Accusations against Sean ‘P Diddy’ Combs continue to accumulate as the shamed American rapper adjusts to life behind bars after he was denied bail. The music mogul will remain in jail while he awaits a ruling from a panel of judges.
He was arrested last month in New York and later charged with sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, transportation and engaging in prostitution. Throughout the past year, Combs has been sued by various people who have brought civil actions, accusing him of physical or sexual abuse, including his former girlfriend.
R&B singer Casandra Elizabeth Ventura, also known as Cassie, has accused the 54-year-old of rape and a decade-long pattern of abuse that allegedly started when she was 19 years old. Diddy “vehemently denied” Cassie’s allegations in 2023 and has pleaded not guilty to federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
The music star – who has performed under the names Diddy, Puff Daddy and Love – is currently behind bars in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center. He has already had two bail pleas rejected, despite offering $50,000 (£38,000) for his release.
Now, Combs is set to try for the third time as he hopes to be out before his trial next May. Here’s everything we know about all the shocking allegations, as the rapper swaps mansions for misery in jail.
Mansion raids
Diddy made international headlines when Homeland Security stormed his homes in Beverly Hills, California, and Miami, Florida, this year. Both of his luxury mansions were raided by authorities in March, with officers spotted with their guns drawn as they confronted those in the property.
More than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant were found, alongside AR-15 rifles and narcotics were seized, according to the grand jury indictment documents seen by The Mirror. The report stated, “in or about March 2024, during searches of Combs‘ residences in Miami, Florida and Los Angeles, California, law enforcement seized various Freak Off supplies, including narcotics and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant.”
Diddy’s lawyer, Aaron Dyer, shared in a statement at the time: “Yesterday, there was a gross overuse of military-level force as search warrants were executed at Mr. Combs’ residences. There is no excuse for the excessive show of force and hostility exhibited by authorities or the way his children and employees were treated.”
He continued: “This unprecedented ambush – paired with an advanced, coordinated media presence – leads to a premature rush to judgment of Mr. Combs and is nothing more than a witch hunt based on meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits. There has been no finding of criminal or civil liability with any of these allegations. Mr. Combs is innocent and will continue to fight every single day to clear his name.”
‘Freak offs’ and tapes
At the time of the raids, allegations of Diddy’s secret “freak off” parties also appeared. These wild parties allegedly involved illegal drugs, hidden cameras, sex workers and underage girls. It’s been claimed Diddy had rooms in his Miami mansion that were “dedicated to sex” with cameras installed.
It’s been claimed that the often days-long orgies Diddy dubbed “freak offs” saw drugged-up victims, “either barely legal, or barely illegal women”, “forced to have sex with male prostitutes”.
The indictment also reported that at the bashes, Diddy allegedly “hit, kicked, threw objects at, and dragged victims, at times, by their hair,” subjecting “victims to physical, emotional, and verbal abuse to cause the victims to engage in Freak Offs.” Combs and victims allegedly received IV fluids to recover.
A police source alleged to The New York Post that Diddy would often watch the goings on from another room. “He also was able to watch the action remotely on his phone, cast it onto a TV in another part of the house. He didn’t have to be in the room when the sex was happening, although he frequently was,” they claimed.
The 54-year-old, the police source alleged, would often also keep videos of the “sensitive, embarrassing and incriminating” romps so he could use them “as collateral to ensure the continued obedience and silence of the victims”.
Forced labour and kidnapping charges
The indictment also outlined allegations that the music star abused, threatened, and coerced women and others near him to fulfil his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.
Employees, resources, and the influence of the multi-faceted business empire enabled him to do this – creating a criminal enterprise whose members and associates engaged in, and attempted to engage in, among other crimes, sex trafficking, forced labour, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice.
Racketeering and abuse charges
The first count the fallen star has been charged with is racketeering conspiracy. It is stated that: “For decades, the defendant abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfil his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.” The indictment details verbal, emotional, physical and sexual abuse allegations dating to 2008.
Combs and others acting on his direction allegedly made arrangements for women and commercial sex workers to fly to Diddy’s location. The document also claimed that he ensured participation from the women by, among other things, obtaining and distributing narcotics to them, controlling their careers, leveraging his financial support and threatening to cut off the same, and using intimidation and violence.
Transporting victims
From at least in or around 2009, up to and including in or about 2024, in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere, Diddy is accused of transporting an individual in interstate and foreign commerce with the intent that the individual engages in prostitution, the court documents stated.
It is claimed he attempted, aided, and abetted the transportation of female victims and commercial sex workers in interstate and foreign commerce on multiple occasions with the intent that they engage in prostitution.
His lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said outside the courthouse on September 17: “Mr Combs is a fighter, he’s going to fight this to the end. He’s innocent. He came to New York to establish his innocence. He’s not afraid, he’s not afraid of the charges.”
‘120 new victims’
Last month, Texas lawyer Tony Buzbee stepped forward to declare he is representing 120 new alleged victims who intend to bring civil claims. The allegations are reported to have cases against the rapper that span the past 25 years. Of them, 25 say they were underage when the alleged abuse happened. Buzbee said the youngest were aged nine, 14, and 15 at a press conference in Houston.
Speaking of one alleged victim, he said: “This individual, who was nine years old at the time, was taken to an audition in New York City with Bad Boy Records. This individual was sexually abused allegedly by Sean Combs and several other people at the studio in the promise to both his parents and to him himself of getting a record deal.”
He added: “Other boys were there to audition as well. All of them were trying to land a record deal. All of them were minors.” When asked about the new allegations, a spokesperson for Combs told the Mirror: “As Mr Combs’ legal team has emphasised, he cannot address every meritless allegation in what has become a reckless media circus.”
They added: “That said, Mr Combs emphatically and categorically denies as false and defamatory any claim that he sexually abused anyone, including minors. He looks forward to proving his innocence and vindicating himself in court, where the truth will be established based on evidence, not speculation.”
Buzbee has encouraged other victims to step forward and report crimes against the rapper. He said in his statement: “If you’re out there, and you have been victimised, you are not alone. There is a great strength in numbers.”
Horse tranquiliser
Combs has also been accused of drugging people before they were sexually abused in his presence, which he denies. Buzbee has accused Diddy of using horse tranquiliser to drug alleged victims. He claimed one alleged victim was 15 years old at the time.
The lawyer claimed the teen was “flown to New York City to attend a party” before he was drugged and “taken to a private room allegedly in the presence of Mr Combs.” He further claimed: “This female individual was raped and then other individuals took turns raping her.”
Buzbee stated a 20-year-old was allegedly invited to a party with Diddy in a hotel. The attorney claimed: “She was flattered, went to the party, was given one drink and doesn’t remember anything else.” Buzbee alleged that she was taken to hospital where doctors “found cocaine and this horse tranquiliser in her blood system.”
Buzbee alleged: “Several of the individuals [were] drug tested and drugs were found in their system.” The attorney said that they were “weird drugs, drugs that you probably never heard of.” He said: “One in particular that continues to pop up is a drug called Xylazine, or tranq, which based on our research, is known as a horse tranquiliser.”
The lawyer plans to begin filing lawsuits against the rapper over the next month. He said that they would come from both men and women who were aged between nine and 38 at the time of the alleged incidents.
16-year-old ‘victim’
At least six civil lawsuits were filed against the rapper in New York on Monday, accusing him of rape, sexual assault on males and child molestation – including two from women under the pseudonym Jane Does and four by men known as John Does.
Among the claimants is a North Carolina man, who asserts that he was molested by Combs during one of the star’s illustrious white parties in the Hamptons, Long Island, back in 1998 when he was just 16. The man alleges Combs said to him: “Don’t you want to break into the business?”
Combs‘ attorney, previously addressing earlier allegations, remarked that his client “cannot address every meritless allegation in what has become a reckless media circus”.
‘Long list of accomplices’
According to Buzbee, P Diddy’s “accomplices” will be exposed in an upcoming civil lawsuit. The lawyer said: “The names will shock you. The day will come when we will name names other than Sean Combs, and there are a lot of names. It’s a long list already, but because of the nature of this case, we are going to make damn sure, damn sure, that we’re right before we do that.”
Despite currently being in jail, reports suggest certain celebrities are still “afraid to cross him”. A source told People: “He’s so powerful. Everyone was afraid to cross him. Even though he’s behind bars now, he’s still so powerful. We all knew it even back then.”
Trial date confirmed
Diddy has spent three weeks caged so far but is expected to be locked up until at least May 5, 2025 – when his trial begins. The trial is expected to take place over three weeks, where Diddy will face a Manhattan jury on severe charges, including sex trafficking and racketeering. According to legal documents filed by the rapper seen by the Daily Mail, his legal team has argued that he is “not a threat to the community”.
If Diddy is convicted, the star is looking at a minimum of 15 years behind bars – he would be released at age 69. And if the courts decide on the extreme end of punishment, the rapper could find himself staring at a life sentence.
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