“For 20 years, the defendant got away with his crimes — that ends in this courtroom,” declared Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey last week in the government’s case versus Sean “Diddy” Combs. “It is time to hold him accountable … the defendant is not a God.”
Perhaps not. But Combs is a massive celebrity. And what’s becoming increasingly apparent is that celebrity #MeToo cases — whether criminal or civil — are intensely difficult to win when up against a big name.
In addition to Combs being found not guilty of the most serious charges brought against the rap mogul, we’ve seen similar mixed results in other high-profile cases that involved intense media attention and a large outpouring of resources in the pursuit of “guilty” verdicts against celebrities accused of sex crimes:
The case against disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein — whose arrest kicked…