These women spoke out about Diddy years ago. Why didn’t we listen?

When music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs became the subject of a sensational indictment last week, charging him with extortion, human trafficking and transportation for the purpose of prostitution, it sent shockwaves through the music industry. But some weren’t surprised.

Rumors about Diddy’s alleged behavior have been circulating for years, and some celebrities have even spoken out about him in interviews in the past. The problem? Few listened.

In a 2004 profile of Kimora Lee Simmons, she recalled Combs threatening to hit her while she was pregnant. In 2022, former Danity Kane member Aubrey O’Day revealed on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast that her forced departure from the girl group in 2008 was related to her refusal to do “what Combs wanted her to do” in matters unrelated to music. And singer Jaguar Wright has stood her ground for years, accusing Combs of serious crimes in various interviews. In one video interview, Wright says she was called a “liar” and accused of being jealous of Combs’ success.

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

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

The ‘halo effect’ protects stars from criticism

A cognitive bias called the “halo effect” can protect a public figure’s image in the face of sexual harassment allegations, according to Elizabeth L. Jeglic, a clinical psychologist and professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York.

When we have a positive impression of someone like Combs, a Grammy-winning artist who has spent time with Oprah and Obama, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and an honorary doctorate from Howard University, the public tends to “reject information that contradicts our perception of that person,” according to Jeglic, especially when someone “of lower status” comes forward.

It may have taken place in 1999. The rapper was at a club with then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez, and Combs and his bodyguard Anthony “Wolf” Jones allegedly got into an argument with rapper Moses “Shyne” Barrow, resulting in three people being injured in the shooting. After a police chase, Combs, Lopez, Jones, and Barrow were briefly arrested. In a jury trial, only Barrow was found guilty of first-degree assault for shooting two random people. One of the victims was Natania Reuben, who has consistently claimed that Diddy was one of the men shooting.

But sometimes it takes hard evidence for people to change their perception of a star, as was the case following the release of a video of Combs attacking Ventura in a hotel room.

“It makes people wonder, ‘Can he really behave like that?’” Jelgic explains.

Sex Trafficking Allegations: What does that mean for him?

Black Women Survivors ‘Face Uphill Battle’

Some of the women who say Combs molested them are black, which may have played a role in the questions they grappled with. According to Chloe Grace Hart, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, this goes back to the 19th century, when minimizing black women’s experiences of sexual violence in the United States “really became enshrined in law.”

“In some Southern states, only white women could be legally recognized as rape victims,” Hart says. “Of course, that’s not the case today, but the remnants of that 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’s description of sexual harassment than a white woman’s.

“That means that when it comes to sexual violence, black women who have experienced it face a particularly difficult battle to be believed,” she says.

Black and Latina women are often oversexualized, which plays a major role in abuse allegations, according to Reneé Carr, a clinical psychologist and expert in human reasoning.

“When people see someone saying they’ve been sexually assaulted or abused, (they think) that person probably really wanted that because we have an unconscious stereotype in our minds that that person is already very sexual,” she says.

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

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

Black women are also stereotyped as “angry,” and this bias can further exacerbate neglect and gaslighting in response to their experiences.

However, when many women come forward with their accounts of abuse, it becomes easier for society to accept and listen to those stories. There may come a day when it won’t take overwhelming evidence to believe women, but we’re not there yet.

“We’ve seen change with #MeToo,” Jelgic says. “But there’s 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.