These women were talking about Diddy years ago. Why didn’t we listen?

When music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs was the subject of a shocking indictment last week accusing him of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution, it sent shockwaves through the music industry. But some were far from surprised.

Rumors about Diddy’s alleged behavior have been circulating for years, and some famous women have even made comments about him in interviews in the past. The problem? Few people listened.

In a 2004 profile by Kimora Lee Simmons, she recalled a time when Combs threatened to hit her when she was pregnant. In 2022, former Danity Kane member Aubrey O’Day revealed on the podcast “Call Her Daddy” that her forced departure from the girl group in 2008 was due to Combs refusing to “do what was expected of her” in areas non-music related. And singer Jaguar Wright has defended her stance for years, accusing Combs of serious crimes in several interviews. In a video interview, Wright says she was called a “liar” and accused of being jealous of Combs’ success.

It wasn’t until footage surfaced of Combs physically assaulting her ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura that people started listening to their stories. Why?

Experts say gender and race biases, as well as cognitive biases such as the “halo effect,” contribute to denial of allegations of sexual abuse, leaving victims feeling ashamed and untrustworthy.

The ‘halo effect’ protects celebrities from scrutiny

According to Elizabeth L. Jeglic, a clinical psychologist and professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York, a cognitive distortion called the “halo effect” can protect a public figure’s image from accusations of sexual abuse.

When we have a positive impression of someone like Combs, a Grammy-winning artist who spent time with Oprah and Obama, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and an honorary doctorate from Howard University, Jeglic says the public tends to ignore “information that doesn’t align with our perception of him,” especially when someone “lesser than him” comes forward.

That may have been what happened in 1999. The rapper was at a club with then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez, when Combs and his bodyguard Anthony “Wolf” Jones allegedly got into an altercation with rapper Moses “Shyne” Barrow, and the ensuing shootout left three people injured. After a police chase, Combs, Lopez, Jones, and Barrow were all briefly arrested. The subsequent jury trial found only Barrow guilty of first-degree assault for shooting two bystanders. One of the victims was Natania Reuben, who has consistently claimed that Diddy was one of the men who fired shots.

Sometimes, however, it takes irrefutable evidence for people to change their perception of a celebrity. Such was the case when the video emerged of Combs attacking Ventura in the hotel.

“Then people start asking themselves, ‘Can he really behave like that?’” Jelgic explains.

Diddy Sex Trafficking Charges: What does this mean for him?

Black female survivors ‘face an uphill battle’

Some of the women who allege Combs abused them are black women, which may play a role in the doubt they faced. According to Chloe Grace Hart, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, this dates back to the 19th century, when the minimization of black women’s experiences with sexual violence in the United States “was really codified into law.”

“In some Southern states, only white women could be legally recognized as rape victims,” ​​Hart says. “That’s certainly not the case today, but vestiges of that kind of thinking persist, although not necessarily on a conscious level.”

A recent study by Hart found that Americans were less likely to say they believed a black woman who described an experience with sexual harassment compared to a white woman who described the same thing.

“That suggests that it is a particularly tough struggle for Black women who are victims of sexual violence to be believed,” she says.

According to Reneé Carr, a clinical psychologist and expert in the field of human thinking, black and Latina women are often oversexualized, which is paramount when allegations of abuse are made.

“When people see someone claiming to have been sexually abused or assaulted, (they think) that that person probably wanted it. Because subconsciously we have this stereotype that that person is already very sexual,” she says.

‘Men still have a lot of power,’ but there is strength in numbers

“We still live in a very patriarchal society, where men still largely hold the power,” Jelgic says. “So when women come forward with accusations, it’s much easier to smear them and paint them as emotional or crazy.”

Black women are also often perceived as “angry” and that bias can further exacerbate the neglect and gaslighting in response to their own experiences.

However, when more women come forward with stories of abuse, it becomes easier for the public to accept and hear these stories. We may reach a day where it is not necessary to provide overwhelming evidence to believe women, but we are not there yet.

“We have seen changes with #MeToo,” Jelgic says. “But there is still a long way to go.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Diddy: Aubrey O’Day, More, spoke out years ago. No one listened.