Several companies have reportedly cut ties with American rapper and actor, Sean “Diddy” Combs following the string of sexual abuse allegations brought against the music mogul.
According to a report from Rolling Stone published Sunday, eighteen companies have terminated their partnership with Combs’ e-commerce platform Empower Global.
Founded by Combs in 2021, Empower Global aims to promote Black-owned businesses with a digital marketplace that creates “opportunities for Black entrepreneurs to build and scale successful businesses and for everyone to ‘Shop Black’ daily with ease,” according to its official website.
One company that’s parted ways with Empower Global is lifestyle and fashion brand House of Takura, which confirmed its departure from the company in an email to USA TODAY on Monday.
“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.” founder Annette Njau told Rolling Stone.
Other companies that have reportedly left Empower Global include skincare brand Tsuri, jewelry label Fulaba, footwear line Rebecca Allen and sunscreen brand Baby Donna.
Combs, one the most influential hip-hop producers and executives of the past three decades, has been caught up in a whirlwind series of legal battles, including a bombshell lawsuit by ex-girlfriend Cassie that accused him of rape, sex trafficking and physical abuse. After Combs and Cassie’s settlement, two more women came forward to accuse him of sexual abuse.