Latest news with #Combs'

Straits Times
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Sean ‘Diddy' Combs' lawyer says prosecutors trying to criminalise his ‘private sex life'
Sean "Diddy" Combs listens as his lawyer Marc Agnifilo makes his closing arguments during Combs' sex trafficking trial in New York City, on June 27, 2025 in this courtroom sketch. PHOTO: REUTERS Sean 'Diddy' Combs' lawyer says prosecutors trying to criminalise his 'private sex life' Sean 'Diddy' Combs' defense lawyer urged a jury on June 27 to find the former hip-hop mogul not guilty in his sex trafficking trial, saying prosecutors are trying to criminalise his unusual sexual preferences. The lawyer, Mr Marc Agnifilo, said during his closing argument in Manhattan federal court that over the past two months prosecutors had presented a 'fake trial' to use Combs' sexual proclivities as evidence of a criminal conspiracy centered on his businesses. 'They take the baby oil and the Astroglide and make it the evidence in this case, because there's nothing wrong with his businesses,' Mr Agnifilo said, adding that the 'crime scene' in the case was Combs' 'private sex life'. Combs, a former billionaire known for elevating hip-hop in American culture, has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy and two counts each of sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted on all counts, the Bad Boy Records founder faces a minimum 15-year prison term and could be sentenced to life behind bars. Mr Agnifilo peppered his closing argument with sarcastic questions, including asking how the women who testified against Combs could have been sex trafficked if they agreed to fulfill Combs' sexual fantasies partly out of love for him. 'If we're at Freak Off number 75, and 75 of them have been consensual, what would have to happen at Freak Off 76 to say, now it's sex trafficking?' Mr Agnifilo said, referring to Combs' ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura and using Combs' term for drug-fueled sexual performances with male escorts. During her rebuttal on June 27 , prosecutor Maureen Comey told jurors that Agnifilo repeatedly tried to blame prosecutors and Combs' victims for his grave legal jeopardy, rather than Combs himself. 'He's tossing up excuse after excuse for inexcusable criminal behavior, trying to explain away the devastating evidence,' Ms Comey said. 'Make no mistake: this trial is about how in Sean Combs' world, 'no' was never an option,' Ms Comey added. Over more than six weeks of testimony in Manhattan federal court, jurors heard two of Combs' former girlfriends testify that they took part in days-long, drug-fueled sex parties sometimes called 'Freak Offs' with male sex workers while Combs watched, masturbated, and occasionally filmed. Combs did not testify. The jury saw hotel surveillance footage of Combs beating one of the women in a hallway, and heard Combs' employees describe setting up hotel rooms and buying drugs for the performances. Jurors are expected to start deliberations either late on June 27 or June 30 . To convict Combs, they must vote unanimously. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.


Japan Today
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Japan Today
Combs' lawyer mocks sex trafficking case in closing, says charges 'badly exaggerated'
FILE - This courtroom sketch depicts Sean "Diddy" Combs sitting at the defense table during his bail hearing in New York on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (Elizabeth Williams via AP, File) By MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER Sean 'Diddy' Combs' lawyer portrayed the hip-hop mogul on Friday as the victim of an overzealous prosecution that twisted his recreational drug use and swinger lifestyle into a racketeering conspiracy charge that could put him behind bars for life. In a closing argument, defense attorney Marc Agnifilo mocked the government's case and belittled the agents who seized hundreds of bottles of Astroglide lubricant and baby oil at his properties as he began a presentation expected to last several hours. 'Way to go, fellas,' Agnifilo said of the agents. The lawyer said prosecutors had 'badly exaggerated' evidence of the swinger lifestyle and threesomes to combine it with recreational drug use and call it a racketeering conspiracy. 'He did not do the things he's charged with. He didn't do racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking,' the lawyer said. Agnifilo also called Combs' prosecution a 'fake trial' and ridiculed the notion that he engaged in racketeering. 'Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me?' Agnifilo asked. 'Did any witness get on that witness stand and say yes, I was part of a racketeering enterprise — I engaged in racketeering?' No, Agnifilo argued, telling jurors that those accusations were a figment of the prosecution's imagination. Combs' family, including six of his children and his mother, were in the audience for the closing. As it was happening, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West released a song with Combs' son, Christian 'King' Combs, titled 'DIDDY FREE.' West, who now goes by the name Ye, showed up to court two weeks ago to support Combs. All his life Combs has taken care of people, Agnifilo said, including the ex-girlfriend who testified under the pseudonym Jane, whose rent he is paying. 'I don't know what Jane is doing today,' Agnifilo said. 'But she's doing it in a house he's paying for.' Referring to lawsuits filed by Combs' accusers, he said: 'This isn't about crime. It's about money. This is about money.' Agnifilo noted that Combs' former longtime girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, sued him in November 2023. Combs settled with her the next day for $20 million, but the allegations in the lawsuit prompted federal law enforcement to open the criminal investigation that led to his arrest. 'If you had to pick a winner in this whole thing, it's hard not to pick Cassie,' Agnifilo said. Cassie and Jane both testified during the trial that they were coerced repeatedly by Combs to perform in drug-fueled dayslong sex marathons with male sex workers while Combs watched, directed, masturbated and sometimes filmed the encounters. Prosecutors, he argued, have invaded Combs' bedroom and his most intimate personal affairs. 'Where's the crime scene? It's your sex life,' Agnifilo said. He also mocked the prosecution's assertion that Combs and his underlings had engaged in hundreds of racketeering acts and their suggestion that many of his so-called freak-offs and 'hotel nights' were crimes. If that's so, he said, 'we need a bigger roll of crime scene tape,' a reference to a famous line from the movie 'Jaws.' Agnifilo reiterated that the defense 'owns' the fact that Combs was violent, but he argued that behavior does not justify the grave charges he faces. He said Combs and Cassie had a 'loving, beautiful relationship,' albeit a 'complicated' one. 'If racketeering conspiracy had an opposite, it would be their relationship … they were deeply in love with each other,' Agnifilo said. Echoing the prosecution's closing argument on Thursday, the defense lawyer showed jurors part of the now-infamous security camera footage of Combs attacking Cassie at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016. Agnifilo acknowledged that the video clearly shows domestic violence, but he disputed the prosecution's theory that the assault was evidence of sex trafficking by force. Pausing the tape several times, he insisted, Combs may have been angry not that Cassie was trying to flee a 'freak-off,' but that she was taking his cellphone. If convicted, Combs could face a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum of life. He did not testify during the trial, which is in its seventh week. After Agnifilo completes his closing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey was expected to deliver a rebuttal summation before the judge reads the law to the jury, which is not likely to begin deliberations until Monday. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.


The Star
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Star
Sean 'Diddy' Combs' lawyer says prosecutors trying to criminalize his 'private sex life'
Sean "Diddy" Combs listens as his lawyer Marc Agnifilo makes his closing arguments during Combs' sex trafficking trial in New York City, New York, U.S., June 27, 2025 in this courtroom sketch. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg (Reuters) -Sean 'Diddy' Combs' defense lawyer urged a jury on Friday to find the former hip-hop mogul not guilty in his sex trafficking trial, saying prosecutors are trying to criminalize his unusual sexual preferences. The lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said during his closing argument in Manhattan federal court that over the past two months prosecutors had presented a 'fake trial' to use Combs' sexual proclivities as evidence of a criminal conspiracy centered on his businesses. "They take the baby oil and the Astroglide and make it the evidence in this case, because there's nothing wrong with his businesses," Agnifilo said, adding that the 'crime scene' in the case was Combs' 'private sex life.' Combs, a former billionaire known for elevating hip-hop in American culture, has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy and two counts each of sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted on all counts, the Bad Boy Records founder faces a minimum 15-year prison term and could be sentenced to life behind bars. Agnifilo peppered his closing argument with sarcastic questions, including asking how the women who testified against Combs could have been sex trafficked if they agreed to fulfill Combs' sexual fantasies partly out of love for him. 'If we're at 'Freak Off' number 75, and 75 of them have been consensual, what would have to happen at Freak Off 76 to say, now it's sex trafficking?' Agnifilo said, referring to Combs' ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura and using Combs' term for drug-fueled sexual performances with male escorts. During her rebuttal Friday, prosecutor Maureen Comey told jurors that Agnifilo repeatedly tried to blame prosecutors and Combs' victims for his grave legal jeopardy, rather than Combs himself. 'He's tossing up excuse after excuse for inexcusable criminal behavior, trying to explain away the devastating evidence,' Comey said. 'Make no mistake: this trial is about how in Sean Combs' world, 'no' was never an option,' Comey added. Over more than six weeks of testimony in Manhattan federal court, jurors heard two of Combs' former girlfriends testify that they took part in days-long, drug-fueled sex parties sometimes called "Freak Offs" with male sex workers while Combs watched, masturbated, and occasionally filmed. Combs did not testify. The jury saw hotel surveillance footage of Combs beating one of the women in a hallway, and heard Combs' employees describe setting up hotel rooms and buying drugs for the performances. Jurors are expected to start deliberations either late on Friday or on Monday. To convict Combs, they must vote unanimously. (Reporting by Jack Queen and Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder, Bill Berkrot and Nick Zieminski)


Indian Express
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Sean ‘Diddy' Combs' lawyer says prosecutors trying to criminalize his ‘private sex life'
Sean 'Diddy' Combs' defense lawyer urged a jury on Friday to find the former hip-hop mogul not guilty in his sex trafficking trial, saying prosecutors are trying to criminalize his unusual sexual preferences. The lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said during his closing argument in Manhattan federal court that over the past two months prosecutors had presented a 'fake trial' to use Combs' sexual proclivities as evidence of a criminal conspiracy centered on his businesses. 'They take the baby oil and the Astroglide and make it the evidence in this case, because there's nothing wrong with his businesses,' Agnifilo said, adding that the 'crime scene' in the case was Combs' 'private sex life.' Combs, a former billionaire known for elevating hip-hop in American culture, has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy and two counts each of sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted on all counts, the Bad Boy Records founder faces a minimum 15-year prison term and could be sentenced to life behind bars. Agnifilo peppered his closing argument with sarcastic questions, including asking how the women who testified against Combs could have been sex trafficked if they agreed to fulfill Combs' sexual fantasies partly out of love for him. 'If we're at 'Freak Off' number 75, and 75 of them have been consensual, what would have to happen at Freak Off 76 to say, now it's sex trafficking?' Agnifilo said, referring to Combs' ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura and using Combs' term for drug-fueled sexual performances with male escorts. During the first day of closing arguments on Thursday, a US prosecutor told jurors Combs used 'violence and fear' to lead a criminal enterprise that helped him subject two of his former girlfriends to sex trafficking, 'The defendant used power, violence and fear to get what he wanted,' prosecutor Christy Slavik told jurors in her address. 'He thought that his fame, wealth and power put him above the law.' Combs' defense lawyers acknowledge that Combs was occasionally violent in domestic relationships, but have argued that his conduct did not amount to sex trafficking because the sex acts described by prosecutors were consensual. Over more than six weeks of testimony in Manhattan federal court, jurors heard two of Combs' former girlfriends testify that they took part in days-long, drug-fueled sex parties sometimes called 'Freak Offs' with male sex workers while Combs watched, masturbated, and occasionally filmed. Combs did not testify. The jury saw hotel surveillance footage of Combs beating one of the women in a hallway, and heard Combs' employees describe setting up hotel rooms and buying drugs for the performances. Jurors are expected to start deliberations either late on Friday or on Monday. To convict Combs, they must vote unanimously.


Global News
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Global News
Diddy's lawyer mocks sex trafficking case, says charges ‘badly exaggerated'
Sean 'Diddy' Combs' lawyer portrayed the hip-hop mogul on Friday as the victim of an overzealous prosecution that twisted his recreational drug use and swinger lifestyle into a racketeering conspiracy charge that could put him behind bars for life. In a closing argument, defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo mocked the government's case and belittled the agents who seized hundreds of bottles of Astroglide lubricant and baby oil at his properties as he began a presentation expected to last several hours. 'Way to go, fellas,' Agnifilo said of the agents. The lawyer said prosecutors had 'badly exaggerated' evidence of the swinger lifestyle and threesomes to combine it with recreational drug use and call it a racketeering conspiracy. 'He did not do the things he's charged with. He didn't do racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking,' the lawyer said. Story continues below advertisement Agnifilo also called Combs' prosecution a 'fake trial' and ridiculed the notion that he engaged in racketeering. 'Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me?' Agnifilo asked. 'Did any witness get on that witness stand and say yes, I was part of a racketeering enterprise — I engaged in racketeering?' No, Agnifilo argued, telling jurors that those accusations were a figment of the prosecution's imagination. View image in full screen Attorney Marc Agnifilo arrives for Sean 'Diddy' Combs sex trafficking trial at Manhattan Federal Court on May 21, 2025 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Combs' family, including six of his children and his mother, were in the audience for the closing. As it was happening, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West released a song with Combs' son, Christian 'King' Combs, titled DIDDY FREE. West, who now goes by the name Ye, showed up to court two weeks ago to support Combs. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy All his life Combs has taken care of people, Agnifilo said, including the ex-girlfriend who testified under the pseudonym Jane, whose rent he is paying. Story continues below advertisement 'I don't know what Jane is doing today,' Agnifilo said. 'But she's doing it in a house he's paying for.' Referring to lawsuits filed by Combs' accusers, he said: 'This isn't about crime. It's about money. This is about money.' Agnifilo noted that Combs' former longtime girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie Ventura, sued him in November 2023. Combs settled with her the next day for $20 million, but the allegations in the lawsuit prompted federal law enforcement to open the criminal investigation that led to his arrest. 'If you had to pick a winner in this whole thing, it's hard not to pick Cassie,' Agnifilo said. Ventura and Jane both testified during the trial that they were coerced repeatedly by Combs to perform in drug-fuelled days-long sex marathons with male sex workers while Combs watched, directed, masturbated and sometimes filmed the encounters. Prosecutors, he argued, have invaded Combs' bedroom and his most intimate personal affairs. 'Where's the crime scene? It's your sex life,' Agnifilo said. He also mocked the prosecution's assertion that Combs and his underlings had engaged in hundreds of racketeering acts and their suggestion that many of his so-called freak-offs and 'hotel nights' were crimes. Story continues below advertisement If that's so, he said, 'we need a bigger roll of crime scene tape,' a reference to a famous line from the movie Jaws. Agnifilo reiterated that the defence 'owns' the fact that Combs was violent, but he argued that behaviour does not justify the grave charges he faces. He said Combs and Ventura had a 'loving, beautiful relationship,' albeit a 'complicated' one. 'If racketeering conspiracy had an opposite, it would be their relationship … they were deeply in love with each other,' Agnifilo said. Echoing the prosecution's closing argument on Thursday, the defence lawyer showed jurors part of the now-infamous security camera footage of Combs attacking Ventura at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016. Agnifilo acknowledged that the video clearly shows domestic violence, but he disputed the prosecution's theory that the assault was evidence of sex trafficking by force. Pausing the tape several times, he insisted, Combs may have been angry not that Ventura was trying to flee a 'freak-off,' but that she was taking his cellphone. Story continues below advertisement If convicted, Combs could face a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum of life. He did not testify during the trial, which is in its seventh week. After Agnifilo completes his closing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey was expected to deliver a rebuttal summation before the judge reads the law to the jury, which is not likely to begin deliberations until Monday.