ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith has warned that more arrests will follow Diddy’s amid the rapper’s legal troubles.
The Bad Boys Records CEO has been arrested on sex trafficking and racketeering charges; he is currently being held without bail.
Smith, who also runs his own podcast, ‘The Stephen A. Smith Show,’ predicted that more celebrities would be implicated while addressing the arrest this week.
“I believe they’re after others, as well. … This is not going away, ladies and gentlemen,” he said.
“I am praying that this man doesn’t find himself in a position where others are inevitably implicated and we see some of the people we love the most, stars we revered for years, producers and executives that we’ve known for years, implicated in all of this. Because the federal government is coming after everybody. We gotta brace ourselves, y’all.”
Lawyer Explains Why Diddy Was Refused Bail
Diddy stands accused of running a “criminal empire.” He is alleged to have “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.”
Smith reckons that the language used in the indictment suggests that there may be more people under scrutiny.
“Diddy’s case is one thing, who they’re to squeeze him to implicate may be another,” he added. “One would surmise that if you have some information to offer about other folks, to incriminate them to make things lighter for you, things could get very, very interesting.”
Smith was later joined by attorney Ryan Smith, who explained the judge’s decision to refuse the rapper bail.
“It seems like the judge was looking at this and saying, ‘If I did let you off and stay at home, you could commit the very crimes that prosecutors are alleging, and that’s the last thing I want to happen, no matter how much money you’re saying you’ll offer,” the other Smith said.