Puff Daddy, Hugh Hefner and ’70s rock icons: two sides of the same coin?

The lifestyles of music and media moguls, from 1970s rock stars to hip-hop royalty Sean “Diddy” Combshave long blurred the boundaries between power, excess and exploitation. As headlines swirl around Diddy’s federal sexual assault and human trafficking charges, the entertainment industry is once again under scrutiny.

These accusations come after years of whispers surrounding the former CEO of Bad Boy Records, who is known as much for his legendary white partying as for his music career. But how does Diddy’s lifestyle compare to past figures such as Hugh Hefner and the 70’s rock scene? Are we witnessing a continuation of a cultural pattern that has existed for decades, where powerful men leverage their status to engage in questionable behavior under the guise of the “rock star” lifestyle?

The 70’s rock band movement

To understand the parallels between Diddy’s alleged misconduct and past icons, we must first delve into the rock era of the 1970s – a time when sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll ruled. Bands like Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith and Lynyrd Skynyrd were the kings of the scene, and with them came an entourage of young women, many of them underage, who followed the bands from city to city. These “groupies,” as they were called, became an intrinsic part of rock culture. Pamela Des Barres, one of the most famous groupies of the time, documented her experiences in her memoir *I’m with the Band*. Des Barres writes about her encounters with rock legends like Jimmy Page and Mick Jagger, romanticizing the lifestyle and reflecting on her consensual relationships as a young woman in the scene.

But beneath the glamorous stories were dark undertones. Some of these relationships reached territory that today would be considered abusive or exploitative. For example, rock legends like David Bowie and Steven Tyler were known to have relationships with underage girls: Bowie with Lori Maddox, who was 14 at the time, and Tyler with a teenage groupie, he became her legal guardian to continue their relationship. It was a time when societal norms were different and rock stars operated in a world with few consequences for their behavior. A 1970s magazine called *Star* even featured articles about these underage “groupies,” how-to articles on how to get into the band, and groupie comics, which often highlighted the escapades of young women trying to get into hotel rooms of band members to sneak in. .

Published in the early 1970s, the magazine reflected the cultural acceptability of this behavior. The rockers themselves were also not shy about admitting their preferences for younger girls. Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Ronnie Van Zant bragged about his “School Girl” conquests, while Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler called his young groupies “sweet little things.”

But what is striking is that many of these women, even years later, have stated that they did not see themselves as victims. Pamela Des Barres has often emphasized that she felt in control of her choices, arguing that these relationships were consensual and part of the freedom that defined that era. However, the legality and morality of these encounters have come under scrutiny in modern times.

Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion: a parallel world of excess

During the same period, another cultural icon built his empire: Hugh Hefner, founder of *Playboy* magazine and its infamous Playboy Mansion. Hefner’s parties were legendary and attracted the Hollywood elite to evenings of excess. At the core of the Playboy ethos was the celebration of female sexuality, but always through a male gaze. Like the rock stars of the 1970s, Hefner cultivated an environment in which women were both the main attraction and the commodity. His mansion became the site of numerous parties that often involved underage women, drugs and accusations of coercion.

In recent years, with the #MeToo movement and subsequent reevaluation of power dynamics, countless women have come forward with disturbing stories about what really went on behind the gates of the Playboy Mansion. Women who lived there, like Holly Madison and others who appeared on *The Girls Next Door*, have shared stories of manipulation, emotional abuse and pressure to engage in sexual activities they were not comfortable with. The allegations against Hefner, like those against the rock stars of the 1970s, highlight how power imbalances can turn what seems consensual into something much more complicated.