Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs latest: Rapper sent back to jail as shocking texts after Cassie hotel attack revealed
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has faced a series of civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual abuse over the last year
Your support helps us to tell the story
My recent work focusing on Latino voters in Arizona has shown me how crucial independent journalism is in giving voice to underrepresented communities.
Your support is what allows us to tell these stories, bringing attention to the issues that are often overlooked. Without your contributions, these voices might not be heard.
Every dollar you give helps us continue to shine a light on these critical issues in the run up to the election and beyond
Eric Garcia
Washington Bureau Chief
Sean “Diddy” Combs will remain in jail until his federal trial on sex trafficking and racketeering charges, as shocking text messages following his attack on ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura were revealed in court.
The rapper appeared again in a New York City courthouse to propose a $50 million bail package to avoid the notorious Metropolitan Detention Center.
Diddy’s lawyers told District Court Judge Andrew Carter that he was not a flight risk or dangerous, but the request was denied, with the judge reasoning there is “no condition or set of conditions” that would ensure the safety of the community or that Diddy would not contact witnesses.
The prosecution shared alleged text messages from Diddy to his ex to strengthen the argument that he should remain behind bars until trial.
The court heard Diddy allegedly text Ventura: “Call me, the cops are here. I got six kids. You, please call. I’m surrounded. You gonna abandon me all alone.”
Diddy pleaded not guilty to racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. His lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, insisted his client is “an innocent man with nothing to hide”.
Sean 'Diddy' Combs arrest and abuse allegations: A timeline of key events
What are the latest allegations against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs?
‘One of the best days ever’: Woman who claims Diddy shot her in face in NYC club celebrates arrest
1,000 bottles of baby oil and ‘freak offs’: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and the rise of his ‘criminal enterprise’
Inside the New York jail where Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is currently being held
‘He’s a good friend’: Jimmy Kimmel brings up Trump’s glowing past comments about Diddy
Jimmy Kimmel has reminded Donald Trump of the glowing comments he previously made about Sean “Diddy” Combs, who was arrested by federal agents in New York on Monday following months of civil lawsuits accusing him of sex trafficking, sexual abuse and rape.
After the judge denied the rapper bail on Tuesday, the Jimmy Kimmel Live host said: “in the meantime, he’s getting his character references lined up.”
Kimmel then played a clip from Trump’s days hosting The Celebrity Apprentice (a spin-off of his original show The Apprentice), showing viewers then-contestant Aubrey O’Day explaining to the business mogul that she was “a very strict and focused businesswoman because working for Diddy for six years trained me to have to be perfect.”
“Working for Diddy?” Trump interjected.
“Absolutely,” O’Day said.
“I love Diddy. You know he’s a good friend of mine, he’s a good guy,” Trump responded. “Is he a good guy?”
O’Day briefly looked to the side before sheepishly replying, “I don’t want to answer that question.”
“Oh well I think he’s a good guy, I’m gonna stick up for him,” the former president said.
“To be fair he also thinks Kim Jong-Un is a good guy,” Kimmel cracked. “Only the best people.”
In depth: The epic fall from grace of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
More than three decades after Sean Combs named his label Bad Boy Records, he’s been arrested on federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges, accused of everything from arson to kidnapping. As authorities outline the shocking activities allegedly carried out at Combs’ direction by his “criminal enterprise,” Sheila Flynn charts the star’s epic fall from grace
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and the rise of his ‘criminal enterprise’
More than three decades after Sean Combs named his label Bad Boy Records, he’s been arrested on federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges, accused of everything from arson to kidnapping. As authorities outline the shocking activities allegedly carried out at Combs’ direction by his “criminal enterprise,” Sheila Flynn charts the star’s epic fall from grace
Woman who claims Diddy shot her in face at NYC club celebrates arrest
A woman who claims Sean “Diddy“ Combs shot her in the face in a New York City nightclub back in 1999 has described the news of his arrest as “one of the best days ever.”
Natania Reuben was at Club New York in Manhattan in December 1999 when gunfire broke out, injuring three people. She miraculously survived, but the bullet scarred her brain.
Diddy was acquitted in 2001, but Reuben is hopeful that the latest charges against him – sex trafficking and racketeering, which he denies – means he might finally face justice, even if it’s not in her own case.
Reuben described the moment that her teenage daughter, Nirvana, broke the news of Diddy’s arrest to her on Monday. Reuben told The Daily Beast: “I said, ‘Are you kidding me, really?’ She said, ‘Yes!’ I just screamed out to God, ‘Thank you, merciful father!’”
“One of the best days ever,” she added.
Watch: Diddy is ‘a fighter and not afraid of charges’ says lawyer
Inside the New York jail where Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is currently being held
Deadly stabbings, “barbaric” living conditions and maggots in the food: this is the state of the New York prison where Sean “Diddy” Combs is being held.
Diddy is currently being housed in pretrial detention in the notorious Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and will stay there until he faces trial on racketeering and sex trafficking charges.
Read more about it here:
Inside jail where Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is being held, once home to Ghislaine Maxwell
Diddy is currently being housed in the notorious Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn ahead of his trial on racketeering and sex trafficking charges
50 Cent mocks Diddy
50 Cent mocked Diddy with a message on social media.
In the indictment unsealed on Tuesday morning, federal prosecutors allege Combs threatened and abused women “to fulfill his sexual desires” by forcing them to engage in recorded sexual activity which he referred to as “Freak Offs.”
Diddy denies all the allegations and has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Among the details released by the FBI are that searches of Combs’s homes in Miami and Los Angeles led to officers seizing “more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant.”
In a post on Instagram, 50 Cent captioned a photograph of himself during a recent appearance on Drew Barrymore’s talk show with the message: “Here I am keeping good company with @thedrewbarrymoreshow and I don’t have 1,000 bottles of lube at the house.”
Kevin E G Perry reports.
50 Cent mocks P Diddy after 1,000 baby oil and lube bottles seized in FBI arrest
The rapper has been a longtime critic of the embattled music mogul
Diddy’s future looks ‘bleak’ former prosecutor says
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs should prepare himself for a long trial process that may result in a minimum of 15 years in prison and most certainly will hurt his reputation, a former federal and state prosecutor forewarned.
Disturbing and shocking revelations that Combs ran a “criminal enterprise” that aided him in engaging in violent sex crimes were laid out in a three-count criminal indictment that was unveiled in the Southern District of New York on Tuesday.
Elie Honig, an attorney with experience trialing “complex international sex trafficking rings” and who worked in the US Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, said his review of the indictment wasn’t great for Combs.
“Given what I know about the SDNY and its racketeering and sex trafficking prosecutions – the outlook for Combs is bleak,” Honig wrote in an op-ed for Intelligencer on Wednesday.
Read more here:
Ex-prosecutor says Diddy’s defense may paint rapper as ‘sex freak’ not a criminal
Music mogul pleaded not guilty to three federal charges but was ordered to jail while awaiting trial
Two judges have denied Combs’ request for bail. Here’s what they said
Combs’ request for bail, and $50 million proposed bail package, were not enough to convince two judges he should be released from custody.
On Tuesday, Magistrate Judge Robyn Tarnofsky voiced concern about Combs contacting potential witnesses as the government continues to investigate the allegations of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution.
“The alleged victims are people with whom there is a power imbalance,” Judge Tarnofsky said. She added they are “susceptible to coercion”.
On Wednesday, District Court Judge Andrew Carter issued a similar ruling.
“I’ve heard from the parties, I find that the government has proven the defendant is a danger,” Carter said.
Judge denies Combs request for bail
Judge Carter denied Combs’ second request for bail, saying he is dangerous and the bail package does not address flight risk concerns.
Combs will return to Metropolitan Detention Center.
Judge appears skeptical of house arrest
Judge Carter hounded defense attorneys about the dangerousness of Combs, citing security camera footage of him physically assaulting a victim in 2016.
Combs’ defense attorneys claimed the actions in the video were a result of intense emotions from a couple who “loved” each other. The lawyers said the two were fighting due to infidelity.
Carter responded, “What does that have to do with him punching her, throwing a vase at her? What’s love got to do with that?”
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.