Photo:Steve Granitz/WireImage
Steve Granitz/WireImage
In the wake of four sexual assault allegations againstSean “Diddy” Combs, a number of Black-owned businesses are cutting ties with his newly launched e-commerce endeavor Empower Global.
PEOPLE can confirm that companiesTsuri,Nuudii System,FulabaandHouse of Takurahave all terminated their partnership with the platform, which first went live over the summer. Some 14 others have also severed ties with Empower Global, according toRolling Stone.
Reps for Diddy have not commented to PEOPLE.
“We pulled Nuudii System off of Empower Global as soon as we heard the news of the allegations against Sean Puffy Combs,” said Annette Azan, who runs the shapewear and undergarment brand with her daughters, in a statement to PEOPLE. “We are a women’s brand. We believe women and stand in support of them. There’s nothing f—ing empowering in the mistreatment of women!”
Azan goes on to say that while she is “ fully aware that these are allegations,” she believes “something happened,” especially when she considers how Combs settled his first suit with his ex,singer Cassie, out of court.
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Combs first made headlines in November, whenCassie filed a bombshell lawsuitagainst him, alleging that the rapper raped and sex trafficked her over the course of an abusive 10 years.
Though the lawsuit was resolved to their “mutual satisfaction” the following day, more women have come forward since then with allegations of abuse, sex trafficking and gang rape.
House of Takura, another female-founded business that sells handbags and eyewear aimed at “uplifting” women, said in a statement that it “takes the allegations against Mr. Combs very seriously and finds such behavior abhorrent and intolerable. We do not at all condone any of Mr. Combs' alleged actions. We believe in victims' rights and support victims in speaking their truth even against the most powerful of people.”
The statement continued: “Our brand is heavily focused on the empowerment of girls and women in Africa. We know all too well the indelible trauma that women in abusive relationships experience and the uphill battle that women and girls face in breaking that cycle and finding healing. Our hearts go out to Casandra Fine and all other women recovering from this cycle.”
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“Fulaba is all about empowering women and girls to be their highest selves and radiate from their inner beauty with beautiful adornments handcrafted in West Africa,” she says. “We will not associate with anything or anyone that is counter to our values regardless of the potential for financial gain. Abuse of any kind — emotional, physical, sexual or psychological is devastating and it causes unseen damages that only someone who has lived through it can truly understand.”
Tsuri, a luxury skincare company, issued a similar statement about its decision to seek to terminate their relationship with Empower Global: “As a women-owned and led company, we do not and will not linger in a grey area about the mistreatment of women. Additionally, from a business standpoint, Empower Global did not elevate sales or maintain communication. Severing this partnership is a collective business and personal decision.”
In a statement, the Network wrote, “Sean Combs has stepped down from his position as chairman of Revolt. While Mr. Combs has previously had no operational or day-to-day role in the business, this decision helps to ensure that Revolt remains steadfastly focused on our mission to create meaningful content for the culture and amplify the voices of all Black people throughout this country and the African diaspora.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go torainn.org.
source: people.com
