Jury selection started Monday in the sex trafficking trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs, beginning the first courtroom test of whether one of hip-hop’s most important figures used power and wealth amassed in the music, clothing and spirits industries to sexually abuse, coerce and exploit alleged victims for decades.
Known by various names through the years – Puffy, Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Diddy and Love – Combs became a rap impresario in the 1990s, launching the careers of Mary J. Blige, Usher and the Notorious B.I.G. and lending his hip-hop credentials to the songs of Mariah Carey and Jennifer Lopez.
Combs, who once proclaimed himself “Bad Boy for Life,” now faces what could amount to a life sentence if convicted. Federal prosecutors in New York allege he “abused, threatened and coerced women” into prolonged, drug-fueled sexual orgies with male prostitutes he called “freak offs” and threatened them into silence.
“After Freak Offs, Combs and the victims typically received IV fluids to recover from the physical exertion and drug use,” the indictment said.
He has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution charges — five counts in all. His defense attorneys have said all of his sexual encounters were consensual and have described Combs as a swinger who invited third parties into his bedroom.
At a hearing last month, Agnifilo seemed to preview the defense strategy, telling the judge, “There’s a lifestyle, call it swingers, that he was in that he thought was appropriate. The reason he thought it was appropriate is because it’s so common.”
By coincidence, jury selection begins the same day as the Met Gala, where Combs was once a fixture.
Potential jurors began answering written questions last week to test what they may have heard about the case, whether they can be fair and whether they can endure a two-month trial expected to feature sexually explicit evidence.
The evidence includes a surveillance tape, first broadcast by CNN in May 2024, that shows Combs striking, kicking and dragging then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura at a Los Angeles hotel in March 2016. Ventura’s civil lawsuit, settled a day after it was filed in 2023 with no admission of wrongdoing, provided prosecutors with a basis to initiate the criminal investigation that led to Combs’ arrest in September 2024.
Combs apologized for the video at the time, saying, “I hit rock bottom — but I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video.”
Ventura is an anticipated witness, along with three other as-yet-unidentified alleged victims, two of whom were given permission to testify under pseudonyms.
Prosecutors are also expected to introduce items seized when federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations raided Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami, including more than a dozen electronic devices and AR-15-style rifles with defaced serial numbers.
Days before trial, federal prosecutors offered Combs a chance to plead guilty and spare himself the possibility of a prolonged prison sentence. Asked if he rejected the offer, Combs answered, “Yes I do your honor.”
He has appeared in court wearing drab beige jail garb but the jury will see him in ordinary dress clothes. Members of his family, including his mother, are expected to attend.
His defense team includes Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos. They represented NXIVM founder Keith Raniere who was convicted of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking, the same charges Combs faces.
The defense team also includes Brian Steel, who represented rapper Young Thug at a racketeering trial in Atlanta, and Alexandra Shapiro, a leading appellate litigator who also represents Sam Bankman-Fried.
The all-female prosecution team includes Maureen Comey, who successfully prosecuted Ghislaine Maxwell for sex trafficking, and Emily Johnson, Mitzi Steiner and Madison Smyser, who have prosecuted violent crime, and gang prosecutor Christy Slavik.
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