Embattled American music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs is set to appear in a New York courthouse on Monday, facing the most serious charges of his career. Prosecutors allege he leveraged the reach and power of his entertainment empire to sexually exploit women over two decades.
Jury selection is slated to begin that morning and could take several days. Opening arguments and witness testimony are expected to follow next week.
The 17-page federal indictment reads more like a script for a crime drama than a legal document, portraying Combs as the orchestrator of a sprawling racketeering operation, a figure more akin to a mob boss or drug kingpin than a music executive. Prosecutors accuse him of running a sex trafficking enterprise under the guise of a legitimate business network.
RELATED STORIES
According to the indictment, Combs enlisted members of his inner circle and employees from his various companies to facilitate a long-running pattern of coercion and abuse. Women, it alleges, were lured into drug-fueled sexual encounters with male sex workers — episodes Combs allegedly branded as “Freak Offs.”
To maintain control, prosecutors say Combs employed a potent mix of promise and threat: offering career opportunities to those who complied, while isolating or intimidating those who didn’t.
Watch a recent episode of The BreakDown podcast below and subscribe to our channel PanaGenius TV for latest episodes.
When charm and influence failed, violence followed, the indictment says. Combs and his associates allegedly turned to beatings, kidnappings, even arson. In one instance, Combs is said to have dangled a person from a balcony in a show of force.
Combs and his legal team maintain his innocence.
They contend that all group sex was consensual, and deny any use of coercion. “There was no effort to coerce people into things they didn’t want to do,” his attorneys said, insisting the allegations do not amount to criminal conspiracy.
The trial is expected to run for at least eight weeks, according to a report.
The 55-year-old rapper has acknowledged one act of violence likely to come up during proceedings: a 2016 incident in which security footage captured him assaulting then-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel hallway. Cassie filed a civil lawsuit in late 2023, alleging years of physical and sexual abuse at Combs’ hands.
READ ALSO: Judge refuses delay in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking trial
Combs’ attorney, Marc Agnifilo, has admitted the star has made mistakes. “He’s not a perfect person,” Agnifilo said, noting past drug use and tumultuous relationships. However, he insists that all sexual interactions involving Combs, Cassie, and others were consensual.
The courtroom battle marks the latest and gravest chapter in a long history of legal entanglements for Combs.
In 1999, he was charged with storming the offices of Interscope Records executive Steve Stoute and assaulting him with a champagne bottle and a chair. Stoute later urged prosecutors to reduce the charges, and Combs pleaded to a lesser offense, completing anger management as part of the deal.
Later that year, Combs and then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez were detained by police after fleeing a nightclub where three people were shot. Combs was acquitted of all charges at a 2001 trial, but his associate, rapper Jamal “Shyne” Barrow, was convicted and served nearly nine years in prison.
In 2015, Combs was again in the spotlight, accused of assaulting a UCLA football coach with a kettlebell. He claimed self-defense, and the charges were ultimately dropped.
Now, Combs faces a reckoning of a far different magnitude. If convicted, the man once synonymous with wealth, fame, and cultural influence could face decades behind bars.
READ ALSO: Diddy taps Young Thug’s lawyer to strengthen legal team ahead of trial
