After Diddy's conviction, here's where his business ventures stand
Combs, 55, who is one of the most influential figures in hip-hop history, was acquitted Wednesday of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges but convicted on prostitution offenses. Prosecutors painted a dark portrait of the mogul, with witnesses taking the stand to allege a pattern of violence and detail drug-fueled sex parties he reportedly called 'freak-offs' or 'hotel nights.'
Combs was convicted of flying people around the country, including his girlfriends and paid male sex workers, to engage in sexual encounters, a felony violation of the federal Mann Act. He will remain in custody while he awaits sentencing.
Here's a closer look at how Combs' business portfolio and public image have crumbled under the weight of the allegations.
Before Combs was arrested and charged, his major business ventures had collapsed: He stepped down and later fully divested from Revolt TV, which was founded in 2013. The network offered a mix of programming focused on hip-hop culture, R&B music, social justice and documentaries.
He also reportedly lost a Hulu reality series deal and saw his once-iconic fashion brand Sean John vanish from Macy's shelves.
After surveillance footage surfaced last year showing Combs physically assaulting singer Cassie, his then-girlfriend, in 2016, consequences mounted: New York City revoked his ceremonial key, Peloton pulled his music, Howard University rescinded his honorary degree and his charter school in Harlem cut ties.
Last year, Combs settled a legal dispute with Diageo, withdrawing a lawsuit filed as part of a settlement with the London-based spirits giant, making the company the sole owner of Ciroc and DeLeon. While many of his ventures have unraveled, his music catalog — for now — remains intact.
Bad Boy Records may be synonymous with 1990s icons like The Notorious B.I.G., Faith Evans, Ma$e, and 112, but Combs kept the label relevant before his arrest with high-profile releases.
In 2023, Combs dropped ' The Love Album: Off the Grid,' which was his first solo studio album in nearly two decades, and Janelle Monáe released her critically acclaimed project ' The Age of Pleasure ' through Bad Boy. Both albums earned Grammy nominations, with Monáe's effort recognized in the prestigious record of the year category.
Ahead of the 'The Love Album' release, Combs made headlines by returning Bad Boy publishing rights to several former artists and songwriters, years after he was criticized for how he handled their contracts.
Bad Boy Records remains operational, but the label has been significantly shaken by Combs' legal firestorm and it hasn't announced any major upcoming releases.
Last week, a surprise EP called 'Never Stop' released by his son, King Combs, and Ye (formerly Kanye West), showed support for the embattled mogul. The project was released through Goodfellas Entertainment.
Bad Boy Records remained active through 2022, backing Machine Gun Kelly's 'Mainstream Sellout' under the Bad Boy umbrella. He was a producer on MTV's reality television series 'Making the Band,' and 'Making His Band,' launching the careers of artists like the girl group Danity Kane and male R&B group Day 26.
Combs has been sued by multiple people who claim to have been victims of physical or sexual abuse. He has already paid $20 million to settle with one accuser, his former girlfriend Cassie. Most of those lawsuits, though, are still pending. It isn't clear how many, if any, will be successful, or how much it will cost Combs to defend himself in court. Combs and his lawyers have denied all the misconduct allegations and dismissed his accusers as out for a big payday.
Federal prosecutors had informed the court that if Combs is convicted, they would seek to have him forfeit any assets, including property, 'used to commit or facilitate' his crimes. It was not immediately clear following the verdict how prosecutors would proceed or whether asset forfeiture would be part of a sentence imposed by the judge.
Despite the legal turmoil surrounding Combs, his music catalog remains widely available on major streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music. None of the streamers have publicly addressed whether they plan to adjust how his music is featured.
Interestingly, Combs' music saw a roughly 20% boost in U.S. streaming between April and May 2025, his biggest monthly spike this year, according to Luminate. The numbers jump coincided with key moments in the trial, including testimonies from Cassie and Kid Cudi.
However, there was a slight drop-off with a 5 to 10% decrease in June compared to the previous month's streams.
Streaming makes up a fraction of an artist's revenue and is calculated through a complicated process called 'streamshare.' Most artists see very little pay from digital services.
Sean John, founded in 1998, has gone largely dormant, with its presence disappearing from major retailers like Macy's. There are no clear signs of a relaunch on the horizon.
In 2023, Combs launched Empower Global, an online marketplace designed to uplift Black-owned businesses and strengthen the Black dollar. He positioned the platform as a modern-day 'Black Wall Street,' backing it with a reported $20 million of his own investment.
The platform debuted with 70 brands and planned to expand by onboarding new Black-owned businesses each month, aiming to feature more than 200 by year's end.
However, as 2023 came to a close, several brands cut ties with Empower Global. It was reported that some cited disappointing performance and growing concerns over the misconduct allegations surrounding Combs.
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Washington Post
27 minutes ago
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Sean 'Diddy' Combs' lawyers say he is a changed man. Will that spare him from more time behind bars?
NEW YORK — In rejecting Sean 'Diddy' Combs' release on bail , a federal judge confronted the hip-hop impresario with a disturbing aspect of his criminal case that his lawyers couldn't deny: his history of violence. Combs' defense lawyers claimed he is a changed man. But Judge Arun Subramanian on Wednesday let the Bad Boy Records founder know that his hopes for freedom soon are slim — even after the jury acquitted him on racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges that could have put him in prison for life. Subramanian's words signaled how he may approach sentencing Combs for his convictions on two lesser prostitution-related charges, which each carry a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison. The judge, citing a now-infamous video of Combs beating a former girlfriend and photographs showing injuries to another ex-girlfriend, made clear that he plans to hold Combs accountable for the years of violence and bullying behavior that were exposed at his eight-week trial . Combs' punishment is Subramanian's decision alone, and the judge will have wide latitude in determining a sentence. While judges often adhere to the federal judiciary's formulaic guidelines meant to prevent disparity in sentences for the same crimes, they are not mandatory. Combs' lawyers want less than the 21 to 27 months in prison that they believe the sentencing guidelines recommend. Prosecutors contend that the guidelines, when properly calculated to include Combs' crimes and violent history, call for at least four to five years in prison. After tentatively setting Combs' sentencing for October, the judge said he is open to a defense request that it happen as soon as possible, with further discussions expected at a conference Tuesday. Combs, his family and his defense team were overjoyed by the verdict, some of them tearing up at the result. Combs pumped his fist in celebration and mouthed 'thank you' to jurors. He hugged his lawyers and, after the jury exited, fell to his knees in prayer. But, by the end of the day, Combs was deflated — his dream of going home after more than nine months in jail thwarted by a judge throwing his own lawyers' words back in their faces. 'We own the domestic violence. We own it,' Subramanian said, reading from a transcript of Combs lawyer Marc Agnifilo's closing argument to the jury last week. 'If he was charged with domestic violence, we wouldn't all be here having a trial, because he would have pled guilty, because he did that.' The judge noted the jury had seen a video of Combs viciously attacking then-girlfriend Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel in March 2016. He also noted that another former Combs' girlfriend — a woman who testified under the pseudonym 'Jane' — was left with visible evidence of bruises and injuries after Combs hit her repeatedly in June 2024. That was a few months after federal agents raided two of his homes and 'when he should have known that he needed to stay clean.' The judge said that the beating, which Jane said happened before Combs forced her to have a sexual encounter with a male sex worker, was part of the prostitution-related offenses — violations of the federal Mann Act — that resulted in a conviction. 'This highlights a disregard for the rule of law and the propensity for violence,' he said. Agnifilo, who had asked the judge to release Combs on a $1 million bond, insisted to Subramanian that Combs had changed dramatically in the last year. As he pleaded with the judge, Combs sat by his side and scribbled notes on small pieces of paper, occasionally handing them to the lawyer. The attorney said Jane had written a supportive note to get Combs into a domestic violence intervention program. At sentencing, he said, the defense plans to have someone from the program tell the judge how Combs did. 'He is a man who's in the process of working on himself,' the lawyer said. 'He's been a model prisoner.' Agnifilo said Combs had 'been given his life back' by the jury and 'would be nothing short of a fool' to do anything to spoil that. The prospect of a life sentence, the maximum if Combs were convicted of racketeering or sex trafficking, prompted 'all sorts of the darkest conversations one can imagine about what your life could have been and what your life became,' Agnifilo said. But Subramanian was unmoved by what Agnifilo called his 'heart strings' argument. 'Having conceded the defendant's propensity for violence in this way, it is impossible for the defendant to demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that he poses no danger to any other person or the community,' the judge said. Agnifilo indicated the defense will argue at sentencing that Combs' violent acts are not part of the charges for which he was convicted and shouldn't factor into his punishment. Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey made it clear that prosecutors will argue the opposite. Combs is 'an extremely violent man with an extraordinarily dangerous temper,' Comey told the judge Wednesday. He 'has shown no remorse and no regret for his violence toward multiple victims.' Subramanian noted that Combs will be credited for the time he has already served. But by rejecting bail, the judge indicated that he will likely reject a defense request for Combs to be freed in the next year. Deonte Nash, a former stylist for Combs and Cassie who reluctantly testified during the trial, told the judge in a letter that bail would 'send a dangerous message: that wealth and influence can shield someone indefinitely from accountability.' Cassie, through her lawyer, also encouraged Subramanian to keep Combs in jail. 'Ms. Ventura believes that Mr. Combs is likely to pose a danger to the victims who testified in this case, including herself, as well as to the community,' Cassie's lawyer, Douglas Wigdor, wrote.
Associated Press
40 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Sean 'Diddy' Combs' lawyers say he is a changed man. Will that spare him from more time behind bars?
NEW YORK (AP) — In rejecting Sean 'Diddy' Combs' release on bail, a federal judge confronted the hip-hop impresario with a disturbing aspect of his criminal case that his lawyers couldn't deny: his history of violence. Combs' defense lawyers claimed he is a changed man. But Judge Arun Subramanian on Wednesday let the Bad Boy Records founder know that his hopes for freedom soon are slim — even after the jury acquitted him on racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges that could have put him in prison for life. Subramanian's words signaled how he may approach sentencing Combs for his convictions on two lesser prostitution-related charges, which each carry a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison. The judge, citing a now-infamous video of Combs beating a former girlfriend and photographs showing injuries to another ex-girlfriend, made clear that he plans to hold Combs accountable for the years of violence and bullying behavior that were exposed at his eight-week trial. Combs' punishment is Subramanian's decision alone, and the judge will have wide latitude in determining a sentence. While judges often adhere to the federal judiciary's formulaic guidelines meant to prevent disparity in sentences for the same crimes, they are not mandatory. Combs' lawyers want less than the 21 to 27 months in prison that they believe the sentencing guidelines recommend. Prosecutors contend that the guidelines, when properly calculated to include Combs' crimes and violent history, call for at least four to five years in prison. After tentatively setting Combs' sentencing for October, the judge said he is open to a defense request that it happen as soon as possible, with further discussions expected at a conference Tuesday. Combs' violent past keeps him locked up for now Combs, his family and his defense team were overjoyed by the verdict, some of them tearing up at the result. Combs pumped his fist in celebration and mouthed 'thank you' to jurors. He hugged his lawyers and, after the jury exited, fell to his knees in prayer. But, by the end of the day, Combs was deflated — his dream of going home after more than nine months in jail thwarted by a judge throwing his own lawyers' words back in their faces. 'We own the domestic violence. We own it,' Subramanian said, reading from a transcript of Combs lawyer Marc Agnifilo's closing argument to the jury last week. 'If he was charged with domestic violence, we wouldn't all be here having a trial, because he would have pled guilty, because he did that.' The judge noted the jury had seen a video of Combs viciously attacking then-girlfriend Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel in March 2016. He also noted that another former Combs' girlfriend — a woman who testified under the pseudonym 'Jane' — was left with visible evidence of bruises and injuries after Combs hit her repeatedly in June 2024. That was a few months after federal agents raided two of his homes and 'when he should have known that he needed to stay clean.' The judge said that the beating, which Jane said happened before Combs forced her to have a sexual encounter with a male sex worker, was part of the prostitution-related offenses — violations of the federal Mann Act — that resulted in a conviction. 'This highlights a disregard for the rule of law and the propensity for violence,' he said. Combs is 'working on himself,' lawyer says Agnifilo, who had asked the judge to release Combs on a $1 million bond, insisted to Subramanian that Combs had changed dramatically in the last year. As he pleaded with the judge, Combs sat by his side and scribbled notes on small pieces of paper, occasionally handing them to the lawyer. The attorney said Jane had written a supportive note to get Combs into a domestic violence intervention program. At sentencing, he said, the defense plans to have someone from the program tell the judge how Combs did. 'He is a man who's in the process of working on himself,' the lawyer said. 'He's been a model prisoner.' Agnifilo said Combs had 'been given his life back' by the jury and 'would be nothing short of a fool' to do anything to spoil that. The prospect of a life sentence, the maximum if Combs were convicted of racketeering or sex trafficking, prompted 'all sorts of the darkest conversations one can imagine about what your life could have been and what your life became,' Agnifilo said. But Subramanian was unmoved by what Agnifilo called his 'heart strings' argument. 'Having conceded the defendant's propensity for violence in this way, it is impossible for the defendant to demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that he poses no danger to any other person or the community,' the judge said. Prosecutors also want violence factored into sentencing Agnifilo indicated the defense will argue at sentencing that Combs' violent acts are not part of the charges for which he was convicted and shouldn't factor into his punishment. Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey made it clear that prosecutors will argue the opposite. Combs is 'an extremely violent man with an extraordinarily dangerous temper,' Comey told the judge Wednesday. He 'has shown no remorse and no regret for his violence toward multiple victims.' Subramanian noted that Combs will be credited for the time he has already served. But by rejecting bail, the judge indicated that he will likely reject a defense request for Combs to be freed in the next year. Witnesses implore judge to keep Combs locked up Deonte Nash, a former stylist for Combs and Cassie who reluctantly testified during the trial, told the judge in a letter that bail would 'send a dangerous message: that wealth and influence can shield someone indefinitely from accountability.' Cassie, through her lawyer, also encouraged Subramanian to keep Combs in jail. 'Ms. Ventura believes that Mr. Combs is likely to pose a danger to the victims who testified in this case, including herself, as well as to the community,' Cassie's lawyer, Douglas Wigdor, wrote.
Yahoo
an hour ago
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Idris Elba says he has never watched ‘The Wire' and never will
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