Once a hip-hop king, Sean 'Diddy' Combs faces possible prison time after mixed verdict

Straits Times

3 days ago

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NEW YORK - Sean "Diddy" Combs, who elevated hip-hop in American culture while building a music and clothing empire that made him a billionaire, was found guilty of prostitution-related offenses but cleared of sex trafficking on Wednesday.
The mixed verdict means he will be spared the possibility of a life sentence, but may still face substantial prison time. Combs faces a maximum 10-year prison sentence on each of the two prostitution counts. U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian will determine Combs' sentence at a later date.
The 55-year-old Combs is among the most influential and widely recognized men in the entertainment field to face sexual abuse allegations after the #MeToo movement encouraged accusers to speak up.
Like movie producer Harvey Weinstein and R&B singer R. Kelly, Combs was accused by prosecutors of using his influence and wealth to coerce women into unwanted sexual activity, and intimidate them into staying quiet for years.
Combs pleaded not guilty to five felony counts including racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. Over the course of seven weeks of testimony in Manhattan federal court, two of his former girlfriends testified that he forced them to take part in days-long, drug-fueled sexual encounters with male prostitutes sometimes called "Freak Offs" while Combs watched, masturbated and occasionally filmed.
Since his arrest in September, Combs has been jailed in Brooklyn - far from the mansions in Miami and Los Angeles where he had been living but about an hour by subway from the Harlem neighborhood where he was born.
His father died four years after his birth, and Combs was raised by a single mother. She often attended the trial, joined by several of Combs' children.
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After two years at Howard University in Washington, Combs dropped out to go into the music business. He worked at New York's Uptown Records before co-founding Bad Boy Records in 1993.
Combs was a hustler and a showman. He is credited with turning artists like Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans, Notorious B.I.G. (Biggie Smalls) and Usher into stars, and broadening hip-hop's appeal in the 1990s and 2000s.
Musicians, athletes and actors angled to be in Combs' circle, while Combs flaunted a lavish lifestyle filled with diamonds, yachts and over-the-top parties.
In the late 1990s, he dated singer Jennifer Lopez, and they became one of entertainment's biggest power couples.
"He made hip-hop seem so vital and lively to American culture that everyone wanted to be a piece of it," author Mark Anthony Neal said in the Max documentary "The Fall of Diddy."
Combs won three Grammy awards including for "I'll Be Missing You," a 1997 tribute to Biggie after he was killed in a drive-by shooting.
He built on his celebrity by launching the multimillion-dollar Sean John clothing brand and Revolt TV cable network. Combs even became a Broadway headliner, starring in "A Raisin in the Sun" in 2004.
Combs has sold his stake in Revolt. A spokesperson for Combs did not respond to a request for comment about the status of Sean John.
By 2022, Forbes magazine estimated that Combs' wealth had topped $1 billion, and his rags-to-riches story was seen as an inspiration for other Black men. That same year, Combs received a lifetime achievement honor at the BET Awards.
"Anything I do is through love," Combs said at the ceremony.
'COLLATERAL' RECORDINGS
Not so, according to prosecutors.
They contend that Combs used his business empire's employees and resources to force the two alleged victims - the rhythm and blues singer Casandra "Cassie" Ventura and a woman known in court by the pseudonym Jane - into the sexual performances.
Both women testified that Combs beat them and threatened to cut off financial support or leak sex tapes of them when they hesitated to take part in the encounters.
Combs' defense lawyers acknowledged that Combs was abusive in his domestic relationships but argued that the sexual activity described by prosecutors was consensual.
They pointed the jury toward tender and sexually explicit texts Ventura and Jane sent Combs over the course of their relationships with him, and highlighted portions of their testimony in which both women said they at times took part in the sexual performances because they loved Combs and wanted to make him happy.
Combs still faces dozens of civil lawsuits by women and men accusing Combs of sexual abuse.
Ventura sued Combs in November 2023, accusing him of rape and serial physical abuse during their decade-long professional and romantic relationship, which he denied. They settled one day later for $20 million.
Fortune magazine estimated that Combs' net worth fell to about $400 million by 2024. REUTERS