18 Companies Distance Themselves From Diddys Latest Venture
Following five sexual-assault allegations made against him, including a lawsuit from Cassie — his ex-girlfriend and a former signee of his label, Bad Boy Records — Sean “Diddy” Combs’s business empire continues to face the fallout. Eighteen companies have distanced themselves from his recently launched e-commerce website Empower Global, a marketplace for Black-owned businesses, Rolling Stone confirmed on December 10. The site functions like Amazon: Sellers pay a $35 monthly subscription to operate on the platform. Of the 160 companies contacted, five said they are monitoring the allegations before making a decision to drop the site, the outlet reported. Nine said they have no firm plans to leave. Some companies who fully dropped Empower Global said the allegations, taken together with the platform’s poor performance, influenced their decision to leave. “We enjoyed working with the team, but have not seen meaningful sales, so we were already planning to terminate our relationship at the end of this year,” Rebecca Allen, founder of the eponymous brand, said. “These harrowing allegations have expedited our decision.”
Annette Njau, founder of luxury company House of Takura, said they decided to leave Empower “the day that Casandra Ventura filed her lawsuit,” she told Rolling Stone. “We take the allegations against Mr. Combs very seriously and find such behavior abhorrent and intolerable. We believe in victims’ rights, and support victims in speaking their truth, even against the most powerful of people.” Diddy announced the venture in 2021 under the umbrella of Combs Global, a company operating a portfolio of media, fashion, and e-commerce companies.
In November, the record executive and businessman stepped down as chairman of the TV network Revolt. The move is temporary, TMZ reported. “Sean Combs has stepped down from his position as Chairman of REVOLT,” the Instagram statement from the network read. “While Mr. Combs has previously had no operational or day-to-day role in the business, this decision helps to ensure that REVOLT remains steadfastly focused on our mission to create meaningful content for the culture and amplify the voices of all Black people throughout this country and the African diaspora.” Combs has been with the network since 2013. It added, “Our focus has always been one that reflects our commitment to the collective journey of REVOLT — one that is not driven by any individual, but by the shared efforts and values of our entire team on behalf of advancing, elevating and championing our culture — and that continues.” While Combs and Cassie settled their case one day after filing, Combs maintains his innocence in all cases.
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