Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs allegations: Former hip-hop dancer speaks out about the industry – ‘They share women. They share secrets’

Published

6 months ago

December 15, 2024

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“What Sean Combs is being accused of is not rare. He’s not an anomaly.”

For a year in the early noughties, Elisabeth Ovesen was a hip-hop video star dancing alongside some of the biggest names in the business. It was an era of big-budget music videos filled with, in rap especially, money, cars, and women.

She kept diaries. In 2005, she published Confessions Of A Video Vixen, recounting her difficult upbringing and relationships before finding a seemingly glamorous lifeline to financial security.

Under the name Karrine Steffans, she detailed her experiences on video sets as a 22-year-old woman, her relationships and sexual encounters with rappers, other music stars and executives. Most of her own experiences involving famous stars were consensual, she says; the book is a cautionary tale about a feted industry, her stories highlighting misogyny and power imbalances in terms of age and status, how women were used and discarded, rather than criminal behaviour.

But Ovesen says she was also aware of a much darker side to the music industry, and Hollywood in general.

In the wake of the #MeToo movement – and most recently the charges filed in the US against rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs, which he has strenuously denied – she says she wants people to know there are others “getting away” with similar behaviour and crimes.

Her words echo those of lawyer Tony Buzbee, who has filed several lawsuits against Combs. He has also claimed A-listers are paying off victims to avoid being publicly named.

‘Everything that’s coming out wasn’t a secret’

Speaking to Sky News on Zoom, Ovesen recounts the night she first met Combs, saying she was “kind of ordered” to his house. Despite this, in hindsight, being a “weird” experience, she says he treated her well and with respect. “We’re at a club, I was with people he knew, our cars were leaving at the same time,” she says. Combs leaned out of a window to talk to the men in her car, “talking about me like I’m property”.

The men decided she would go to his house, she says. “It was kind of like, ‘send her’. In retrospect now I realise how weird that is.”

She says this was shortly after Combs’ break-up with Jennifer Lopez in 2001. “He was very sweet and very docile with me and very respectful. The next morning we had brunch at his house… again, [he was] pleasant, warm.” She says she went to other parties with Combs and he was always the same.

But he knew she kept diaries, she claims. “So my experiences with him are a lot different than hundreds of other people’s… I have seen him flare up. I have seen things that did not involve me.”

These are not her stories to tell, she says. “I don’t want to overshadow actual victims. I’m nobody’s victim.”

However, Ovesen says she became aware of the hip-hop star’s alleged behaviour, his abuse of former girlfriend Cassie, which he publicly apologised for, and the claims of “freak-off” parties detailed in the charges against him.

“I knew what kind of person he was to other people. Everything that’s coming out now about Sean wasn’t a secret… him and Cassie, that was an open secret in LA, in the industry. Everyone knew. The issue with something like that is that if someone says, ‘yeah, I was there, I’ve seen it. I know for sure’. Then the question becomes, well, what were you doing there?”

Misogyny and abuse in the hip-hop industry, and in the wider music industry – Hollywood in general – is rife, Ovesen says.

“If we’re looking at this one person and the industry this person is in, now let’s look at all the men who are not saying anything at all,” she says. “I want to be very clear that what Sean is being accused of is not rare. He’s not an anomaly… the behaviour is learned and perpetuated.”

Ovesen says some men she knew from the industry at the time had a family home – “and then there’s a party house”. Drugs were rife, she says, and she witnessed heroin, cocaine and crack being taken “by prominent celebrity men”.

Women are treated as objects and often suffer sexual abuse, she says. Some men too, and under-age boys and girls, she claims.

Artists “have the same agents, the same managers, the same handlers, the same accountants… they have the same friends. They share jets. They use each other’s houses. They share women. They share secrets. It’s not [just] a Sean Combs problem, it is a worldwide issue. It’s about men with money, men with power.”

When Ovesen arrived in LA, she was looking for dancing work. Being “discovered” for music videos, with payment of thousands of dollars for a day or two on set, would set her up. But she says she was never naïve about the industry and also acknowledges that a lot of her experiences were “fun”.

“I always knew what it was. I always knew why I was there. Women were being used as props and to make the men look good, and we were disposable and not treated with respect, for the most part. But coming from my particular background – having been an exotic dancer – that didn’t deter me or bother me at the time.”

CCTV cameras and NDAs

This is no longer Ovesen’s world, she points out. She has published several books since her first, and has also given lectures about her experiences. However, she says she has friends in the industry who say things haven’t changed.

She claims she went to house parties and woke to “screaming in the middle of the night – women being beaten, slapped, pushed around”, as well as men being abused, and closeted artists who feel “shame”, which turns to anger, “around sexual proclivities”.

Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) are signed and people are often paid off, she says. “It’s not rare or weird, it’s just the way it always has been, where the men do awful things and then they pay people off.” NDAs were often presented at the doors to celebrity homes before parties. Ovesen says she signed one herself on one occasion in 2000, but refused after this.

“They have cameras everywhere,” she says, as would be typical for security of an expensive property. “Not only is that NDA going to tell you, whatever you see here stays in this house, it’s also going to explain if anything happens to you, you can’t sue. And there’s also a clause about any videotaping.”

Ovesen claims there are prominent actors, artists, producers and executives all involved in similar behaviour. She never witnessed an alleged “freak-off” party – because, she says again, Combs was aware she kept a diary. “But did I know about them? Yes. Did I hear about them? Yes.”

There are others who have “their own version”, she says. “I’m thinking of one actor in particular – an Oscar-winning actor”.

She says she was called a “whore” and a liar when she published her book, and in the years afterwards. People were “angry I discussed men they revered in a way that didn’t uphold that reverence”, she says. But nothing was sugarcoated, even “my willing participation. I didn’t try to make myself look good, I just told the truth”.

Ovesen wanted people to know what the industry was like. “Women are shamed about our consensual sex, we’re shamed about our non-consensual sex. Women are shamed no matter what they do.”

Since the rise of the #MeToo movement, she has noticed a change in the reaction, from younger women discovering her for the first time. She is frustrated there had to be a change at all, but pleased for younger women, she says. Next year, she will release an updated version of her book, marking 20 years since it was published.

“I want this new generation to understand how important it is to believe women, to support each other.”

Sky News has contacted representatives for Combs for comment.

What is Combs accused of?

Combs was arrested on suspicion of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking in September and has remained in prison ahead of a trial currently set for May, having been denied bail.

The hip-hop mogul has pleaded not guilty to charges that he coerced and abused women for years with the aid of a network of associates and employees, while silencing victims through blackmail and violence – including kidnapping, arson and physical beatings.

He is also facing several civil lawsuits, with one lawyer saying he is representing dozens of accusers. Combs says his sexual relationships were consensual, and denies all wrongdoing.

Earlier this week, it emerged that rapper Jay-Z has been accused of raping a 13-year-old girl after the MTV Video Music Awards in 2000, allegedly alongside Combs. A federal lawsuit – which originally only named Combs – was refiled to add Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter.

Jay-Z has strenuously denied those allegations and called for the identity of the accuser to be revealed, or for the case to be dismissed. He responded to the allegations in a lengthy statement sent to NBC News, Sky News’ US partner.

“These allegations are so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one!!” he said. “Whomever would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away, would you not agree?

“These alleged victims would deserve real justice if that were the case.”

The rapper, who has three children with his wife Beyonce, continued: “My only heartbreak is for my family. My wife and I will have to sit our children down, one of whom is at the age where her friends will surely see the press and ask questions about the nature of these claims, and explain the cruelty and greed of people. I mourn yet another loss of innocence.

“Only your network of conspiracy theorists, fake physics, will believe the idiotic claims you have levied against me that, if not for the seriousness surrounding harm to kids, would be laughable.”

US

Trump to double tariffs on steel imports – as he threatens China

Published

1 day ago

May 31, 2025

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Trump to double tariffs on steel imports - as he threatens China

Donald Trump said he plans to double tariffs on steel imports from next week, deepening his trade war which has hit global markets.

The US president told a rally of steel workers in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, on Friday that tariffs would be raised from 25% to 50%, “which will even further secure the steel industry in the United States”.

Mr Trump later said on Truth Social that the new levy – also affecting aluminium imports – would be in effect from Wednesday and that American “industries are coming back like never before”.

“This will be yet another BIG jolt of great news for our wonderful steel and aluminum (sic) workers,” he added. “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

He then said: “We don’t want America’s future to be built with shoddy steel from Shanghai – we want it built with the strength and the pride of Pittsburgh!”

Sky News understands that British steel exports are exempt from this rise after a UK-US trade agreement was signed earlier this month.

The agreement said at the time that the US “will promptly construct a quota at most favoured nation (MFN) rates” for British steel, aluminium and derivative products.

Earlier, the US president claimed China had “totally violated” an agreement to mutually roll back tariffs and trade restrictions for critical minerals.

“So much for being Mr Nice Guy,” he said in a post on his social media platform.

In March, Mr Trump introduced a 25% tariff on all foreign steel and aluminium imports as a way to protect US manufacturing and bolster jobs by making foreign-made products less attractive.

The rates threaten to make the cost of products using steel and aluminium – such as cars or soft drink cans – more expensive for Americans.

He also previously threatened Canada with 50% levies on imports, while the provincial government of Ontario, in turn, threatened to charge 25% more for the electricity it supplies to the US.

Canada’s most populous province provides electricity to more than 1.5 million American homes and businesses in Minnesota, New York and Michigan.

At the time, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called the proposed 50% tariffs an “attack” on Canadian workers, families and businesses.

Roughly a quarter of all steel used in the US is imported, with a majority coming from Mexico, Canada, Japan, South Korea and Germany.

In 2024, 6.6m tonnes of steel were imported by the US from Canada, while 3.5m tonnes were brought in from Mexico.

The US is also reliant on imports for aluminium, with 3.2m tonnes coming from Canada last year.

US

Painfully soft and inane questions for Musk’s White House swan song

Published

1 day ago

May 31, 2025

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Painfully soft and inane questions for Musk's White House swan song

It was billed by the president as a press conference..

But that was accurate only to the extent that there were a few select reporters asking questions in the Oval Office.

They were part of the ‘pool’, a chosen group of journalists on a rota to cover the president’s movements each day.

The rota used to be drawn up by the White House Correspondents Association on a rotating basis.

The Trump administration has changed that. They now compile the pool.

And today, as it happens, the media seemed particularly compliant.

The questions were soft. Painfully so.

There was one on whether the president had any marital advice for his French counterpart – who appeared to be shoved by his wife the other day.

Another was about whether Mr Musk thought it was harder to colonise to Mars or reform government.

There were one or two about the pressing issues of the day, like Gaza, but nothing that could be described as probing or doing what we are supposed to be there to do – hold power to account.

And Musk, under Trump, has without question wielded immense power over the past few months; unprecedented for an unelected official.

He upended the workings of federal government, slashing thousands of jobs. He forced the closure of whole departments like USAID, changing America’s global footprint.

He did it all with a sense of enjoyment. The literal chainsaw to bureaucracy was memorable.

There is little debate in America about the need to cut government bureaucracy or cut the debt.

America, more than any country I have lived in, is a place full of bloat and waste. Yet it was Mr Musk’s methods which caused so much unease among his many critics.

They argued that where a scalpel was definitely needed, Musk instead deployed a sledgehammer.

At times, his flamboyant style was a neat distraction from the substance of Trump’s sweeping policy changes.

But none of that was interrogated in this ‘press conference’.

Instead, the inane questions went on.

Trump was asked if he would pardon Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs should he be convicted – he didn’t say ‘no’, but there was no follow up to examine why.

He was asked if he wished he’d become a judge given that they are blocking so much of his legislation. He laughed.

There was a moment when irony appeared to have died altogether.

In the same breath as trumpeting his success in cutting government waste – when he has, in fact, achieved a fraction of the $2 trillion savings he promised – Musk congratulated Trump for deploying so much gold around the Oval Office.

The presidential office has had an extensive, gaudy gold makeover costing undisclosed sums.

One reporter did ask about Musk’s alleged drug use. But by attributing the story to the New York Times – who have made the allegations – Musk had an easy out.

“Why believe that fake news,” he essentially said.

Surely the obvious question was “Mr Musk, when was the last time you took ketamine or ecstasy?”

It never came.

We did get the answer to one burning question, trivial though it was, given what’s going on in the world.

But it took 41 minutes for any of the reporters to ask it: Why was Elon Musk sporting a shiner on his right eye?

His 4-year-old son, X, whacked him, he said.

Maybe young X has some sympathy for the thousands of federal workers – ordinary Americans – who Musk fired at his president’s pleasure.

US

Musk appears with black eye at White House farewell – as Trump says he’s ‘not really leaving’

Published

2 days ago

May 30, 2025

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Musk appears with black eye at White House farewell - as Trump says he's 'not really leaving'

Elon Musk has formally left his role in Donald Trump’s administration.

Mr Musk sported a black eye at a press conference with Mr Trump in which the president confirmed the tech billionaire’s expected departure on Friday.

The billionaire owner of Tesla, SpaceX, and X said his five-year-old son X Æ A-12, or X for short, was responsible for the bruising.

“I was horsing around with my son… I said ‘go ahead and punch me in the face’, and he did,” Mr Musk told reporters in the Oval Office.

“It turns out a five-year-old can punch, actually. I didn’t really feel much at the time.”

At the press conference, Mr Trump thanked Mr Musk “for his incredible service” with his work for his help setting up and running the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, and suggested he would continue to be “back and forth”.

The US president handed Mr Musk a golden key in a White House-branded box, which he described as a “special present”.

“Elon gave an incredible service. [There is] nobody like him. And he had to go through the slings and the arrows, which is a shame, because he is an incredible patriot,” Mr Trump said.

“Some of the media organisations in this room are the slingers,” Mr Musk said when asked about the “slings and arrows” in an apparent dig at The New York Times.

The US president praised Mr Musk as “one of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced”, commending him for “stepping forward to put his talents into our nation” by leading DOGE.

Meanwhile, Mr Musk, who was wearing a DOGE-branded baseball cap and a T-shirt with “The Dogefather” written on it, said it was “not the end of DOGE, but the beginning” and that the DOGE team would “only grow stronger”.

The 53-year-old added that he would continue to visit the White House and would still be an adviser to Mr Trump.

During the press conference, Mr Trump also turned to various conflicts around the globe, telling reporters that Israel and Hamas are “very close to an agreement” for a ceasefire in Gaza.

The president said an agreement with Iran to stop it from developing nuclear weapons was also “very close”.

Meanwhile, following recent tensions between India and Pakistan, Mr Trump took credit for de-escalating the situation between the two countries.

The US president had handed Mr Musk the task of cutting government spending by sacking federal workers and eliminating bureaucratic waste as head of the newly formed DOGE department.

Mr Musk oversaw drastic cuts to America’s humanitarian efforts, leading to criticism that the US was relinquishing some of its global influence.

Despite promising to save taxpayers as much as $2trn (£1.5trn), DOGE currently estimates its efforts have saved $175bn (£130bn).

Mr Musk claimed the savings could be even higher, saying in the Oval Office on Friday: “We do expect over time a trillion dollars in savings. Say by the middle of next year, with presidential support, we can do it.”

Mr Trump read out a list of savings DOGE has allegedly made, including cutting $101m spent on DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) policies in the Department of Education, $59m on hotel rooms for migrants in New York, $42m on a project for social and behavioural change in Uganda, £24m “for an Arab Sesame Street” and $8m “for making mice transgender”.

But questions have been raised about whether the department has actually saved taxpayers as much money as suggested.

Meanwhile, Mr Musk – who famously brought his son X Æ A-12 to the Oval Office – has expressed frustration about resistance to his ideas, and clashed with other senior members of the Trump administration.

He claimed DOGE had been blamed for cuts that had nothing to do with his department.

“What we found was happening was if there were any cuts anywhere, people would assume that was done by DOGE,” he explained.

“We essentially became the ‘DOGE’ boogie man.”

It comes after Mr Musk’s father, Errol Musk, speaking to Gillian Joseph on The World earlier this week, insisted there had been “no rift between Elon and Donald Trump”.

As a “special government employee”, US law allowed Mr Musk to serve for 130 days, which would have ended around Friday.

He announced he was leaving in a post on X, in which he said: “I would like to thank President Donald Trump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending.”