Sean “Diddy” Combs reportedly shelled out a staggering $7 to $8 million on legal fees for his nearly two-year federal criminal case. But let’s stop for a moment to analyze the spin. Corporate media like CNN and MSNBC will likely frame this as a tale of a wealthy mogul simply dodging legal consequences thanks to his deep pockets. But when did we start accepting that wealth should equate to privilege over justice?

Imagine if this were anyone else—not a celebrity, but a regular person facing a similar situation. The narrative would shift dramatically. The mainstream media would promptly paint them as a victim of the system, a sob story for the masses, instead of highlighting the appalling reality where financial power plays an outsized role in legal outcomes. Fox News, meanwhile, may flip the script, feigning concern over the legal fees while ultimately trivializing the gravity of the charges at hand.

This is exactly where we see the hypocrisy in establishment media’s coverage. If you’re rich and famous like Combs, the chatter is about your bank account and not the implications of your actions. Meanwhile, those outside the 1% struggle not just with legal fees but with a system rigged against them. So, the $8 million question is: why are we not holding accountable the structures that allow wealth to shadow justice?