last November. Quieter was Dixon’s lawsuit against Antonio “L.A.” Reid― the record executive legend most responsible for Usher’s early-career success — for assault and harassment.

Cassie and Dixon’s suits against Diddy, Reid and Simmons (all of whom have proclaimed their innocence) were a result of the now-expired window created by the New York Adult Survivors Act . But Cassie’s suit in particular — which Diddy settled in less time than it takes paint to dry — seemed to precipitate a series of men in hip-hop finally being held accountable for their alleged sexual transgressions.

The original 2017 #MeToo movement brought to heel numerous male celebrities, but it focused largely on white perpetrators and their (often white) victims. With the notable exception of Bill Cosby, a lot of Black men skated by — arguably because #MeToo was a moment for white women