Whether they like it or not, major A-listers are being pulled into the spotlight following the arrest of Sean “Diddy” Combs, including his ex-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez, who was pictured in a bed with him and Aaliyah in a resurfaced photograph.
With the hip hop mogul recently being arrested on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering, the past is catching up and haunting those who once mingled with the disgraced artist.
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ recent arrest on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering has put a harsh spotlight on his past relationships and social circles
Image credits: Patrick McMullan / Getty Images
One picture from the party, which has been making the rounds since the rap icon’s arrest, captured him with his then-girlfriend Jennifer. They were pictured looking comfy in bed with late R&B star Aaliyah, late record executive Andre Harrell, model Natane Adcock, and entrepreneur Damon Dash.
Netizens called the industry “cruel” after seeing the picture.
“Poor Aaliyah dealing with Diddy and RKelly,” one said while another wrote, “Aaliyah was so vulnerable and unprotected like omg that poor baby girl was in all the wrong spaces.”
The accused rap mogul and his ex Jennifer Lopez were pictured looking comfy in bed with Aaliyah, Andre Harrell and others
“That industry was so cruel the way they treated Aaliyah,” read a third comment.
Fans also wondered whether the Jenny from the Block singer was left traumatized during her time with the rapper.
“Has anyone ever considered the fact that JLO is traumatized from Diddy, which is why she can’t stay married,” one said.
Jennifer’s first husband Ojani Noa previously spoke about how he would get jealous when she spent time with Diddy while they were married.
“I rang Jen and asked why she was going out with him on dates and she said, ‘It’s just business. This is what I’m being told I have to do,’” he once told the Daily Mail. “I was jealous and would scream, ‘But you are married!’”
The pop diva tied the knot with Ojani in 1997 and was married to him for less than a year.
“That divorce with Ben Affleck makes more sense now,” read one comment on the resurfaced picture
The “Let’s Get Loud” singer then dated Diddy for about two years before calling it quits in 2001.
“I was in this relationship with Puff where I was totally crying, crazy and going nuts, it really took my whole life in a tailspin,” she told Vibe magazine in 2003, as quoted by Entertainment Weekly.
Though she never caught him, she said she was sure he was cheating on her with other women.
“I never caught him but I just knew,” she said at the time. “He’d say he was going to a club for a couple of hours and then never come back that night.”
On Tuesday (September 17), Diddy was ordered held without bail after he was charged with sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution.
The 54-year-old pleaded not guilty to the charges in federal court in New York City.
“I never caught him but I just knew,” the pop diva previously said about her relationship with the “I’ll Be Missing You” rapper. “He’d say he was going to a club for a couple of hours and then never come back that night”
Prosecutors sought detention for the rapper, arguing that he “poses an ongoing and significant danger to the community, has repeatedly engaged in obstructive conduct, and presents a serious risk of flight,” CBS News reported.
The hip-hop mogul is accused of being part of a criminal organization that engaged in or attempted to engage in sex trafficking, kidnapping, forced labor, arson, bribery, and other offenses. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said there were multiple victims involved.
“The indictment alleges that between at least 2008 and the present, Combs abused, threatened and coerced victims to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his conduct,” Williams said during a new conference on Tuesday.
“As alleged in the indictment, to carry out this conduct, Sean Combs led and participated in a racketeering conspiracy that used the business empire he controlled to carry out criminal activity.”