Shady stuff going on in the music industry? No way… As much as we all want to believe that the music industry is all about putting out the best art and elevating talented artists, everybody knows that’s not the case. It’s a business, after all, and behind every artist is a team of people wanting to use them to make as much money as possible, often by whatever means necessary, whether it’s ethical or not. And listen, I know some incredible people in the music industry. People I would trust with my life or to babysit my (non-existent) children any day of the week, from artists to publicists to managers and everything in between. But as with any industry, there are plenty of shady people too. The music industry has of course come under intense scrutiny after Diddy was arrested last fall and accused of some pretty awful sexual crimes. The rapper and producer also known as Puff Daddy, P. Diddy and his real name, Sean Combs, is currently behind bars awaiting trial after being indicted by the federal government on serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering. And the details that have come out have been pretty disturbing, with allegations of sex-fueled parties he referred to as “freak offs” that would often (allegedly) feature underage guests and reports of sexual assaults. One of the more sensational details from the indictment alleges that authorities found nearly 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant while raiding Diddy’s house, something that his lawyers tried (poorly) to explain away by claiming that the rapper simply likes to buy in bulk…because you know, everybody’s looking for a bargain in this economy. He’s also facing several civil lawsuits from women who claimed they’ve been sexually assaulted by the disgraced rapper, including one filed just this month that also named artists like Jay-Z and Beyonce as being involved in his perverted scheme. And during an appearance on The Benny Show with podcast host Benny Johnson, John Rich was asked for his insider perspective on what goes on behind the scenes in the music industry – and he didn’t hold back: “There are tactics deployed in the entertainment industry where they will try to co-opt the big talent. They’ll try to put them in positions to compromise them, get pictures and video on them, basically as blackmail, as extortion, where then they can make that artist do anything they want them to do. It is the most sadistic, wicked, satanic stuff you’ve ever seen.” Rich says that he’s never been invited or been part of anything like the Diddy parties, but says he does know people who have: “I do know people who have been invited to ’em, and they said, ‘I walked in there and walked into a room and this horrible thing’s going on, and I just turned around and just ran out and got back in the car and left.’ The stories about Sean Combs, and some of these others, like after the MTV Awards, stuff that’s going on in peoples’ houses out in California, I mean this is not fairytale. This is real stuff. That’s why the guy’s in prison.” But Rich said he’s hopeful that the Trump administration will hold these people accountable: “Thank God we have Kash Patel and Dan Bongino and Pam Bondi, and we’ve got some actual patriots out there who are gonna do something about it, who are not compromised by these guys… This is a deep, deep, deep dark situation.” We can only hope. The post John Rich Says The Music Industry Tries To “Blackmail” Major Artists To Control Them: “The Most Sadistic, Wicked, Satanic Stuff You’ve Ever Seen” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.