Photo Credit: Spotify
Diddy sees streaming activity for his music plunge severely following sexual assault allegations culminating in the release of an apology video this week.
According to data from Luminate, Sean “Diddy” Combs’ US catalog streams have decreased severely over the past six months, beginning two weeks after Cassie Ventura sued him with allegations of sexual assault in November.
During the first week of December and ending May 16, Luminate reported a 51.8% decrease for songs under the stage name Diddy, and a 48.3% decrease under his previous stage name, Puff Daddy. As Diddy, he saw a drop from 2,626,000 streams to 1,265,000, while Puff Daddy saw a similar drop from 1,359,000 to 703,000 streams, per details relayed by Hollywood Reporter.
The report comes just after Combs released an apology video on Sunday for a 2016 hotel surveillance video leaked to CNN earlier in the week which shows him attacking then-girlfriend Ventura. Known mononymously as R&B singer Cassie, Ventura was signed to his imprint Bad Boy Records. The two shared a hit in 2006 with the track “Me & U” and were involved romantically for over a decade.
In November, her lawsuit accusing him of repeated physical and sexual abuse during their relationship sparked numerous other individuals to file their own lawsuits against Combs, citing similar abuse. Cassie’s lawsuit describes the assault shown in the 2016 video.
Combs was quick to settle Cassie Ventura’s lawsuit for an undisclosed amount, though he and his legal team have denied all allegations against him. Until the hotel surveillance video led to Combs releasing an apology video, of course.
Diddy’s most recent release, The Love Album, earned him a Grammy nomination — his first in 20 years. But Combs neglected to appear at the ceremony in light of the drama surrounding him. He has won three Grammy Awards over the course of his career, securing five No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, and 15 Top 10 hits.
Throughout his career, Combs has released solo projects, but is more widely known for his work as a producer for artists like Mary J. Blige and The Notorious B.I.G., and collaborations with Usher, Beyonce, Mariah Carey, and Janet Jackson.
