In recent years, the defamation suit between actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard and the shooting of Megan Thee Stallion by fellow rapper Tory Lanez put a new spin on how celebrity trials are covered, as content creators and vloggers flooded social media feeds with the most explosive moments.
The federal trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs is no exception.
Each day, outside a towering courthouse in lower Manhattan, a horde of traditional media outlets, online streamers and curious spectators jostle to score a seat inside the main courtroom where Combs is facing sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges that could result in a lengthy prison sentence if convicted.
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When the proceedings pause for a lunch break or conclude for the day, it’s the dozens of content creators who take center stage, scrambling to the sidewalks to set up their cellphone tripods and emote the latest testimony and courtroom drama for their eager followers.
But with Combs’ fate unfolding in a trial that is not being televised, the rush to relay every sordid detail and rack up views can pose challenges fraught with ethical issues as well. The real-life consequences came to light when two women who took the stand using pseudonyms were exposed when their presumed names were leaked online, highlighting how irresponsible behavior in this new wave of content creation can be harmful.
Federal prosecutors said “Mia,” a former assistant to Combs, had her identity revealed by a YouTube streamer who had been in the courtroom and her name was also posted on X, while another court watcher may have unmasked “Jane,” an ex-girlfriend of Combs who testified over six days.
Jane’s personal lawyer told U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian last week that such “posts and media outlets threaten her safety and privacy that led to the court’s pseudonym order.” Subramanian has said he would consider specific media gag orders or barring violators from court in a trial poised to continue through early July.
Revealing the names of Combs’ accusers wouldn’t necessarily impact the trial itself, since jurors aren’t supposed to consume media about the case or talk about it to others — but it still represents a line that must be tread carefully, said Mark Chutkow, a defense lawyer who handled racketeering cases as a federal prosecutor in Detroit.
If names are leaked, he said, “it could deter victims from coming forward in future high-profile cases because they won’t believe the law enforcement assurances that their identities will be protected.”
To help protect the accusers’ identities, the court sketches of them released publicly have not included their facial features, and traditional media coverage of their testimonies hasn’t included physical descriptions.
For the creator behind the YouTube account Make It Make Sense, which has more than 213,000 subscribers, shining a light on the accusers’ experiences was an important reason to cover the trial, he said. He temporarily moved to New York to be in the courthouse each day.
“Do not try to guess who Jane is, please,” he told his followers recently. “It’s not a joke. She is supposed to remain anonymous.”
The creator behind Make It Make Sense told NBC News after court ended this week that “legacy media” may understand the repercussions of certain actions, but there is a different attitude among some content creators who are attending these high-profile trials for the first time and seeking to go viral.
“Exposing people’s names does not move the needle or change the story,” said the channel’s creator, who asked for his real name not to be used because of fears for his personal safety.
One afternoon after Combs’ trial let out, a woman who said she works as a court employee gushed as she watched popular online streamers — like the man behind Make It Make Sense — leaving the courthouse.
“They’re how I get my information,” she said.
And no legal background is required.
For some content creators, it’s simply about fulfilling people’s curiosity — and their own.
Michelle Bracy of Manhattan said her TikTok account, miss_knockout, has grown from about 9,000 followers since Combs’ trial began in mid-May to now more than 35,800. She said she goes live in the mornings before the trial starts, sits in court where she takes extensive notes on a legal pad, and then returns outside the courthouse at the day’s end, sometimes broadcasting through the evening.
“I do follow the rules because, of course, it’s TikTok, and you don’t want to be removed,” Bracy said, “but I also make my coverage more relatable to people. And I stay in the middle. I’m not on this side, I’m not on that side. I just get the facts on both sides.”
The 2022 courtroom dispute between Depp and Heard showcased a new frontier among online content creation. The trial, which was televised, attracted droves of livestreamers and spectators to outside a Fairfax, Virginia, courthouse where they could show their support for either side. Online as well, memes and hashtags, particularly ones manufactured to support Depp, popped up and gained billions of views on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram.
Combs’ case has not attracted that same groundswell, as the initial appearance of people in “Free Diddy” T-shirts early in the trial has subsided outside the courthouse. But on days when certain witnesses have taken the stand, including his ex-girlfriend, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, the rapper Kid Cudi and Jane, their presence reinvigorates interest.
On Friday, the courthouse was buzzing with a surprise appearance by the rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, who tried to get inside the main courtroom to support Combs and was ushered instead to a court overflow room, where he stayed for several minutes. When he left, members of the media and vloggers ran for the elevators to follow him outside, sprinting across the promenade to catch him before a car could whisk him away.
It’s these viral moments and quick interactions with key figures in the trial that content creators like Bracy yearn for, she said.
She had her own moment last month with one of Combs’ defense lawyers that helped increase her followers.
“Are you Brian Steel?” she said before Steel entered the courthouse. “Can you say ‘hi’ to my TikTok real quick?”
“Hey,” Steel responded.
The idea that other content creators would defy court orders in Combs’ trial is disappointing, Bracy told NBC News.
“You got to respect the court system and the judge,” she said, “and be bright enough not to repeat the names.”
Competition can be stiff among the creators. When court lets out, they jockey for position with television cameras as Combs’ family, including his mother and children, are escorted by security to their car. The spectacle can draw a small crowd from interested passersby.
Oota Ongo, a YouTube streamer from Brooklyn, gives street preacher energy as he talks to his more than 13,600 subscribers from outside the courthouse.
He told NBC News that he started covering the trial, his first, to “see everything for myself and put my biases aside.”
The most surprising thing about the trial, he added, has been knowing how much sway he can have.
“How small content creators, big content creators, big publications, big news programs, all of these people are merging as one,” Ongo said.
“I really dived in,” he added. “This is our trial of the century.”
On a recent afternoon after court, he began streaming to his channel, contending with several other online streamers pacing the sidewalk, a crush of media cameras and reporters, and unrelenting New York City street noise. He took it all in, anticipating what’s to come when the jury finally reaches a verdict after weeks of an energized trial.
Like “Madison Square [Garden] out here. Psychos. People on unicycles, like this,” an expressive Ongo told his followers, pointing to a man pedaling a unicycle. “All of that going on. Drinking and juggling going by you. The Moon Man. All of that is out here because they’re here every day.”
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