D.L. Hughley isn’t happy with anyone cheering on Sean “Diddy” Combs after the partial verdict in his sex trafficking case. Talking to TMZ, the comedian said he believes Diddy was overcharged in the case, but the trial still revealed behavior that was clearly wrong.
“I think it’s clear that Puffy wasn’t charged for what he actually did. He was charged with these vague, hard-to-prove crimes. Even the judge seemed unsure,” Hughley, 62, explained. “It shows two things: money can buy a great defense, and if he had a public defender, he would’ve been convicted.”
Hughley also pointed out that Diddy wasn’t charged for domestic abuse. “They didn’t charge him with that. They charged him with these bigger crimes they just couldn’t prove.”
The trial ended with Diddy found guilty on two counts of transporting women across state lines for prostitution, but he was acquitted of racketeering and sex trafficking. Still, many people celebrated the outcome online. Tiny Harris, Boosie Badazz, and others cheered, and some fans even poured baby oil on themselves outside the courthouse.
Hughley called this reaction disturbing. “There are people who are morally bankrupt,” he said. “Even if Puffy wasn’t convicted of the most serious crimes, he still beat a woman in front of everyone. He wasn’t charged for that, and the feds wouldn’t handle that anyway. But it shows what kind of person he is — and what kind of society we are.”
“I can support a man getting a fair trial , that’s not the same as celebrating this verdict. Those are two totally different things,” Hughley added.
He also said he thinks there was a racial element to how heavily Diddy was charged. “They clearly overcharged him. There’s no denying that. But to celebrate this? Even though he wasn’t convicted of the worst crimes, we still learned a lot of things about him that are simply wrong.”
