NEWS
The group of protesters voicing their support for Diddy outside of his criminal trial, when it kicked off earlier this month, allegedly found the gig through someone on Craigslist. According to illseed from AllHipHop, the people each allegedly made $20 an hour to wear shirts that had slogans in support of the Bad Boy mogul.
illseed writes: "So how did it all fall apart? After the Craigslist ads went up, I was told, the info ended up in a WhatsApp group. Or is that Signal? Either way, you get what I am saying. From there, it spread like wildfire. One of the people in that group — a mental health patient — told their therapist. The mental healthy specialist someone else, who told another person… and eventually, it got to me."
While the protesters may have allegedly been paid to wear "Free Diddy" shirts, 50 Cent has been promoting the shirt for free. Earlier this week, he shared an edited photo of himself attending the Indiana Pacers game against the New York Knicks, in which he changed his shirt to display the slogan.
Diddy's criminal trial has been going on for several weeks now. He's facing one count of racketeering conspiracy; two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
On Wednesday, his legal team made headlines by attempting to request a mistrial after arson investigator Lance Jimenez testified about fingerprints connected to a trespassing incident at Kid Cudi's home from 2011. According to CNN, Jimenez said he collected those prints to compare to evidence retrieved from the arson incident involving the rapper's car.
When he noted that an LAPD officer allegedly destroyed the evidence in August 2012, Diddy's defense team quickly objected. They argued that the line of questioning baselessly implied Diddy had a role in the move. Judge Arun Subramanian ended up denying the motion for a mistrial, but agreed to strike the testimony from the record.
Not for the first time, Moby is speaking out against Donald Trump’s administration with clear frustration.
“The U.S. is collapsing under a deeply corrupt and shockingly ineffective administration,” the longtime electronic musician shared on social media. “These are unbelievably dark times.”
Moby went deeper into his thoughts through a video message, where he explained that people outside the United States keep asking Americans what is actually happening in the country.
“So many of my friends outside the United States keep asking me, ‘what the hell is happening over there?’ And honestly, we don’t even know,” he said. “The country is being controlled by one of the most corrupt, dangerous and incompetent administrations imaginable. Nobody fully understands what’s happening right now. These are very dark times in America.”
Moby joins a growing list of artists publicly criticizing Trump and MAGA politics, including Bruce Springsteen, Jack White, Eminem and Billie Eilish.
Earlier this year, Moby uploaded another statement to social media where he addressed how people should respond following the killing of Alex Pretti by ICE agents in Minneapolis. “The real question isn’t whether people should feel horrified or outraged by what’s happening in the United States,” Moby explained in the Jan. 26 clip. “The question is what are we actually going to do about it?”
The musician and activist also encouraged people to protest, saying demonstrations are a constitutional right and something he believes Trump’s administration is attempting to weaken.
In the end, he urged people to vote regularly, “not only during the upcoming midterms, even though those matter, but also in every special election throughout the year.” He also encouraged supporters to “stop giving money to the scumbag corporations backing Trump and ICE. We all know who they are. Boycott them.”
His newest remarks arrive as the U.S. Justice Department unveils a nearly $1.8 billion compensation fund for Trump allies who claim they were unfairly investigated. At the same time, the Strait of Hormuz remains shut down following military action launched by the U.S. and Israel against Iran in late February without approval from Congress, leading to rising gas prices across the globe.
Throughout his independent music career, Moby has earned 10 entries on the Billboard 200 along with two songs on the Billboard Hot 100 and an enormous catalog of sync placements. Overseas, particularly in the United Kingdom, he is viewed as one of the defining artists of his era. He scored two No. 1 albums there with Play from 1999 and 18 from 2002, alongside 18 top 40 singles and two nominations for Best International Male at the BRIT Awards.
Check out Moby’s newest social media post below.
