Diddy lawyer Marc Agnifilo compares 'freak offs' to couples drinking lemonade
Sean "Diddy" Combs attorney Marc Agnifilo is comparing the embattled ex-music mogul's alleged sexual "freak offs" to couples drinking lemonade together.
The Bad Boy Records founder's lead attorney made the eyebrow-raising comments during closing arguments in Combs' federal sex-crimes trial on Friday, June 27.
In court, Agnifilo said that instances when Combs and his ex-girlfriend Casandara "Cassie" Ventura Fine argued about partaking in "freak offs" were the same as some couples disagreeing over going to the beach or drinking strawberry lemonade, adding that "your likes become one" as a couple.
The trial's star witness, Ventura Fine testified through tears – sobbing at times – about the "agency" and "autonomy" she lost from "freak offs" over four days in May. Combs dated Ventura Fine in the mid-2000s, and their relationship spanned a decade. The two became involved professionally and sexually when Ventura Fine was 19 and Combs was 36.
Prosecutors have argued that Combs' "freak offs," which lasted days at times, were sexual orchestrations arranged by the businessman that involved illicit substances and commercial sex workers.
The Combs defense team has long argued, instead, that the three women – Ventura Fine, another ex-girlfriend "Jane" and an ex-assistant "Mia" – at the center of the government's case against their client were willing participants in consensual sex acts with the "I'll Be Missing You" hitmaker.
Combs, 55, was arrested in September and charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty. The arrest followed a November 2023 lawsuit filed by Ventura Fine alleging that Combs trafficked, raped and viciously beat her over the course of their coupling.
In court, Combs' lawyers have tried to suggest that the Sean John clothing brand creator and Ventura Fine were "swingers," partners in a committed relationship that engaged in consensual, but nonmonogamous intimate acts.
Prosecutor in Diddy sex-crimes trial pushes back on 'lemonade' comments
During a court hearing April 25, less than two weeks before Combs' trial began May 5, Agnifilo laid the groundwork for his client's legal defense, suggesting that the alleged illegal behavior was simply the result of sexual "swinging."
At the time, Agnifilo said in court that Combs had a sexual swinging "lifestyle." In court, U.S. attorney Maurene Comey pushed back on Agnifilo's beach and lemonade reference.
The federal prosecutor Comey argued that Agniflo was suggesting "that Cassie and Jane and Mia are liars because, of course, they wanted it."
Comey contested Agnifilo's "swinging" argument saying this was different from preferences for beach visits or a beverage: These women were awake for days, covered in oil, wearing 8-inch heels, often with a urinary tract infection (UTI) and having unprotected sex with strangers. She said it's different from someone going "along like lemonade."
"What the defense is suggesting is that these women lied to you repeatedly," Comey said. "But these women have no reason to lie. They have no motive to lie at all."
And amid Friday's court proceedings, both Combs and his son Justin Combs were hit with a gang-rape lawsuit, filed by Texas lawyer Tony Buzbee. The jury will return Monday, June 30, for instructions from Judge Arun Subramanian before gathering for deliberations.
Contributing: Aysha Bagchi, Patrick Ryan, KiMi Robinson
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