The events helped the music mogul raise his profile. A woman who worked there has said in court papers that the parties also had a dark side.
In the 2000s, few events had the cultural cachet of the white parties Hosted by Sean Combyes: These were celebrations in Beverly Hills, the Hamptons and other vacation spots of the wealthy, filled with famous people and fabulous settings.
At the 2009 party, Demi Moore appeared on the scene with Lil’ Kimdancers spun on giant plastic balloons alongside wobbly stilt walkers, and Ashton Kutcher swung, like Tarzan, over a pool where models in white bikinis lounged next to them.
And at the center of it all was Combs, the billionaire hip-hop mogul, also known as Puff Daddy and Diddywho always toasted with a glass of Cîroc vodka and appreciated comparisons of his parties with legendary celebrations.
“Have I read The Great Gatsby?” Combs told The Independent. I am the Great Gatsby.”
Now, Combs’s fate again provokes a comparison with Gatsby, because of the scandal. Prosecutors allege he hired employees, facilitators and sex workers to host far shadier evenings than the white parties called freak offs in hotels, filled with drugs, which sometimes lasted for days, where he abused the participants and forced them to perform sexual acts, which he sometimes filmed and with which he masturbated.
The criminal indictment unsealed this month in Manhattan federal court has prompted a reassessment of the white parties of those who participated or worked in them. Were they just innocuous press events where you had to see and be seen? Or was there, beyond the white facade, a darker element?
A recent lawsuit alleges that misconduct also occurred at those events: In July, Adria English, who was hired by Combs to work on a series of White Parties in the 2000s, sued him, claiming that she was supplied with drugs at the events. and liquor with ecstasy, and was ordered to have sexual relations with certain guests, making her “a sexual pawn.”
Jonathan Davis, attorney for Combsdenied in July that his client had “sexually assaulted or sexually trafficked anyone.” In a statement issued Saturday by Combs’ representatives, his team denied that any crime had been committed at the White Parties.
“It is disappointing to see how the media and social commentators twist these cultural moments into something they are not,” the statement said. Shaming celebrities who attended, taking video clips and photos out of context, and attempting to link these events to misleading accusations is disingenuous.”
The white parties are not mentioned in the indictment with three charges that accuse Combs54 years old, of criminal association, sex trafficking and transportation for prostitution. He pleaded not guilty, and his legal team presented his prosecution as an example of “unfair prosecution” of behavior
consensual.
The accusations have once again put Combs’ parties in the public spotlight, as hundreds of photos of celebrities hanging out with the musician have circulated, including Leonardo DiCaprio, writer Salman Rushdie and Donald Trump, an indication of the singer’s reach in the media. worlds of music, cinema, fashion and others.
Everyone wanted to attend
No invitation was more coveted than that of a white partywhich Combs began organizing in the late 1990s. They were lavish, orchestrated events that seemed to be as much public relations as partying. At gatherings that often had civic causes, veteran celebrities mingled with current stars and members of high society. The dress code and decor—all white—suggested a certain pristine simplicity.
“There were beautiful people, a lot of people from the Hamptons, and young people, club kids,” said Patrick McMullan, a nightlife photographer, who attended some of the parties. “Everyone wanted to be part of that world.”
In her 114-page lawsuit — which included a “trigger warning” due to its graphic nature — Adria English implied that the glamor was a facade. At a party, she said Combs asked her to wear a black dress to signal to other guests that she was available for sexual encounters. She said she was paid $1,000 for a meeting with a guest, according to court documents.
English, who had worked as an erotic dancer and porn actress, also accused Combs in his lawsuit of allowing that other unidentified men sexually assaulted her—and filmed the acts—while she was unconscious at White Parties in New York and at Combs’ home in Star Island, Florida.
Combs’ attorney, Davis, said, “We live in a world where anyone can file a lawsuit for any reason and without any evidence. Fortunately, there is a fair and impartial judicial process to find the truth and Combs is confident that he will prevail against these and other baseless claims in court.”
“Everyone who could go, went,” said R. Couri Hay, a New York publicist who has also long written about social life in the Hamptons, although he said he now wondered “what was happening on the doorstep.” closed.”
The publicist agreed that the white parties “public facing” were intended to boost and promote Combs’ image. “It was the Puffy Met Gala, the Puffy Oscars, the Puffy Grammys,” he said.
how white
The parties used to last from daylight until the early hours of the morning. Some guests brought their children—as did Combs—, who gobbled up free ice cream with the stars. Sponsoring brands placed their names on the white carpets and gave gifts. Among the guests there were sometimes, along with celebrities and friends, some lesser-known models, sometimes hired in New York fashion shows.
Once guests arrived, sometimes bussed from Manhattan, waiters in white tuxedos circulated with champagne. Nicholas Kraus, whom Combs hired to conduct diplomacy with his neighbors on Long Island, he said steps were taken to make sure the parties were well received in the Hamptons, including offering them limousine rides and dinners at fancy restaurants on Combs’ dime. to avoid noise complaints.
No expense was spared or detail overlooked: in 2004, Combs He brought an original copy of the Declaration of Independence to a Fourth of July White Party in Bridgehampton, a borrowed relic—from television producer Norman Lear—accompanied by a team of burly security officers.
“I promise not to spill champagne on her,” Combs joked.
The party, promoted by Sony and also hosted by Jay-Z and Paris Hilton, offered a buffet of high-end entertainment options, including badminton, horse riding and croquet. In addition, it served as the launch of the organization Citizen Change, founded by Combs with the aim of “making these elections the sexiest event of history.”
At the 2009 party in Beverly Hills, the decor and staging were equally sumptuous, with dozens of white footstools and a custom-made trellis over the pool, wrapped in white gauze, from which Kutcher would later swing. The party promoted Malaria No More, a nonprofit organization that provides mosquito nets and other services in malaria-affected areas. The dress code was strict, and enforced.
“White meant white,” said T. Scott Case, former executive director of Malaria No More. Don’t show up looking eggshell.”
Some of the parties also had a sensual feel. The models wore angel wings and were sometimes topless. Photos from the 1998 party show Combs pouring champagne on two half-naked women.
Some attendees said that when the celebrations turned from day to night, guests and hired models ended up in the pool, completely or partially naked.
Jay Blaze, an artist whose music was featured on Combs’ reality show Making the Band, attended the 2009 party, after showing up uninvited. Combs let him in, however, on the condition that he continue “doing good things for people.”
As the sun set, Blaze said he started to feel more uncomfortable. According to him, some drunk men shouted at the models in the pool, groping them or preventing them from putting on dry clothes. Nobody intervened.
“The response was, ‘It’s a hip-hop party, it’s a Diddy party, it’s the white party,’” Blaze recalled.
At another held in 2006 at Nikki Beach, a famous beachside club in St. Tropez, guests were met with erotically charged photos, including two intertwined tongues and Combs’ hand on a woman’s bikini bottom. Another photo showed the star shirtless, wearing his trademark sunglasses and a pair of jewel-encrusted crosses hanging over his glistening chest. A yacht was rocking out to sea.
Combs discontinued his White Parties after the one in Beverly Hills in 2009; His representatives said part of the reason was that the mogul was spending less time in the Hamptons. They added that the parties were “iconic, a true convergence of hip-hop, Hollywood and black excellence”, with “endless people competing to attend”.
Now, however, after being denied bail, Combs He is in the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center. He could face life in prison if convicted of criminal conspiracy; the other two charges also carry the possibility of lengthy prison terms.
c.2024 The New York Times Company
