By Ray Kirsch

The opinions expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of WSUM, the University of Wisconsin–Madison or its Board of Regents.

This piece discusses sexual assault, rape, suicide and sex trafficking. For resources or help, visit here.

Over the past few months, pop culture has witnessed the exposure and speculation of two sexual assault cases: Sean “Diddy” Combs and Moon Taeil. Celebrities have been accused of secretly running a killing and/or trafficking empire. Even Walmart has been accused of the same thing. There have been stories concocted of celebrities stalking someone for years on end, of them wiring phones and much, much worse. 

Are we all too chronically online to take these cases seriously? Do we worship our favorite celebrities to see them for who they really are? How much speculation is too much? 

While there are certainly layers to sexual assault cases in Hollywood and K-Pop as a whole, I’ll be focusing on two cases that have been circulating largely throughout fandoms and pop culture, causing drastic rumors and misinformation. 

Let’s begin with the less-known one: the case of Moon Taeil. 

Moon Taeil’s charges

This one is fairly straightforward, and I’ve been lightly following it for my pop culture column. But, when you look at the case at large, it draws to attention some certain problematic behaviors of fans and those who dislike him. Moon Taeil is a 30-year-old K-Pop singer who was formerly a member of the group NCT 127. In June of 2024, the police started investigating a case involving sex crimes after a woman reported him to them. In mid-August, the police brought Taeil in for questioning and told SM Entertainment, his company, about the charges he was facing. SM Entertainment did something they historically have not ever done: they kicked him out of the group immediately. 

This largely shocked fans—for several reasons, of course. SM Entertainment has historically sent their idols on hiatus until scandals or legal cases were resolved/died down, either to protect the artist or protect the company’s reputation as a whole. Taeil had been on a special sort of hiatus for the past several months; his leg was injured, so he didn’t participate in dances, but he still recorded for NCT 127’s newest album. 

Just as quickly as the news spread, rumors of what really happened started circulating. Both the police and SM Entertainment stuck by the same preliminary messaging: they only called it a sex crime and gave no other details (likely because the case is not closed). Fans began deep diving into his past interactions with NCT members, old comments that were left on his social media and discussing whether they thought he was guilty or not. 

The main rumors were surrounding an individual who had been commenting on his Instagram posts for a few months through a private account. The account made comments that pretty directly insinuated that Taeil was allegedly stalking her, hacking her phone to “delete evidence”, had sexually assaulted her to some degree and was threatening to hurt her mother if she didn’t keep it a secret. It should be noted that according to this individual’s bio, she would’ve been a minor six years ago—meaning that Taeil would’ve been stalking and harassing her from when she was eleven and on. Honestly, there’s no way to prove if these rumors are true or not. But, it is very telling that once this account was highlighted, suddenly there were replicas of the account (similar username, same profile picture) that were spewing further rumors—likely bots or people trying to troll online. The police confirmed that the individual who filed against Taeil was an adult when the assault occurred, so the two people cannot possibly be the same person. That, of course, is not to say that this individual may not be lying, but it’s simply saying this person has not formally filed anything against Taeil. 

Additional rumors sparked that Taeil was faking his leg injury, as a photo surfaced of him at a bar during his hiatus. An individual whose friend was supposedly at the same bar claimed that Taeil was harassing a woman. A different rumor that circulated widely was that Taeil sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl, which made her disabled. I am actually not sure where that one stemmed from or who the source is, but fans found it especially horrible because many of NCT’s members were minors when they debuted—individuals who Taeil, then, would’ve likely spent a lot of time with. This rumor has since been presumed to be proven false for this specific case. His presence at a bar, which seemed decently proven through someone’s photo, has not been addressed at all, but fans have expressed their disappointment in him going to bars while his coworkers in NCT 127 were tirelessly producing a new album. 

You may be wondering, what did this man do? The answer was unclear until recently. 

As the rumors rose, the police quickly released a statement stating that the individual filing was an adult woman and that they were purposely not disclosing her information so that she would be protected. 

The most recent update to the case, according to Chosun Ilbo, is that the charge claims that Taeil and two non-celebrity men aggravated quasi-raped an intoxicated woman. Quasi-rape is essentially when either one commits rape while armed with a weapon or when two or more people rape someone who is incapacitated or unable to resist. 

According to other Korean news outlets, the woman is a foreign national and was both unconscious and intoxicated. Making matters even worse, Taeil held an Instagram livestream the day after he was booked on sexual assault charges on June 13. In this livestream, Taeil apparently was acting very normally in the way he interacted with fans. 

Taeil has yet to be found guilty or innocent of this, but the prosecutors and police are seemingly working quickly on this case.

Diddy’s numerous lawsuits

Onto the bigger and well known case, Sean “Diddy” Combs has been charged with a plethora of lawsuits over the past year. Most notably, a federal court in Manhattan revealed that Diddy was facing charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation with the intention of prostitution. He was arrested on September 16 after a grand jury indicted him. 

This all takes place after several lawsuits of sexual assault were brought against Diddy in the past year, all of which were resolved in some way (usually Diddy paying them). 

Shortly after the initial documents were unsealed, a memo from a New York judge accused Diddy and co-conspirators of setting fire to a car. Diddy tried to plead a $50 million bond offer, which he was denied. At the end of September, Diddy tried to appeal the decision to hold him in prison until the trial, which he was denied again. 

The case, which already was quite messy, got more intricate when lawyer Tony Buzbee stepped into the scene. The well-known lawyer is representing 120 accusers who are planning on filing civil lawsuits against Diddy. Furthermore, Buzbee stated that these cases will reveal many more influential figures. He also stated that one individual was as young as nine years old when Diddy assaulted them. 

On October 8, Diddy asked for a third time to be released from prison until his trial, which his team proposed to be in April or May of 2025. His third request was, again, denied. The trial date has been officially set for May 5, 2025. 

The case also highlighted that law enforcements found over 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant in his Miami and Los Angeles residences. The unsealed document also said that the sexual acts that were performed at Diddy’s parties were called “freak offs”, where victims were allegedly abused, threatened and coerced into participating in sexual acts. 

Attorney Marc Agnifilo has been trying to reframe these two aspects into normal behavior—or one to be brushed off, at least—but no one is overlooking them. 

If you look back at the past lawsuit that Diddy’s ex, Cassie Ventura, filed and later settled against Diddy, she went into some detail about these freak offs, saying that Diddy’s hotel rooms were often stocked with baby oil and Astroglide, a lubricant. She also said that Diddy made her pour baby oil all over herself. 

Looking at who Diddy surrounds himself with, it really won’t be surprising if other big names are revealed to also be involved in these behaviors. However, the internet has created numerous conspiracy theories as to what really happened at Diddy parties, who was involved and potential victims to Diddy and his conspirators. 

Immediately after the court document was unsealed, speculations emerged as to who was involved with Diddy and his alleged sex trafficking. Some names that continuously came up were Jay Z, Usher and Justin Bieber. Jay Z and Beyoncé have been associated with Diddy for quite some time now, and Usher was most associated with Diddy when Justin Bieber was a teenage, growing artist. Usher referenced some of Diddy’s parties in past interviews, most notably saying he would never let his kids hang out with Diddy, and the tense reminder that Usher once had legal guardianship of Justin Bieber resurfaced. When Usher had legal guardianship, he once gave Diddy guardianship for a 48-hour period. Usher has even deleted his entire Twitter account since the allegations began. 

Cases of sexual assault have only been piling up against Diddy, with five new cases surfacing—one claiming to be 13 years old when allegedly assaulted in 2000.

There have been some wild rumors circulating about both Diddy and celebrities that are associated with him. Two of the larger conspiracy theories are the Beyoncé Theory and the Walmart Theory. 

To make long rumors concise, the Beyoncé conspiracy theory is essentially that Beyoncé and Jay Z have been taking down any female musician that surpasses her. Aaliyah, once known as the Princess of R&B, was only 22 years old when she died in a plane crash. Those creating the theories believe that Beyoncé felt threatened by Aaliyah and got her on a faulty plane—as the plane was later shown to have a faulty part. This has also resulted in numerous videos of celebrities thanking Beyoncé at award shows when they beat her, such as Adele breaking her Grammy in half and Lizzo tearfully thanking her. There even has been a rumor that Kanye’s interruption of Taylor Swift’s VMAs award speech in 2009 was really to protect her from Beyoncé. 

It should be noted that Kanye himself has been recently accused of raping his past assistant. And, his beef with Taylor Swift has been going on for forever. One must also remember that Beyoncé was 18 years old when she met Jay Z, who was 30 at the time. The two started dating a year and a half later, when she was 19. 

But, the rumors regarding murder don’t stop there. Diddy has also been theorized to be behind Tupac’s death in 1996 and The Notorious B.I.G.’s death in 1997, which caused the conspiracies that Drake was behind XXXTentacion’s death in 2018 to also respark. 

The Walmart conspiracy theory is linked to the tunnels that were found under Diddy’s residence. These tunnels, which weren’t really told what they led to, are theorized to be connected to other celebrities’ houses and most notably, Walmart, who is essentially theorized to be leading a trafficking ring and government controlling-system. 

Similarly, Diageo, a British alcoholic beverage company, has similar conspiracies floating around because of Diddy. Diddy sued the company in May, claiming that the company breached his partnership deal for DeLeón. There was a settlement quickly after the sexual assault allegations began surfacing. Both conspiracies are essentially that the companies have secret strings in the government, they are running a sex trafficking ring and controlling the government. 

Rumors have also compared Diddy to Jeffrey Epstein, convicted sex offender who trafficked many young girls on his island. Epstein had a lot of big names associated with him either on his island or his big presence in New York; shortly after he was placed in prison, he killed himself. 

But, some people don’t think Epstein is actually dead, rather that he never actually entered prison and is still alive to this day. While this conspiracy originated from far-right circles, it actually has gained a lot of attention with the rise of social media. 

Similarly, conspiracy theories are floating around that Diddy isn’t actually in jail. A mugshot of him is circulating, which people are claiming to not look like Diddy at all, but the image was actually taken in 1999 when he was arrested for firearm possession. 

Until more official information is shared, these theories will only continue.

You’re missing the point

Anyone who was on the internet when Q-Anon made its strides across the media might feel dangerously nostalgic at some of these conspiracy theories—especially the Walmart and Epstein ones. But, a large question may be lingering in your mind as Diddy and Taeil continue being talked about: Why theorize on conspiracies like these?

Perhaps the TikTokers analyzing old videos of Justin Bieber and Diddy are just bored. Maybe, they’re hoping to be the one to break the viral news that becomes the truth when the case is more revealed—a claim that certainly would gain one a few thousand followers. They likely, at bare minimum, just want to stir the pot a little.

If there’s one thing you likely don’t see gaining much traction online, it’s sympathy for these survivors of sexual assault—alleged or not. No, not when there’s a conspiracy theory involving popular celebrities to be spread, instead. Serious allegations about sexual assault are quickly dissolved into a celebrity cancelation or a “who said what” fan war. 

Victims—or survivors, which is likely more appropriate to say—are not typically the center of the conversations about sexual assault when a celebrity is involved. Unless a celebrity also is a survivor of sexual assault, the glitz and glamor of celebrities seems to overshadow the important aspect of these conversations: prioritizing the survivors. 

To file against well-known celebrities is already stress-inducing, but adding in the possibilities of fans claiming you’re lying and spreading rumors that may be dramatized only amplifies the stress of standing up against a powerful figure. We’re in the age of the internet; nothing can be kept totally private, these days. There’s a reason the survivor who filed against Moon Taeil is not revealing herself; fans would likely dox her within minutes. Look at survivors of Diddy or even Epstein; some have been bullied into silence, and others face major backlash and hate just for speaking up for themselves. Women who speak up about the abuse they allegedly face are often told they are chasing clout or that they are purposely trying to ruin one’s career. This doesn’t only happen with celebrity cases; women face this backlash in all levels of society. 

One could make the argument that a false allegation can ruin one’s life; that is certainly true. But, there also is the consideration that rape cases are often dismissed or not taken to court due to how much the legal system fails its survivors. In 2019, Manhattan prosecutors dismissed 49% of sexual assault cases. Whether it be from lack of evidence, the statue of limitation (which prevents people from reporting assault after a certain period of time) or simply not wanting to relive trauma, survivors of sexual assault are not getting the justice they deserve. 

Celebrities that are found guilty of a crime—whether it be sexual assault, abuse, fraud, etc.—almost never lose their fanbase. Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco has faced numerous allegations of sexual assault, sexual harassment, racist remarks and more, and yet, he still has 3.6 million followers on Instagram. Kanye West, who has faced a number of allegations over the years that includes sexual assault and abuse, has 68.3 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Seungri, past member of K-Pop group BigBang, was convicted of soliciting prostitution and embezzlement, and yet, he still has 72.1 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify and fans that are defending him from his crimes. 

One can’t be very surprised that Taeil still has a fanbase. He still has 4.7 million Instagram followers, over 300 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify and fans that are ferociously defending him online. 

Diddy, who has definitely lost a majority of his fanbase, has now become either a grand conspiracy or a meme about thanking Beyoncé. People online will say, “Oh, that’s terrible that the victims endured that,” and then comment on the latest trafficking theory. There’s little conversation about helping the numerous survivors of Diddy; even if they are just alleged survivors, if one can believe that Walmart is controlling the government, wouldn’t one also be inclined to believe survivors? 

Rather than trying to drag other celebrities into a federal case against Diddy based on clips on the internet, perhaps people could focus more on supporting the survivors. More importantly, these survivors need to be taken seriously. This is not a fun trend; it’s an actual legal process many people are currently going through. Are these rumors really helping the court cases (aside from shedding public attention on them), or are they hindering these cases from being taken seriously by both legal officials and the general public? 

Imagine one of these survivors was your sister, your best friend or your child, and practice empathy rather than participating in a cycle of conspiracy theories. If you were in their position, would you want thousands of people on the internet theorizing what Diddy did to you? This time on the internet could be better spent discussing the alarmingly high rates of dismissed sexual assault cases in the U.S. or volunteering at sexual assault or trafficking help/crisis lines. Or, it could be spent amplifying voices that may not have the status/power and money of a celebrity. 

Amidst all of the chaos of these two cases, the most obvious fact stands true: we truly do not know celebrities. They’re not your friend that you’ve known personally for years, and the chances of them protecting you, as their fan, is quite low. What you do with this information is solely up to you.