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A jury has acquitted rapper-entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs of sex trafficking and racketeering, but convicted him of prostitution-related charges, in a widely watched New York federal court case.
The jury of eight men and four women reached the verdict after weeks of graphic testimony in which Combs’ former longtime girlfriend Cassie Ventura described a violent, abusive relationship that left her suicidal.
As the judge read the verdict — which found Combs guilty of charges of transportation for prostitution, but not guilty of sex trafficking or racketeering — Combs pumped his fist in the air in celebration.
“Mr Combs has been given his life by this jury,” said his lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, after the verdict. Combs faced a potential life prison sentence if he had been convicted on the more serious charges.
Cheers of “free Diddy” rang out from the crowd of roughly 100 spectators and bloggers swarming in front of the guardrail at the entrance of the courthouse doors as the verdict was announced.
Evidence included security footage of Combs in a bath towel brutally beating Ventura at a hotel — an incident that even Combs’ lawyer described as “dehumanising violence”.
The charges against Combs — who at the height of his career socialised with the likes of Bill Clinton and Leonardo DiCaprio — included two counts each of sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution, and one count of racketeering conspiracy.
The case against Combs — and the conviction of singer R Kelly in 2021 — are among the most high-profile reckonings with sexual misconduct in the music business. It largely stayed on the sidelines during Hollywood’s #MeToo movement despite widespread complaints of sex abuse and harassment in the industry.
Combs was known for promoting a lavish lifestyle and was photographed flashing diamonds and popping champagne at glitzy parties attended by celebrities.
Prosecutors alleged that Combs, 55, forced multiple women to take drugs and have sex with hired male escorts in what he called “freak-offs”. They say that Combs’s use of his employees and businesses for his exploits amounted to a criminal enterprise from 2004 to 2024.
The government’s case portrayed him as a powerful man using his influence in the entertainment industry to keep women silent, while giving them drugs such as ketamine and ecstasy and offering money and career incentives to stay quiet. He filmed the sex acts as “collateral”, prosecutors alleged.
Combs denied the charges. His lawyers said the sex parties were consensual and represented a “swinger’s lifestyle”. His defence team contended that while there was evidence that he committed domestic violence, that did not mean he was a sex trafficker.
“You may think he’s a jerk or he’s mean,” lawyer Teny Geragos said during opening arguments. “But domestic violence is not sex trafficking. And being mean is not running a racketeering enterprise.”
As the trial unfolded, Combs sat in the courtroom each day wearing a sweater and glasses. His hair, which has turned white, gave him the appearance of a professor rather than a hard-partying rapper.
Combs, who has been widely credited with helping bring hip-hop into the mainstream in the 1990s and 2000s, founded Bad Boy Records in 1993 as a joint venture with Arista Records. He has won three Grammy awards and scored a hit with the song “I’ll Be Missing You”, a tribute to the rapper Notorious B.I.G. after he was killed in a drive-by shooting.
“It’s hard to understand how powerful record companies were [at that time]. Arista was incredibly powerful. There was abuse, full stop,” said a former senior executive at BMG, which owned Arista. “Those days, if you didn’t agree or play ball with their behaviour you didn’t have a chance of a career. So it played out . . . it was very systematic what was going on.”
Combs was best known for his skills as a promoter and showman. His celebrity outgrew his music career, as he pivoted to businesses such as clothing and alcohol.
As recently as 2022, Combs was still being celebrated, with Paramount’s BET channel honouring him with a “lifetime achievement” award. That changed when Ventura sued him in November 2023 for rape and sexual assault. The lawsuit was settled the next day, but it inspired others to come forward. Combs has been hit with dozens of civil claims since 2023.
Combs was arrested last September after the Manhattan US attorney’s office charged him with sex trafficking. Last year FBI officers raided his homes in Miami, Florida and Los Angeles and seized supplies including narcotics and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant, according to a court filing. He has been held in a Brooklyn jail.
Combs’ lawyers argued for his release to his Miami home as soon as today, with a $1mn bond payment. The government argued he should continue to be detained and said it would push for incarceration with a maximum sentence of up to 20 years.
“There is no reason to believe he will do anything different if he is released now,” said US lawyer Maurene Comey.
