On the surface, it looked like a good job; assistant to a happily married star. Unfortunately as the story so often goes, things took a turn. Lauren Pisciotta was assistant to Kanye West and recently she has accused the rapper of sexual assault, stating that he drugged and raped her at a part hosted by none other than Diddy; the rapper who is currently in jail facing trial for sex trafficking. The allegations against Diddy are numerous, and corroborated by multiple individuals who witnessed the shady dealings that went down at his infamous parties. The case against him is strong, and other stars are now aggressively trying to distance themselves, in case this famous man faces actual consequences for what he’s done.
Lauren Pisciotta didn’t mess around with her personal safety once she realized that she’d been placed in a position where she could be abused by a man with power over her. She shifted her business interests from that of being a personal assistant to Kanye West— a man with a reputation for being fairly demanding— to being a model on OnlyFans— a platform where all of the creative and financial power is given to the models that are in front of the camera. Pisciotta isn’t the only woman who has fled to the platform after experiencing sexual trauma at the hands of someone in a position of authority. OnlyFans has a reputation for giving its models a sense of control over their lives after being at the mercy of others decisions— even if those decisions weren’t traumatic.
So what exactly does Pisciotta claim happened? Allegedly, she attended one of Diddy’s parties with Kanye West— her boss at the time. She says that West slipped something in her drink that caused her to lose bodily control, which allowed West— again; he was her employer at the time— to sexually assault her.
Her word— which should already be enough— is given extra credence not only because the alleged event happened at a party hosted by a man who is under investigation for sex trafficking, but because West himself admitted to drugging her. He has not since corroborated this admission, and his legal team has threatened counter-action, claiming that she is trying to blackmail her former employer.
Given the reputation of Diddy’s parties and what he’s currently facing trial for, it’s not a huge stretch to believe that other famous men went to said parties believing that they could behave badly with impunity. Pisciotta’s allegations fit neatly into a larger pattern of famous men being held accountable for their actions when those actions have resulted in sexual trauma experienced by a non-consenting party. Harvey Weinstein, Jeffery Epstein, Russell Brand, Jonathan Majors, Andrew Tate, Marilyn Manson, and Prince Andrew are just a few names on a very long list of men who are being put to the fire publicly for sexually assaulting people over whom they held positions of power. There has been a cultural shift in the past decade that has empowered victims to come forward, and name their abuser, and this movement— while not perfect— has given a sense of justice to some of the people who have fallen prey to powerful men on the national stage.
The #MeToo movement isn’t a witch hunt out to bring down powerful men just because. It’s a necessary shift in power in which women who have been wronged are finally seeing some semblance of justice as they name their abusers, and stand strong with an unfortunate crowd of peers who have also been likewise abused. Pisciotta’s case may seem like just another piece in a puzzle, but it’s so much more. It’s a critical part of the foundational framework that is building a better world; one in which women’s voices matter, and powerful men are held accountable for their misdeeds.
