What exactly is the Illuminati, and is Diddy’s son a member? King Combs was just seen wearing sweatpants with the secret society’s logo, and Beyoncé and Donald Trump are rumoured to be linked too

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ son King Combs was spotted pacing outside his father’s LA mansion in late March. The video emerged in British media the day after his dad’s Los Angeles and Miami properties were raided by federal agents as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged sex trafficking. With Diddy now in the news non-stop since shocking allegations against him came to light – from his exes’ abuse claims to sexual assault – King’s choice of outfit has raised eyebrows: the 26-year-old decided to wear sweatpants printed with an Illuminati logo. For years, conspiracy theorists have pondered the possibility that certain celebrities are involved in the mysterious, historical secret society. Considering the level of media attention on Diddy’s family right now, King Combs’ choice of clothing has unsurprisingly been taken as a sign by overzealous online sleuths, who are asking why he would wear such a symbol, and where did he even get such a piece of clothing in the first place? Did Kanye West just charm his wife Bianca Censori’s mum in Los Angeles? While any real information about the Illuminati and the possibility of its existence in the modern age is scarce, it’s not stopped netizens from delving deep into its origins and relevance today. Here’s a quick explainer on the Illuminati, why people think it controls the world, and which celebs are believed to be connected to it: How did the Illuminati begin? According to Vox, the “Illuminati” refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, which operated from 1776 to 1785. Per the BBC, it began with just five law students, then expanded to over 2,000 members spread across Bavaria, France, Hungary, Italy and Poland, among others. The same source explains that it was formed as a secret organisation to oppose religious influence on society. Inspired by the Freemasons and French Enlightenment philosophers, the group was created to counter the abuse of power by the state with the goal of fostering a “safe space for critique, debate and free speech”. Who started the Illuminati? The Illuminati was founded by German philosopher Adam Weishaupt, a descendant of Jewish converts to Christianity, according to National Geographic. Weishaupt was a professor of natural and canon law at the University of Ingolstadt who was convinced that religious ideas “were no longer an adequate belief system to govern modern societies”, per the same source. His goal was to create another form of “illumination” – a set of ideas and practices – that could, in his mind, change the way Europe was run for the better. Meet Fani Willis, the DA who doesn’t fear The Donald and prefers vodka to wine What is the purpose of the Illuminati? It’s believed that the original Illuminati disappeared in the late 1700s, with the Duke of Bavaria Karl Theodor banning secret societies in 1785, and imposing serious punishments for anyone who tried to join them, per Vox. But not everyone believes this. In fact, there have been countless conspiracy theories alleging the existence of the Illuminati in modern society. According to Goop, today’s concept of the Illuminati is more linked to the idea of a New World Order – “an alleged underground totalitarian global government that conspiracy theorists believe is controlling the world”. While in the 1700s the Illuminati published political satire to raise awareness of government corruption, modern society’s equivalent would be WikiLeaks, which allowed whistle-blowers to anonymously release information to the public, Goop suggests. Which celebrities have been accused of being involved in the Illuminati? Over the years, numerous pop culture icons have been accused of having links to the Illuminati – from Beyoncé and Jay-Z to Rihanna, Madonna, Donald Trump, Kim Kardashian and LeBron James, per Buzzfeed. Meet Ella Emhoff, Kamala Harris’ controversial Gen Z model stepdaughter Fans have curated various theories around each celeb – and many of them have even addressed these rumours in songs, comments or hand gestures to the public.