Diddy, Cassie, & the anatomy of "mutual abuse"

It's Been a Minute

NPR

News Commentary, Society & Culture, News, Spirituality, Religion & Spirituality

4.6 • 8.8K Ratings

🗓️ 16 May 2025

⏱️ 17 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The highly anticipated federal trial against Sean "Diddy" Combs has begun. The hip-hop mogul is facing charges of racketeering and sex trafficking, and could be sentenced to life in prison if found guilty. So why is his attorney, Marc Agnifilo, telling the court they're going to "take the position that there was mutual violence" in his relationship with the singer Cassie Ventura?

Brittany is joined by author Beverly Gooden and Loyola University law professor Laurie Levenson to discuss why "mutual abuse" can often come up in celebrity trials and why the concept itself is inherently flawed.

Listen to Brittany's past coverage of Diddy by clicking here.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	On the Code Switch podcast, 40 years ago, the Philadelphia Police Department carried out a bombing that destroyed a black neighborhood on live TV.
0:08.7	And yet the deadly events of that day have been largely forgotten.
0:11.7	There is now a historic marker because a group of middle school children were assigned to look at police brutality in their community.
0:21.5	Listen to the Code Switch podcast from the NPR network.
0:27.4	Hello, hello. I'm Brittany Luce, and you're listening to It's Been a Minute from NPR,
0:32.5	a show about what's going on in culture and why it doesn't happen by accident.
0:43.6	Yeah. what's going on in culture and why it doesn't happen by accident. All right, all right. This week, we are connecting the dots between R&B, racketeering, and
0:49.1	Amber Heard. I know, I know. How are all of these things connected? Well, we're going to find out with author,
0:56.6	Beverly Gooden, and Loyola University Law professor Lori Lev Lev, Lori, welcome to it's been a minute.
1:03.2	Thank you so much. Thank you for having us.
1:05.6	So first off, what is your favorite courtroom drama?
1:09.6	My cousin Vinnie.
1:11.5	Oh, that's a good one.
1:13.5	My is not a drama.
1:14.8	Technically, it's not a drama.
1:16.1	But there was drama going on in the courtroom, and that's legally blonde.
1:18.8	I just feel like...
1:19.9	Do you know who the legal advisor was for that movie?
1:23.1	No.
1:23.9	You're looking at her.
1:25.3	No!
1:28.8	Oh, my goodness! Lori, that's so major.
	...

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