Sean “Diddy” Combs’ lawyers argue that videos of his infamous “freak-off” parties actually prove him innocent of sex trafficking, and that the videos show an alleged victim “not only consented, but thoroughly enjoyed herself.”
In a filing Tuesday, the fallen rap mogul’s lawyers argued that the nine videos showing six “freak-offs” — which federal prosecutors describe as marathon, drug-fueled forced sex parties with male prostitutes — as nothing more than “private sexual activity between fully consenting adults in a long-term relationship.”
Combs, who was indicted on racketeering and sex trafficking charges in September, remains held on $50 million bond in the MDC Brooklyn federal jail.
“The videos do not depict sex parties. There are no secret cameras, no orgies, no other celebrities involved, no underground tunnels, no minors, and not so much as a hint of coercion or violence,” writes Combs’ defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo.
“In all six of these encounters, [the woman] is not only consenting, she is evidently happy, dominant, and completely in control,” Agnifilo writes.
In his letter to Manhattan Federal Court Judge Arun Subramanian, Agnifilo is requesting to change the restrictions on how Combs’ legal team can access the videos, which he says the alleged victim kept for years before handing them over to government prosecutors. He argues that she kept the videos, not Combs, who’s accused of holding on to them as “collateral.”
Combs’ legal problems escalated after a video surfaced last year of the Bad Boy Records founder brutally beating R&B singer Cassie Ventura in a hallway at the InterContinental Hotel in Century City in 2016.
Screen grab taken from hotel security camera video and aired by CNN appears to show Sean “Diddy” Combs attacking singer Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in March 2016. (Hotel Security Camera Video/CNN via AP)
Combs was wrapped in a towel during the beating. Afterward, his employees paid off hotel workers to keep quiet, federal prosecutors said.
Ventura, who was in a longtime relationship with Combs, filed a blockbuster lawsuit against him in November 2023, alleging years of rape, sex trafficking and physical abuse. His lawyers claim she demanded $30 million. The hip-hop mogul settled the suit with Ventura the next day, though the terms of the settlement were not disclosed.