Last-day-of-school vibes at ‘Diddy’ trial as old media clashes with new
New York: As the paparazzi waited outside the Daniel Patrick Moynihan courthouse for Sean “Diddy” Combs’ family to emerge, they stood cheek to cheek with a foe more vicious than a scandal-plagued star and more formidable than a celebrity lawyer.
They were battling a bunch of insurgent influencers, TikTokers, podcasters and court-watchers, all intent on capturing the moment Team Combs appeared after the hip-hop star was refused bail while awaiting sentencing on prostitution charges.
In New York, space is always at a premium. No more so than in the press pen outside a celebrity trial when the whole world’s establishment media is jostling for prime position against what they see as a bunch of upstarts.
Fledgling content creator Amir Abdul-Kareem outside the courthouse for the trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs in New York.Credit: Michael Koziol
“We are working press,” one independent video journalist, whom this masthead has chosen not to name, yelled at a rubbernecker with a selfie stick. “You have to move. What’s it for, your blog? It’s just so rude, unbelievably rude. I don’t know how you live with yourself.”
The video journalist, who said she was 80 years old, called the other woman a “blogging bitch” and dobbed her in to nearby police. The interloper was swiftly removed from the press area.
The older woman with the press pass was white. The younger woman with the selfie stick was black. As is so often the case in the US, racial politics is omnipresent.
“You’re a racist 80-year-old woman who’s been harassing everybody over here,” another young black woman yelled as the scene played out. “Everyone was peaceful until you came up over here.”
Amir Abdulkareem, a 28-year-old fledgling content creator dressed in a crisp, cream-coloured blazer, didn’t like what he saw.
“Hectic is an understatement,” he said. “You would really like to think that grown people have a more civilised way of thinking and aren’t going to fight over lines and spaces.
“I get it. People here are trying to make money. This is a job for a lot of people. However, we’re not the ones facing jail time in this line. Relax. It’s not that serious.”
Earlier, in an overflow room on level 24 of the courthouse, a young artist who goes by the name of Jarva Lund casually sketched the faces of people waiting for a verdict on Combs’ bid for bail. She said she attended several recent celebrity trials – including Johnny Depp’s defamation proceedings and Harvey Weinstein’s second New York trial – but this one had attracted the biggest throng of wannabe influencers and content creators.
“This is a content trial,” she said matter-of-factly. “I’ve never seen so many selfie sticks.”
One of those selfie-stick wielders, Tina Starr, stood back from the main throng late in the afternoon, recording for her modest YouTube audience (5000 followers). She is a Diddy supporter: one of her videos, which features Combs’ mum Janice blowing kisses to the camera, has 28,000 views.
Up next on her radar is the trial of Luigi Mangione, the 27-year-old accused of murdering health insurance boss Brian Thompson on a Manhattan street. “Can’t wait to get to Luigi,” says Starr. “That’s another big case.”
Whether inside the courtroom or out on the street, the entire day gave last-day-of-school vibes. Combs’ fans cheered the verdicts, cursed the prosecutors and gasped when the rapper was denied bail. Others, there to support Combs’ ex-girlfriend Cassandra Ventura, told Combs’ lawyers they had “nothing to be proud of”.
Media jostling as Janice Combs returns to court after Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges. Credit: AP
For nearly two months, the “Diddy” trial was a mecca for wannabe influencers, celebrity chasers and jobless attention seekers of all stripes. Now the circus is over.
Later, while the defence team conducted a news conference outside the courthouse, a young woman with long blue hair, wearing only a bra and white underwear, repeatedly yelled at a US court marshall to “shut the f–k up” and “lose weight” after she was instructed to get off the courthouse driveway.
“Butterball ass,” she hollered, while cameramen pleaded with her to quieten down. “N—er, f–k you with your pregnant ass, how many months, n–er?” she asked the court marshall. He responded: “I’m right behind you.”
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732). https://www.1800respect.org.au/
Must-see movies, interviews and all the latest from the world of film delivered to your inbox. Sign up for our Screening Room newsletter.