Sean “Diddy” Combs, a rap legend who created Bad Boy Records, has held the world’s attention in a legal drama as he stands accused of a high-stakes federal trial scheduled for May 2025. Combs is accused of racketeering, sex trafficking, and conspiracy crimes and stands accused of decades of abuse. The world has taken great interest in the issue, sensing drama as Combs’ defense team apparently intends to testify that alcohol incapacitated his conduct. The trial will likely be a complicated and heavily followed courtroom battle.
He was arrested on September 16th, 2024, in Manhattan’s New York City and charged with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by means of force, fraud, or coercion, and transportation for prostitution. He’s pleaded not guilty on all five of the indictments and continues to be held at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center following three unsuccessful bail hearings due to concerns of witness tampering and public endangerment. The trial, begun on May 5th of 2025 on the selection of the jury, will take 8-10 weeks according to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian. Combs could receive up to a lifetime of imprisonment should he be convicted on the racketeering count, or a minimum of 15 years on sex trafficking.
The charges range from 2004 to 2024 and claim Combs used his business empire, such as Bad Boy Entertainment, as a means of running a criminal enterprise. He allegedly used violence, drugs, and intimidation to get women and men to have sex with him at drug parties known as “Freak Offs.” More than 60 lawsuits filed by both female and male accusers mirror these claims, and a few claim assaults began as far back as the 1990s. Prominent accuser John Doe says he was assaulted and drugged at a 2007 White Party thrown by Combs.
Combs’ defense team, headed by attorney Marc Agnifilo, allegedly plans a multi-pronged defense. Part of the plan includes medical expert and Columbia professor testimony that Combs was under a “mental condition” at the time of the incidents due to alcohol or drug intoxication. The defense posits that his intoxicated state diminished his capacity for forming criminal intent and might lower his level of culpability. “This defense is messy,” wrote one X user, capturing the nuances of the public’s perceptions of its possibility.
Additionally, the defense portrays Combs’ actions as part of a consensual “swinger” lifestyle, arguing that the “Freak Offs” involved willing participants. Agnifilo has emphasized that Combs’ relationships were consensual, citing affectionate interactions with alleged victims. Combs is also undergoing therapy while in custody, with his attorney noting he is seeking treatment for unspecified issues, signaling an effort to demonstrate personal reform.
Prosecutors, led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, dismiss the intoxication defense as irrelevant, arguing it does not excuse a decades-long pattern of premeditated abuse. They allege Combs used his wealth and influence to control victims, employing drugs like GHB and ecstasy, threats, and physical violence to enforce compliance. Key evidence includes a 2016 surveillance video showing Combs assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, at a Los Angeles hotel, which prosecutors say supports claims of systemic abuse. Raids on Combs’ homes uncovered firearms, ammunition, and over 1,000 bottles of baby oil, allegedly used in the “Freak Offs.”
The prosecution plans to call four key witnesses, including Ventura, and may introduce additional accusers to establish a pattern of behavior. They have also sought testimony from psychologist Dr. Dawn Hughes on the dynamics of abusive relationships, though Combs’ team has challenged its admissibility as prejudicial.
The case has sparked widespread reaction. Howard University revoked Combs’ honorary degree in 2024 after the Ventura video surfaced, reflecting institutional backlash. On X, public sentiment is divided, with some users like
questioning the intoxication defense’s credibility, stating,
“Prosecutors say it doesn’t matter if he was wasted.”
Others express outrage over the allegations, amplifying calls for accountability.
