A video making the rounds wrongly claims that Lady Gaga was sexually assaulted by Sean Combs, a.k.a. Diddy. Combs is in jail right now facing over 120 lawsuits and a federal indictment for human trafficking, racketeering and sexual violence, but the quote by Gaga is unrelated. Here’s a look at the story and how the two narratives got crossed.
The clip now circulating on TikTok comes from the docu-series The Me You Can’t See, which was released on Apple TV+ in May of 2021. In it, Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry interviewed several stars about their mental health, and Lady Gaga – whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta – discussed her experience of trauma. The TikTok covers the beginning of her interview, where she explained: “I was 19 years old, and I was working in the business. A producer said to me, ‘Take your clothes off. I said, ‘No,’ and I left.”
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Gaga said that this unnamed producer threatened her career of she did not comply with their demands. She said: “They told me they were going to ‘burn’ all my music. And they didn’t stop asking me. And then, I just froze, and I just… I don’t even remember.” Here, the pop star broke down in tears, but when she could speak again she said: “And I will not say his name. I understand this Me Too movement, I understand that some people feel really comfortable with this, and I do not. I do not ever want to face that person again.”
Whoever captioned this clip claimed that Gaga was referring to Combs here, and it may sound believable since Combs is a record producer known for helping stars rise to prominence. However, Gaga has never named her abuser and has given no hints that it was Combs. Moreover, the caption states that she is referring to Combs’ infamous “freak off parties,” but that is not the scene she has described in past interviews.
Gaga first opened up about her sexual assault in a 2014 interview with Howard Stern, and has discussed it a few times since then. She always guards the identity of the producer and says that she has no interest in outing him or confronting him. There is not enough evidence to conclude that she is referring to Combs, and there is no obvious circumstantial evidence tying the two together either.
That doesn’t detract from the case against Combs, who has now been accused of many sexual assaults over the last three decades, along with other crimes. Combs was denied bail as he awaited a trial for racketeering and human trafficking, and in the meantime, lawsuits against him are piling up. The hip-hop mogul pleaded not guilty and continues to maintain his innocence through public statements.