Whoopi Goldberg and Alyssa Farah Griffin cut into Sunny Hostin’s summary of charges against the hip-hop mogul to note that possessing lube isn’t illegal.
The cohosts of The View attempted to use a comedic quip to break through an uncomfortable summary of criminal charges brought against hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs following his arrest in New York on Monday evening.
Tuesday’s episode of the talk show included a Hot Topic discussion about Combs’ legal woes, which came to a head when he was arrested by federal agents in Manhattan after a grand jury indictment on charges related to sex trafficking and racketeering.
“Racketeering cases are not that common, but racketeering convictions are very common in the federal government,” said The View‘s legal expert, Sunny Hostin, as the cohosts reacted to news of the charges that broke moments before the show went on the air Tuesday morning. “These cases are generally brought against mobs. They’re describing a criminal enterprise that involved trafficking of underage people across state lines to have sex, and they dubbed them ‘freak-offs,’ they raided his homes and found 1,000 vials of lubricant.”
ABC (2); Jemal Countess/Getty
Alyssa Farah, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, and Whoopi Goldberg
While Joy Behar called the news “disgusting,” Whoopi Goldberg and Alyssa Farah Griffin joked about the vials of lubricant.
“But that’s not, the lubricant is not…” Goldberg said, while Griffin jumped in to add, “It ain’t a crime, guys” — a phrase Goldberg repeated, prompting light laughter from the audience and cohosts.
“But it is evidence, it can be used as evidence of a ‘freak-off,'” Hostin, who didn’t laugh, observed, before estimating that, if convicted, Combs could face “a max of 20 years to life” in prison.
Entertainment Weekly has reached out to Combs’ attorney Marc Agnifilo for comment.
Responding to the initial news of Combs’ arrest, Agnifilo said in a statement Monday, “We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.” He added that Combs had been “cooperative with this investigation and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges.” According to Agnfilo, his client “looks forward to clearing his name in court.”
Related: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs ordered to pay over $100 million in sexual assault case
Later on The View, Griffin spoke in support of Combs’ ex Cassie, the recording artist who filed a lawsuit in November alleging that Combs raped and physically abused her. (The suit was settled a day later.)
“I just want to mention Cassie Ventura, who bravely came forward with a civil suit, who laid out the egregious, horrible things he did to her,” Griffin said. “They settled out of court, but by putting that out there, it helped other victims come forward.”
In response to Cassie’s lawsuit, an attorney for Combs told EW in November that his client “vehemently” denied the allegations, though a video later surfaced showing Combs physically assaulting Cassie at a hotel in 2016.
In a video posted to Instagram (and since deleted) after the hotel clip went public, Combs said, “It’s so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you gotta do that.” He added, “I was f‑‑‑ed up. I mean, I hit rock bottom. But I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable.”
Several more individuals have filed lawsuits accusing Combs of sexual misconduct, and his lawyers are fighting them all in court.
