P Diddy: The Rise and Fall

Nothing more than a subjective attempt to dig the dirt specifically on Sean Combs, and the Hip Hop music industry generally, it fell short of calling black people uncivilised thugs but only just. In spite of the title there was no rise - we were treated to the interviewer trying her hardest to find answers that fitted her agenda rather than a search for the truth or the facts. A mishmash of hearsay and gossip lacking facts, evidence or anything to persuade the viewer. If the hotel video was not included there would have been nothing to watch.

If I were representing Mr Combs I would certainly use this programme, aired on the British Broadcasting Corporation, in his defence.

Unbalanced, subjective and embarrassing.

The documentary attempts to "expose" systemic complicity in the music industry, yet fails to acknowledge the pattern of powerful predators that repeats across all industries, ultimately resulting in a basic-level analysis of institutional inaction.

This is a recurring story, not a unique scandal.

The presenter describes Diddy's open secret of abuse sustained by enablers. Sound familiar? This is not a new revelation, yet it is framed as so.

Misogyny in hip-hop is a symptom, not the disease itself. Yet the presenter places this as front and centre of her argument. Focusing on hip-hop distracts from the more severe systemic issues across all industry. Sure, misogynistic lyrics don't help, but this fails to address the numerous "family-friendly" abusers, e.g Jimmy Saville, Bill Cosby, Michael Jackson. Demanding better lyrics is a surface-level solution.

The documentary should interrogate why *all* industries replicate the same patterns of protectionism-not scapegoat one genre's aesthetics.

Ultimately, the documentary offers nothing unique to the discourse concerning powerful figures operating with unchecked influence, and the culture that still exists among elites today which allows abuse to persist.