Jury deliberations have begun in the trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs, the music producer turned modern-day Gatsby whose federal racketeering and sex-trafficking case has drawn global attention since it began on May 12.
Combs, 55, faces one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted on the most serious of these charges, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Outside the courtroom, the trial became a global source of fascination, with the courthouse swarmed by tourists and TikTokers, survivors of sexual abuse and “Free Puff” proponents. The proceedings were crashed by a heckler and Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West. Combs’ mother, Janice, and his adult children maintained a steady show of support.
In closing arguments, prosecutors argued that Combs “would not take no for an answer”, relying on power, violence, fear and an inner circle of employees to carry out alleged crimes. To be found guilty of racketeering conspiracy, Judge Arun Subramanian said, Combs needed to conspire to commit two illegal acts from a list of eight categories, including distributing drugs for his many “freak-off” parties. Two former girlfriends of Combs, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura and a single mother testifying under the court-approved alias “Jane”, claimed they were coerced into having sex with male escorts and plied with drugs at these parties, which were sometimes filmed.
Ventura, Jane and the escorts were willing participants in these meticulously organised sexual activities, the defence team argued. Lead defence attorney Marc Agnifilo said in his closing arguments that prosecutors overreached by applying racketeering conspiracy, “one of the most serious, complicated, comprehensive statutes on the books”, to what was essentially “personal-use drugs and threesomes”.
Beyond the specific charges in the case, certain themes have emerged from 28 days of testimony. Here’s what to know:
Endless sexting, flight bookings, hotel arrangements, candles, baby oil, drugs, meals. Testimony and evidence shown ad nauseam at this trial reveal just how extraordinary and involved Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex life was and how central it was to his existence.
Combs and his staff prepared extensively for his freak-offs – which sometimes took the hip-hop mogul away from his regular life for days at a time.
Planning the encounters was a group effort, requiring Combs, his staff and his girlfriends to book male escorts, procure drugs and stock up hotel rooms to ensure Combs would be happy and undisturbed for the duration. Prosecutors revealed that federal agents found around 900 bottles of lubricant in his Los Angeles mansion alone, and that he had freak-off supplies in his hotel room when he was arrested in New York in September.
All of it points to a person completely preoccupied with a particular sexual fantasy and the women who would play their part in it.
The defence has characterised Combs as a swinger, voyeur and homemade porn enthusiast. “I’m under the impression this is a popular thing nowadays,” Combs’ lawyer Agnifilo said during closing arguments.
Ventura and Jane said they followed a freak-off “script” laid out by the hip-hop impresario, who they say gave them drugs such as ecstasy and GHB, which made them more compliant while also keeping them awake. Both testified that a freak-off wouldn’t end until Combs decided. Both told Combs they found the experiences degrading and shameful, but they said they ultimately felt compelled to participate because of the love they felt for him – and the specific ways he manipulated them.
Ventura alleged years of brutal physical abuse surrounding the freak-offs. Jane said Combs discouraged her from using condoms with men she had sex with and alleged that Combs once forced her to perform oral sex on a man immediately after a physical fight in which he gave her a black eye and welts.
Some aspects of their stories feel novel, even challenging, when compared with traditional notions of sex trafficking and its imagery of desperate, vulnerable women unwittingly ending up in isolated sexual servitude while trying to escape poverty or war-torn countries. Theirs was a world of red carpets, designer bags and yacht trips. Combs’ defence pointed out that both women not only expressed enthusiasm for the sex encounters, but seemingly also had the means and opportunity to leave.
The jury in Combs’ criminal trial will be tasked with picking through these details and deeper issues of intent and consent when determining whether the defendant made these women, through force, fraud or coercion, participate in commercial sexual encounters across two decades.
Several witnesses at this trial who were part of Combs’ inner circle have expressed a cultlike adoration of the Bad Boy Records founder, crediting him with opening up their worlds and uplifting them. Former assistant George Kaplan described Combs as “a god among men” on the stand – even as he said he was horrified to witness Combs’ violence. Others painted a picture of a charismatic figure as capable of breaking people down as he was building them up.
Working for Combs meant being available for him at all hours, according to the testimony of his former staff. One former assistant, using court-approved alias “Mia”, said she once had to stay up for five days without sleep. Another former assistant, Capricorn Clark, said she was hooked up to a lie-detector test in a “dilapidated” building for five consecutive days to test her loyalty. “He used to say that he wants us to move like Seal Team Six,” former assistant Brendan Paul said of his boss’ lofty expectations.
Combs’ duality was especially apparent to his ex-girlfriends. Ventura, who described being a “fan” of his music, recalled how special she felt receiving personal attention from this larger-than-life figure when she was an emerging pop star. But after signing a 10-album contract with Bad Boy Records, Ventura felt Combs stifled her career, forcing her to record “hundreds” of songs that were never released and, ultimately, making marathon-length freak-offs her “job”.
During the trial it emerged that Sean “Diddy” Combs paid US$100,000 ($164,000) to obtain what he thought was the only copy of a 2016 video showing him beating Ventura in a hotel hallway, according to the testimony of Eddy Garcia, a hotel security worker. When a copy of the original footage was released by CNN last year, it ignited outrage and shifted public opinion. Garcia also testified that he signed a nondisclosure agreement as part of the deal.
It was also revealed that Combs paid US$20 million ($32.8m) to Ventura to settle her explosive 2023 sex-trafficking lawsuit, which spurred federal investigators to begin looking into the music producer.
And Ventura’s friend Kerry Morgan testified that she was paid US$30,000 and signed an NDA after Combs allegedly assaulted her at Ventura’s Hollywood Hills home in 2018.
Prosecutors also argued that Combs entered into a US$10,000 per month “love contract” with Jane after she started pushing back about their “hotel nights”, or freak-offs. Text messages show that when she later brought up the exploitative nature of their relationship, Combs responded by telling her to remember her beautiful home and smile (per his wishes, Combs also paid for her veneers).
The sordid repeatedly sidled up to the sumptuous throughout the 28 days of testimony: Combs’ drugs supply was kept at the ready in either a Louis Vuitton or Gucci pouch, members of his entourage noted. He had residences in New York, Los Angeles, Miami and the tony enclave of Alpine, New Jersey, where he kept safes stuffed with cash, jewellery and guns. Freak-offs were held within the rarefied confines of the Beverly Hills Hotel, the L’Hermitage and the Mandarin Oriental, among other luxury addresses. Combs frequently travelled by private jet.
Combs’ wealth – his fortune previously hovered around US$300 million – was also on display in the courtroom. He has built a remarkably large team of high-profile attorneys from white-shoe firms, who have fought fiercely on his behalf. Alexandra Shapiro, for instance, is one of the country’s top appellate lawyers. As his team argues Combs’ innocence, they’re also simultaneously paving the way for an appeal, should Combs be convicted.
Anne Branigin is a staff reporter in Style covering breaking news and writing feature stories. Shayna Jacobs is a federal courts and law enforcement reporter on the national security team at the Washington Post, where she covers the southern and eastern districts of New York.
The Australian actor starred in Australian soaps before finding success in the US.