Latest news with #CasandraVentura
BBC News
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
After Diddy: Hip-hop is struggling to have its own 'MeToo' moment
One day in 2010, Sean "Diddy" Combs was in the kitchen of his Beverly Hills estate with his assistant Capricorn Clark. "Let me show you something," he said, summoning his girlfriend, Casandra Ventura, into the to her, he issued a string of commands: "Sit down, stand up, turn around, walk over there, hand me that. Now go back." His girlfriend obeyed his every word."Did you see that?" said Combs to his assistant. "You won't do that. That's why you don't have a man like me."This account, shared by Ms Clark (also known as Cassie) in her testimony during Combs' recent eight-week trial, gave a glimpse into his dynamic with his partner - and a sense of what was happening behind closed doors. Ms Ventura, an R&B singer who was previously signed to his record label, testified that throughout their long-term relationship, Combs – who was 17 years her senior – beat her, blackmailed her and coerced her into drug-fuelled sex sessions with escorts. He had, she continued, controlled her to the trial was the claim that Combs, 55, a multimillionaire music mogul once credited with bringing rap into the mainstream, forced his partners to engage in elaborate sexual performances, known as "freak-offs", that he directed, often filmed and arranged with the help of his week, he was found guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. He was acquitted on the more serious charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. After the verdict was announced, Ms Ventura's lawyer, Doug Wigdor, said that by coming forward, she had "brought attention to the realities of powerful men in our orbit and the misconduct that has persisted for decades without repercussion".But now, campaigners, survivors of sexual violence and insiders within the music industry are asking: Why did it take so long to hold Combs accountable?And, in light of Hollywood's MeToo movement that uncovered and helped root out sexual harassment and abuse in the film industry, and which began nearly a decade ago - is it now time that the music industry, or more specifically, hip-hop, had a MeToo movement of its own? 'A playbook that shields predators' Cristalle Bowen is a rapper from Chicago who was part of an all-female trio called RapperChicks. "The Diddy trial only highlights what many of us already know," she says, referring to the struggle to hold powerful people to 2022 she wrote a book about misogyny in the industry. The tagline is: Navigating Hip-Hop and Relationships in a Culture of Misogyny. "Being the token women on labels and in crews leaves you susceptible to, at the very least, name calling," she claims. "At the most… you've been abused in some way."When there is money involved, it becomes tricky. From hush money to stalled careers to the way we all see survivors treated… It's a difficult task."Campaigners and industry insiders who spoke to the BBC say that sexual abuse and harassment exists across all genres in the music business, not only hip-hop. They point to a culture of silence, where they claim that predators are protected and victims risk being blacklisted, sued or fired. Caroline Heldman, an academic and activist, agrees. She is co-founder of the US-based Sound Off Coalition, which advocates for the elimination of sexual violence in music, and argues that there is a history of using "threats to push out women artists who are targets of abuse by men"."The music industry has followed a playbook for dealing with sexual abuse that shields predators, including musicians, producers, managers, executives, and other behind-the-scenes players, from liability," she agreements (NDAs) – legal contracts that stop people from sharing certain agreed-upon private information – are used legitimately in the industry, for example to help protect commercial secrets. But some argue that these are being misused and can contribute to a culture of silence in cases of abuse. "[It] makes for a very difficult decision for a lot of victims," says Arick Fudali, a New York-based lawyer. One of his clients is Dawn Richard, a singer who testified against Combs at the federal trial and has an ongoing lawsuit against him."I've had clients who have declined that and chosen to file their lawsuit publicly," he adds. "They can receive less money than if they had just settled privately and confidentially."Ms Bowen argues that she has seen this happen first-hand. "Moguls write the cheques and artists need the cheques - there's usually no checks and balances when mogul money is involved."But, there may be other reasons for not speaking in hip-hop specifically, some survivors of abuse and experts we spoke to argue that this culture of silence is exacerbated by the combined forces of racism and misogyny, and a desire to fiercely protect a genre that has created rare avenues to stardom and financial success. A mouthpiece for liberation and resistance Originating in the African-American and Latino communities of New York City in the 1970s, hip-hop became a mouthpiece for liberation and resistance against the authorities and social injustice."Hip-hop allowed young black people to tell their own stories on their own terms, it gave that generation a voice," explains Mark Anthony Neal, professor of African-American studies at Duke University, particularly when popular culture was offering a limited portrayal of black now the most commercially successful music genre in the US, leading in album sales and streaming numbers. "Rappers are the new rock stars," says Thomas Hobbs, a writer and co-host of a hip-hop podcast, Exit the 36 Chambers. "They're the people now most likely to fill arenas." As an artist and businessman who ran an empire that encompassed fashion, alcohol and TV as well as his label, Bad Boy Records, Combs - who has an estimated net worth of about $400m (£293m) - has been championed not only for helping hip-hop become commercially viable but for creating jobs and opportunities, particularly for black his career he has been vocal about "black excellence" – platforming achievements – as well as highlighting struggles within the black community. This was something his legal defence raised in court, saying: "Sean Combs has become something that is very, very hard to be. Very hard to be. He is a self-made, successful, black entrepreneur."Outside court during his trial, fans erupted in cheers after he was acquitted of the more serious charges and onlookers debated aloud whether he had been unfairly targeted. "Of course he was. He's a powerful black man," one said. For weeks, others had been wearing and selling "Free Puff" T-shirts, after Combs' 90s stage name, next to a speaker blaring out his music. Sociologist Katheryn Russell-Brown has described a phenomenon she calls "black protectionism"."Those who have managed to obtain large-scale prosperity, in spite of legal, political, economic, educational and social barriers, are given the status of racial pioneers," she wrote in her book, Protecting Our Own: Race, Crime, and African Americans, which was inspired by the OJ Simpson case."It is, therefore, predictable that black people as a group are suspicious when criminal charges are brought against members of its elite, protected class."Black women in particular carry the fear that speaking out could reinforce harmful stereotypes about their community, argues Treva Lindsey, a professor in the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department at Ohio State University who researches misogyny in hip-hop."When we portray hip-hop as uniquely sexist, or sexually violent, or harmful, that has repercussions for black people of all genders," she says. The start of a reckoning? And yet across the entertainment industry more broadly, a retrospective focus is slowly happening now, in part because of shifts in changes to law in some US states have also enabled people to take action over alleged historic York and California passed laws in 2022 called the Adult Survivors Act that for one-year only allowed people to file sexual abuse claims, regardless of when the alleged incidents took Ventura filed a lawsuit against Combs in November 2023, accusing him of physical and sexual abuse. It was settled the following day, and Combs denied the claims. He now faces more than 60 civil cases from men and women accusing him of drugging or assault, spanning his entire three-decade a statement, Combs' team has said: "No matter how many lawsuits are filed, it won't change the fact that Mr Combs has never sexually assaulted or sex trafficked anyone - man or woman, adult or minor."He is, however, one of several hip-hop titans of the 90s and 00s to have been accused in a relatively recent wave of executive and producer Antonio LA Reid, who worked with artists including Usher, Kanye West (now known as Ye) and Rihanna, was accused of sexual assault in a lawsuit filed in 2023. He denies all claims against Russell Simmons, co-founder of hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings, has faced allegations of violent sexual behaviour by more than 20 women since 2017, all of which he has denied. Drew Dixon, who is former vice president of Artists and Repertoire (A&R) at Arista Records, is among them. She has claimed she was abused by both Mr Simmons and Mr Reid when she worked in the music industry in the 1990s and told The New York Times: "You're not just going up against the person who assaulted you," she said. "You are going against everyone who benefits from their brand and revenue stream."Those forces will mobilise against any accuser. It's daunting." Backlash after speaking out Sil Lai Abrams, who is a writer and gender violence activist, began working as an executive assistant at the Def Jam music label in 1992. She is one of the women who accused Mr Simmons of sexual assault. He has denied all allegations."It's harder for women of colour to speak out against abuse in the music industry," she argues - something that she believes still applies today. "[Women have] been conditioned to see abuse of power and sexual harassment as the price one pays to work in the industry."Then there is the question of the response from the public if people do speak out. When Ms Ventura first filed her lawsuit against Combs, she faced widespread abuse. Memes on social media accused her of being a gold-digger. Some in the hip-hop industry criticised her too. "Quit trying to expose people for money," US rapper Slim Thug said in a video shared with his two million followers on Instagram in when CNN broadcast security camera footage dating back to 2016 which showed Combs grabbing, dragging and kicking Ms Ventura in the hallway of a hotel did the sentiment towards her Thug publicly apologised for his responded in a video statement posted on Instagram, saying: "My behaviour on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility… I'm committed to be a better man each and every day… I'm truly sorry.""Before the video of Combs beating her came out and people couldn't deny the evidence, people said Cassie was a liar," says Dr Nikki Lane, assistant professor in Gender, Sexuality & Feminist Studies at Duke University. Yet Dr Lane argues that more still needs to change. "Black women's bodies are constantly traded upon within the culture of hip-hop as tropes to be ridiculed". Dr Lane points to the example of rapper Megan Thee Stallion, who was shot in the foot in rapper Tory Lanez is currently serving a 10-year sentence for the assault, but after the incident, the artist Drake was criticised for lyrics in his 2022 song Circo Loco - "This b- lie 'bout gettin' shots, but she still a stallion" - which seemed to refer to the incident. 'Some people look the other way' There remains the question of what happens to the art – and indeed the music – when an idol is convicted of serious crimes.R&B singer R Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2022 for sex trafficking, racketeering and sexually abusing women and children, but years later, his music remains popular. It generated about 780 million audio streams in the US since January 2019. On Spotify, he has around 5.2 million monthly listeners."There are still people [who] defend R Kelly," says Mr Hobbs. "I won't be surprised if Diddy's streams, just like R Kelly's, stay high.""There's a kind of cognitive dissonance" from fans, he argues. "These songs become so embedded in people's lives that they find it very difficult to get rid of them… [they're] part of people's DNA."So, I think some people are able to look the other way." The bigger question, perhaps, is how should the industry react? After the MeToo movement began in 2017, at least 200 prominent men accused of sexual harassment lost their jobs, and changes were made to workplace the Combs verdict in itself is unlikely to lead to wider changes, according to Prof Lindsey. "I think what happens in this moment is Diddy, kind of like R Kelly in the R&B black music pantheon, is seen as exceptional… and not indicative of something else," she says."There isn't a cultural reset where we look inward and ask: 'How does this happen?'"But that is exactly what is missing, argue some others in the industry, including Ms Abrams. "What is lacking is a political environment against which survivors can count on to change the material conditions that allowed someone like Combs to act with impunity," she MeToo in Hollywood, certain changes were introduced, including making intimacy coordinators more of a standard practice when filming sex scenes. Some music insiders now hope that migrates over to music video Sound Off Coalition is calling for new company rules that require people in positions of power in music to report accusations of sexual measures are what matter, argues Dr Lane. "The only way for me to believe that there's been a reckoning would be to see changes in laws, policies, and actual business practices of the industry… [Ones] that are not based on how long Diddy goes down for."For all the latest reaction and analysis on the verdict, you can listen to the Diddy on Trial podcast available on BBC reporting by Florence Freeman and Fiona Macdonald Top picture credit: Rich Polk/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images BBC InDepth is the home on the website and app for the best analysis, with fresh perspectives that challenge assumptions and deep reporting on the biggest issues of the day. And we showcase thought-provoking content from across BBC Sounds and iPlayer too. You can send us your feedback on the InDepth section by clicking on the button below.
Forbes
03-07-2025
- Forbes
Making Sense Of The Sean Diddy Combs Verdict
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 2: People react outside federal court as verdicts are announced during ... More Sean Combs' sex trafficking and racketeering trial at Manhattan Federal Court on July 2, 2025 in New York City. Combs has been acquitted of the most serious charges in his case, but was convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. (Photo by Eduardo) After 28 days of testimony, 2 days of closing arguments and 12 hours of jury deliberation, Sean Diddy Combs was found guilty of one count of transporting individuals including but not limited to his former girlfriend Casandra Ventura to engage in prostitution and one count of transporting individuals including but not limited to another former girlfriend who testified under the pseudonym 'Jane." Each of those charges carry a maximum 10-year prison sentence. However, he was found not guilty of the three most serious charges, namely sex-trafficking by force, fraud or coercion of Casandra Ventura; sex-trafficking by force, fraud or coercion of 'Jane' and the RICO racketeering conspiracy charge which was the bulwark of the entire case. Had he been found guilty of the RICO charge he faced a potential life sentence in prison. The two charges of which he was convicted applied to flying people including Cassandra Ventura and 'Jane' along with paid male sex workers around the country to engage in extreme sexual encounters referred to in court as 'freak-offs.' In regard to the sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion charges, the jury may have considered that Cassie Ventura had been in an 11 year relationship with Combs during the time of the freak-offs and 'Jane' had been in a 3 year relationship with Combs while participating in the freak offs. Being in such long-standing relationships could have been considered by the jury to be an indication of consent. Additionally, numerous text messages from both women were entered into evidence indicating enthusiasm for participating in the freak-offs including one from Ventura that read 'Baby. I want to FO sooooo bad.' FO being the abbreviation for freak-off. But what is the RICO law and how has it evolved? The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) is Title IX of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970 and was enacted as a tool to fight organized crime. RICO lists four types of prohibited conduct: An enterprise is defined as 'any individual, partnership, corporation, association or other legal entity and any union or group of people associated in fact although not a legal entity.' The original intention of the law was to target organized crime, such as the Mafia, enabling prosecutors to target the leaders of these groups even if they were not personally present when the crimes were committed. Prior to RICO, while law enforcement may have been able to convict lower-level members of organized crime groups they had difficulty getting convictions against the leaders of such groups. Under RICO, it was no longer necessary to prove that someone personally committed a particular crime, but rather merely that the defendant controlled or managed an enterprise that committed specific crimes referred to as predicate acts. A pattern of racketeering activity requires at least two acts within ten years. In Combs' case, the prosecution alleged kidnapping, arson, forced labor, bribery and sex trafficking as the predicate acts constituting racketeering activity. The first Mafia crime boss to be convicted under RICO was Genovese crime family leader Frank Tieri in 1980. However, over time the law's use has been expanded to include convictions of: RICO charges similar to those brought against Combs had been previously brought against R&B singer R. Kelly who was convicted in 2021 of RICO racketeering and sex trafficking charges leading some people to believe that Combs would also have been convicted of violating RICO. In fact, the day before issuing its verdict, the jury indicated to the judge that it was deadlocked on this critical charge while agreeing on the other four counts. The significant difference between the cases against Kelly and Combs however was that Kelly was convicted of recruiting underage girls for sexual exploitation who were legally incapable of giving consent, making the case against Kelly much easier to prove.
BBC News
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Sean 'Diddy' Combs: Secret world revealed in voice notes and videos
Warning: Explicit content"Can y'all come straighten it up over here? It's not looking luxurious," Sean "Diddy" Combs says in a voice note to his personal assistants as R&B music mellows in the before, a so-called "freak-off" - a drug-fuelled orgy also known as a "Wild King Night" - had been in full swing. Now, staff were being called in to clean up."PD said he's going to need emergency clean up at hotel," his chief of staff texts after another of these events. "Bring him stain remover (for a chair and couch) and black trash bags. And baking soda too, he said." The BBC has seen messages and recordings from former staff in Combs' household. The staff members have also given detailed accounts of what it was like to work on the multi-millionaire music mogul's glamorous yacht rentals and inside his sprawling estates across the US - in the Hamptons, Beverly Hills and on Star Island in experiences span the past five to 10 years, a period that was under scrutiny during Combs' criminal trial in New the trial's conclusion on Wednesday, the 55-year-old was cleared of the most serious charges - racketeering, and two counts of sex trafficking related to ex-partner Casandra Ventura and another woman referred to as "Jane". But jurors found he was guilty of two other counts related to the transportation to engage in prostitution of both women. He will be sentenced at a later date. We have been shown material which paints a picture of a "scary" and unpredictable boss, who would administer shocking "loyalty tests", and whose demands grew more and more extreme. Staff have described how his sometimes-days-long "freak-offs" were held at locations around the world, with the rapper expecting staff to prepare a bag containing "baby oil, lubricant and red lights" - to create the red-tinted ambience Combs preferred - alongside class-A drugs wherever he travelled. 'Wild King Nights' Inside his waterfront Miami mansion, a $48m (£36m) compound located on an exclusive man-made island, we have been told that Combs kept tight control of his inner circle. "I'm not about to be transparent with y'all," a groggy Combs warns staff one day in a rambling voice note posted in an employee WhatsApp group in 2020. "There's some dark places y'all [EXPLETIVE] don't want to go. Stay where you're at."Staff say he was intense, demanding and volatile, with some attributing his unpredictability to a lifestyle of drug-fuelled parties. The turnover of staff was high and Combs had more than 20 different house managers join and leave in just two years across his properties, one former estates manager told us. Phil Pines, 40, who worked for Combs as a senior executive assistant from 2019-2021, has told the BBC the mogul didn't say a word to him when he first started his job."It was like an initiation," he explains. "We didn't speak to each other for 30 days."Another recent assistant, Ethan (not his real name), recalls: "He was a very ill man with different behaviours, sometimes very aggressive, sometimes very sweet."We have changed Ethan's name because, like many former staff members, he still works in the high-net-worth hospitality industry and fears speaking out about Combs will hurt his shows us a small scar on his forehead. He says this was the result of Combs smashing a glass against a wall in a fit of rage, and the shards cutting Ethan's Pines and Ethan were part of Combs' small group of trusted assistants and say he often played mind games with staff. Ethan recalls one of Combs' loyalty tests - when the star took off one of his rings and threw it into the Atlantic Ocean. He then turned to Ethan and told him he had to go into the water to get were at a formal event and Ethan, like his boss, was wearing a smart suit. He says this didn't stop him jumping in right away to rescue another incident, Pines says Combs called him to his residence after midnight, just so he could fetch the TV remote from under the bed he was in with a female guest."See? He is loyal and now he can go back home," he recalls Combs telling her. Pines says he felt like an animal. But the Wild King Nights - as the rapper's chief of staff, Kristina Khorram, referred to them - revealed an even darker side to working for Combs."I was asked to set up a laundry list of items for him," says Pines. "And I thought to myself, why didn't anybody explain this to me before?"In one exchange seen by the BBC, Khorram texted him to warn a bag needs to be prepared for a Wild King Night in two hours. In another, she asked for a "drop off" of seven bottles of baby oil and seven bottles of Astroglide lubricant alongside iced vanilla lattes. "Rounding up a shelf of baby oil and Astroglide at a store is very, very humiliating. I would always pretend like I was on the phone," Pines tells Combs' trial the prosecution presented evidence of supplies they said were procured for "freak-offs". A police raid on Combs' Los Angeles mansion found drugs and more than 1,000 bottles of baby three months into his role, Pines began having concerns about the frequency of these requests. "It became daily, sometimes twice a day, every day, and every week."Pines says there was a constant stream of young women who frequented Combs' homes - apparently for sex. Young men were also called to the parties, says of these young people would appear to be friends of the star's sons, Pines tells us, with some of the women later seen "hanging" with says he also had concerns that some of these guests - who looked like they were in their early 20s - were "too young" and "impressionable" for his then 50-year-old boss."I would see some women feel uncomfortable or at least look like they'd had a wild night," says Pines.A woman with an IV drip would usually visit the next day, he says, to help guests recover after sometimes "partying" for 24 hours non-stop without recalls one young guest uttering to him in distress: "I've never done anything like that before."He was instructed to drive her home from Combs' Miami residence: "She was kind of shaking and shivering, like she was coming down off the drugs." The drug-fuelled nature of these nights has repeatedly been brought during Combs' trial. Casandra Ventura, his ex-partner of more than a decade, testified that she endured years of coerced sex with male escorts under the threat of beatings and blackmail, while Combs filmed the encounters. She said these events would sometimes go on for days and require her to take countless drugs to stay woman, who dated Combs on-and-off from 2021 until his arrest last September, gave evidence that she felt pressured to fulfil his desires partly because he was paying her rent, and said the encounters left her feeling "disgusted" and in physical his defence at trial, Combs' lawyer said he admitted to domestic violence, but argued that all the sexual encounters were consensual, and that Combs had a "swingers lifestyle". The BBC understands at least one staff member was asked to search online for escorts to participate in the Wild King nights. Screenshots of the escorts were then sent to Combs for says he doesn't know what happened at these events, but he was asked to deal with the was "just complete wreckage", he says. "Oil all over the floor. Marijuana joints everywhere… I would wear gloves. I would wear a mask.""He [Combs] would get up, put his hoodie on and walk out the door," Pines says, leaving staff to clean the room. On one occasion, Pines says he witnessed Combs push and kick a female guest during an argument at his house, which continued swore at her and said "give me my hoodie", Pines remembers. "She takes off the hoodie, she's topless, no bra, nothing, no t-shirt on. So, I take off my jacket and I wrap it around her to kind of shield her."The guest left in an Uber crying, says Pines, but within a week she was back at the house again with Combs."She came back shortly after that. Dinner, gifts... she was brought back into the fold."When Pines told his supervisor Khorram about the incident, he says she knew exactly what to say to him: "I kind of give her a play-by-play of what happened. Her words to me: 'Never speak about this again.'"Kristina Khorram has not responded to the BBC's request for comment but has previously denied any wrongdoing. In a statement to CNN last March, she described allegations against her as "false" and "causing irreparable and incalculable damage to my reputation and the emotional well-being of myself and my family"."I have never condoned or aided and abetted the sexual assault of anyone. Nor have I ever drugged anyone," she said. Staff would be required to erase any evidence of "freak-offs" - removing bodily stains from sheets, disposing of drugs and, Pines tells us, scrubbing any "compromising" recorded footage of the sexual encounters off his boss's personal phones and staff also describe feeling disturbed by Combs' sexual encounters."[There are] things I saw with my own eyes, memories that will stay forever," says Ethan. He says Combs would sometimes ask him to enter the room and "bring him water or male enhancement pills" while sex was taking has filed his own civil lawsuit against Combs. The BBC approached Combs' lawyers for comment in respect of Pines' allegations, and they made this statement in response: "No matter how many lawsuits are filed, it won't change the fact that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted or sex trafficked anyone - man or woman, adult or minor. We live in a world where anyone can file a lawsuit for any reason."Pines recalls a particularly horrifying incident around November 2020, when he says he was asked to stay behind after work and set up an after-party at the Miami says that Combs and his guests had been "in the sun partying, taking mushrooms, smoking, drinking all day - so they were completely gone by this time". During the party, Pines says Combs invited him to take a shot, before asking him to "prove his loyalty".He handed Pines a condom and pushed him towards a female guest who was lying on a nearby couch."At that moment, I'm like, what is going on?" Pines says. "I froze. I was just shocked by what was happening. I felt cold… but I also felt so much pressure."Pines says the woman consented and they had sex until Combs began "drifting off into another part of the suite"."I didn't want any of that," he says. "Once I kind of saw him out of my peripheral, that he was gone, I pulled out my pants and just got out of there quickly."It was a power move. I felt like I was coerced. It was manipulation." The Gucci bag When they travelled internationally, staff say Combs' drugs came with him, concealed in a safe onboard his $60m (£45m) private jet."Even if it was for a day trip, if he was going on the yacht for four hours, take all that stuff with you because he may use it." Pines recalls being claims mushrooms, ketamine and ecstasy were kept in a small black Gucci bag alongside baby oil, lubricant and red lawyers admitted during trial that he had procured drugs, but said they were for personal use only. In one nerve-wracking incident in Venice in summer 2021, Pines says Italian authorities questioned Combs' staff for an hour. He feared that if they had found the drugs hidden in the luggage, he would have "taken the fall" for his boss.A former personal assistant, Brendan Paul, was arrested on charges of drug possession while with Combs at a Miami airport in March 2024, on the same day police raided the rapper's homes. The charges were later dropped after Paul completed a pre-trial diversion Combs' trial, Paul, 26, testified that he had found cocaine after "sweeping" his boss's room and had forgotten it was in his bag while they prepared for a vacation in the Bahamas. He told the court that he did not tell law enforcement that they were Combs' drugs out of "loyalty". By December 2021, Pines says he had had enough. "The money wasn't worth it... because of the experiences I was having with him. It was just too much to bear."When asked why staff had not spoken out sooner, Pines does not hesitate. They were, he says, afraid of Combs."He is a very scary person. Whether you're his employee, you're a contractor, you're a girlfriend, guest, you know what he's capable of," he says he used to believe that Combs had "people a couple of steps in front" who "caught everything". But after his former boss's arrest, his view shifted. Staff simply were not able to stop what was coming, he says. "Obviously being a celebrity, he could cut many corners," he reflects, but "he couldn't avoid the law".Pines says he was approached by the FBI as part of its criminal investigation last summer and was later legally summoned to give evidence ahead of Combs' trial. Other ex-assistants, who worked for Combs back in 2014 and as recently as 2024, testified in court during the trial."I have to nod to Cassie Ventura for being so courageous to stand up to him," Pines says. Ventura's civil lawsuit, filed in November 2023, alleged Combs had trapped her in a cycle of violence and sexual abuse. The lawsuit was settled in a $20m (£15m) pay-out, one day after the filing. But dozens more followed in quick succession - there are now more than 60 civil cases against Combs, which remain to be resolved."She opened the door for people like me to come forward, and for other people who are going through similar things who feel silenced, who feel powerless going up against a giant." If you would like to speak to Rianna or Larissa about this story you can get in touch here.
New York Times
02-07-2025
- New York Times
The Combs verdict lets down advocates for sex-abuse victims.
Women's advocacy groups and organizations that fight sexual violence praised the women who came forward to testify in the Sean Combs trial but expressed disappointment in the mixed verdict handed down by a jury on Wednesday. The jury found Mr. Combs not guilty of federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges, the most serious charges against him, both of which carry a possible life sentence. But the jury did convict him of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution — violations of the Mann Act — after an eight-week trial. Mr. Combs, who will be sentenced at a later date, and his lawyers were elated in court when the verdict was read. Advocacy groups had been closely following the deliberations, and they swiftly reacted to the verdict. Most expressed disappointment while praising the two former girlfriends of Mr. Combs's — Casandra Ventura and a woman known in court as 'Jane' — who came forward to tell their stories in often excruciating and lurid detail. Both testified that Mr. Combs had used violence and financial leverage to coerce them into having sex with male escorts. Arisha Hatch, the interim executive director of the women's advocacy group UltraViolet, condemned the verdict as 'a stain on a criminal justice system that for decades has failed to hold accountable abusers like Diddy.' She called it 'an indictment of a culture in which not believing women and victims of sexual assault remains endemic.' 'This is a decisive moment for our justice system,' Ms. Hatch said, 'one which threatens to undo the sacrifice of courageous survivors who stepped forward to share their stories in this trial.' Scott Berkowitz, the founder and president of RAINN, the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, was more circumspect, calling the verdict 'a complex reflection of how survivors of sexual violence can find justice.' 'Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo called the relationship between Sean Combs and Cassie Ventura a 'great modern love story,'' Mr. Berkowitz said. 'There's nothing modern or great about abusing your partner, and it certainly isn't an expression of love.' 'The details of Combs's crimes were shocking and, in many ways, uncommon,' Mr. Berkowitz added. 'But the experiences of those he victimized, and the courage that they showed in their testimony, are familiar to millions of survivors.' Fatima Goss Graves, the head of the National Women's Law Center, focused in a statement on extolling what she said was 'extraordinary bravery' from the 'inspiring survivors who chose to tell their stories.' 'This is not just about Sean Combs,' Ms. Graves said. 'We know that abuse involves networks and enablers who allow violence to occur and continue, which maintains a culture of silence and shame. And long after the stories of Sean Combs's abuse fades from public memory, it will be up to all of us to support survivors and demand that they have justice and healing.'
BBC News
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Sean 'Diddy' Combs not guilty of sex trafficking and racketeering, convicted of two other counts
Music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs has been found not guilty of racketeering and sex-trafficking charges, but guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution after a nearly two-month long federal trial in New York City. Prosecutors had accused Combs of using his celebrity status and business empire to run a criminal enterprise to sex traffic women and conceal his crimes.A panel of 12 jurors deliberated for 13 hours before acquitting Combs of three of the most serious five charges he was rapper had admitted to domestic violence, but denied any non-consensual sexual encounters or a larger racketeering scheme. The verdict comes after jurors on Tuesday told the court that they had reached a decision on the sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution charges against Combs, but they were unable to reach a verdict on the racketeering count. The jurors said they had had "unpersuadable" opinions on both sides about the charge, which is the most complicated of any of the counts Combs was facing and also the most severe. Prosecutors called more than 30 witnesses over the course of the seven-week trial, including Combs ex-girlfriend, musician Casandra Ventura, rapper Kid Cudi, several ex-employees and hotel security workers. They alleged Combs relied on a "loyal" inner circle of employees to coerce his partners into so-called "freak-offs", in which his girlfriends would have sex with a male escort while he watched and filmed. The government relied on testimony from Ms Ventura, taking the stand at eight-months pregnant, who told the court Combs pressured her into the sex acts and threatened to release tapes of the freak-offs if she disobeyed him. At the centre of their case was a video of the rapper beating and dragging Ms Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016, surveillance footage that security employees testified that Combs tried to pay them to delete. Combs' attorneys conceded that their client was violent toward women, but argued that his behaviour was motivated by drugs and jealousy, not evidence of a larger sex trafficking and racketeering scheme. Sex trafficking and racketeering both carry a maximum sentence of life in prison. Combs is also facing dozens of civil lawsuits alleging sexual assault and violence. The Harlem-born rapper founded Bad Boy Records in 1993, a label that represented some of the biggest names in hip hop - including Notorious B.I.G. and Usher. He went on to establish a clothing line called Sean John and a variety of other businesses including fragrances, alcohol and even a media company.
