What Did Hip-Hop Do to Women’s Minds?

Few celebrities in the aughts embodied the American dream more than the music mogul Sean “Puffy” Combs. He was one of the most powerful men in music; you could argue that he single-handedly pulled hip-hop from the fringes into mainstream pop. Now he has a very different distinction: He has been accused of what sounds like some of the most vicious domestic abuse I have ever encountered in celebrity news. On Thursday, the R&B singer Cassie, Combs’s longtime romantic partner, filed a civil lawsuit against him. Cassie (whose real name is Casandra Ventura) alleged that Combs, who was also her boss, had, over the course of their decade-long relationship, subjected her to repeated instances of domestic violence. In 2018, the lawsuit claims, he raped her.

Combs’s lawyer said in a statement that he “vehemently denies” the allegations. For six months, the lawyer said, Combs had been “subjected to Ms. Ventura’s persistent demand of $30 million, under the threat of writing a damaging book about their relationship, which was