Sean Combs, aka P Diddy, has appeared in court for the first time since being charged with sex trafficking crimes. The rapper, 54, was arrested this Monday and charged with racketeering, sex trafficking by force, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
This comes after the rapper was accused of multiple incidents of sexual assault, including more than 15 years’ worth of physical, sexual, and mental abuse towards his ex-girlfriend, the American singer-songwriter Cassie in 2023. Another one of Combs’ accusers alleges that he, along with two other men, raped her two decades ago, when she was 17. A male music producer has also accused P Diddy of sexually assaulting him and forcing him to sleep with sex workers. P Diddy denies all the allegations and has pleaded not guilty in court. The rapper has been denied bail as he is considered a serious flight risk.
Combs is one of the biggest names in American hip-hop. His 1997 debut album No Way Out catapulted him onto the rap scene, and went on to be certified seven-times platinum. He got his start at Uptown Records, where he helped develop R&B legends like Mary J Blige and Jodeci, before pivoting into creating music himself, then later becoming a record label executive and producer.
In 1993, he set up his own record label, Bad Boy Entertainment, with talent from Uptown – such as then-newcomer, now-rap-royalty The Notorious B.I.G – helping the label take off. Twelve years, three Grammys, and two name changes later, “Diddy” was introduced to up-and-coming singer-songwriter Cassie, when she was 19 and he was 37. Diddy collaborated with Cassie shortly afterwards, in 2006, and the pair officially dated between 2012 and 2018.
But in a lawsuit filed in November 2023, Cassie – full name Casandra Elizabeth Ventura – detailed horrifying claims about how Combs allegedly treated her during their relationship, and outside of it, citing multiple years of sexual and physical abuse. Cassie, who is now 37, had a successful solo career of her own in the 2000s, with her debut studio album reaching top four on the Billboard 200. She claims, though, that her career was controlled by Combs, who paid for her car, housing, and clothing, and exercised his control over her abusively.
The lawsuit was settled out of court, but Ventura’s claims have not been forgotten. Especially when one of the claims, that Coombs chased her down a hotel hallway and threw a vase at her, was recently proven with CCTV footage.
In her claims, Ventura accused Combs of regular abusive behaviour, including coercing her into taking drugs, forcing her to have sex with male prostitutes, and hitting her on numerous occasions. She also claims that on one occasion in 2019, he forced his way into her home and raped her as she “repeatedly said ‘no’ and tried to push him away".
Combs and Ventura dated for six years publicly, but the allegations of abuse span nearly the entire time they knew each other. While Combs and Ventura never had children, Combs has fathered multiple children with other women, including the actress Kim Porter, who died in 2018. Combs’s previous romantic interests include other high-profile names such as Jennifer Lopez, Cameron Diaz, and rapper Yung Miami. After splitting from Combs, Ventura tied the knot with fitness trainer Alex Fine, with whom she has two children.
In response to Ventura’s suit, Combs’s lawyer Benjamin Brafman said: “Mr Combs vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations. For the past six months, Mr Combs has been subjected to Ms Ventura’s persistent demand of $30 million, under the threat of writing a damaging book about their relationship, which was unequivocally rejected as blatant blackmail. Despite withdrawing her initial threat, Ms Ventura has now resorted to filing a lawsuit riddled with baseless and outrageous lies, aiming to tarnish Mr Combs’s reputation and seeking a payday.”
Shortly after filing her lawsuit, Cassie and Diddy’s legal teams reached an “amicable” settlement outside of court. However, Combs is now back in court, having been arrested on criminal charges, and Ventura’s allegations are ringing through people’s minds once more.
Here are the most concerning accusations from his and Cassie’s lawsuit, and the criminal accusations against him.
1. Combs has been accused of physically abusing Cassie multiple times
In Ventura’s lawsuit, which was seen by the New York Times, she claims to have endured multiple experiences of physical abuse at the hands of Sean Combs.
One incident detailed by Ventura claims that when Combs saw Ventura talking to another talent agent, he kicked her repeatedly in the face enough times to draw blood. The suit then alleges that Combs kept Ventura in a hotel room for a week to “recuperate”. When she asked to go to parties while she still had her injuries, Combs refused.
2. Cassie claims that he sexually coerced her into having sex with prostitutes
After a few years of being in a relationship with Combs, Ventura’s lawsuit claimed that he got her to “engage in a fantasy of his called ‘voyeurism'" via coercion. Combs referred to these as “freak-offs”, where Ventura would be told to have sex with multiple male prostitutes, while Combs watched, masturbated, took pictures, and recorded the sex acts.
Even when he claimed he deleted footage, Ventura claims that he would actually keep some of it. The “freak-offs” would take place across a range of locations – from high-end hotels to Combs’s various houses.
Ventura’s lawsuit explains that she took the pre-provided drugs during the “freak-offs” because they “allowed her to disassociate during these horrific encounters".
These “freak-offs” have been mentioned in the criminal case, too. According to court documents, Combs "wielded the power" of his celebrity status to "lure female victims... to engage in extended sex acts.”
"During Freak Offs,” the court documents say, “Combs distributed a variety of controlled substances to victims, in part to keep the victims obedient and compliant.”
US prosecutor Damian Williams also said that officials found firearms, ammunition and more than 1,000 bottles of lubricant during the raids on Combs's homes in Miami and Los Angeles earlier this year.
3. He was accused of saying he wanted to blow up Kid Cudi’s car
According to the lawsuit, when Ventura dated Kid Cudi in 2012, Combs was so angry about it that he mentioned how he wanted to blow up the rapper’s car. “Around that time,” the lawsuit reads, “Kid Cudi’s car exploded in his driveway.”
Kid Cudi himself confirmed via a spokeswoman, that he had a car that exploded: “This is all true."
4. Combs allegedly had access to her medical records
One of the most alarming claims from Ventura’s lawsuit is the allegation that Combs had access to her private medical records.
According to the lawsuit, when Ventura underwent an MRI scan to attempt to explain her memory loss, which she alleges was possibly caused by drug use or physical abuse from Combs, the results of the scan “went directly” to Combs.
5. He was accused of paying a hotel $50,000 for footage of him assaulting Ventura
During one “freak-off” in 2016, Ventura claims that she tried to escape after she was punched in the face by Combs, giving her a black eye. Once Combs fell asleep, she says she tried to leave the room, but that he woke up and followed her into the hallway. Once in the hallway, Ventura claims Combs threw multiple glass vases at her, “sending glass shattering throughout the corridor".
The court filing claims that the incident was captured on the hotel’s security cameras, but that Combs paid the hotel $50,000 for the footage.
The footage was eventually uncovered and appears to corroborate the claims made by Ventura, with Combs caught on camera hitting and kicking her in a hotel hallway. “I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I was disgusted then when I did it. I’m disgusted now,” he said in a video statement posted after the hotel footage was released.
6. She claimed that he raped her in 2018
Though every allegation in Ventura’s lawsuit is harrowing, one that has cut through the noise the most is the claim that Combs forced his way into her home and raped her in 2018. According to the court filing, the incident occurred after the pair met for dinner, after which Combs forced his way into Ventura’s apartment and raped her as she “repeatedly said ‘no’ and tried to push him away". The filing states that, after this, Ventura left him for good.
Shortly after the pair parted ways, Ventura met her husband, Alex Fine, whom she married in 2019 and now shares two children with.
7. A male producer has also accused Diddy of sexual assault
Months after Ventura’s suit was settled, another party came forward to accuse Sean Combs of sexual assault: music producer Rodney ‘Lil Rod’ Jones, represented by the lawyer Tyrone Blackburn.
Lil Rod claims that Combs repeatedly subjected him to incidences of unsolicited groping and sexual touching, and pressured him have intercourse with sex workers. The lawsuit details one incident where the producer woke up in a bed with sex workers, believing he had been drugged by Combs.
Lil Rod also claims that he had to work in a bathroom while Combs showered and walked around naked.
Combs’s lawyer, Shawn Holley, branded the claims as “pure fiction”. “We have overwhelming, indisputable proof that his claims are complete lies,” he said. “We will address these outlandish allegations in court and take all appropriate action against those who make them.”
Combs has also plead not guilty to all of the criminal charges he is facing in court. The case continues.
