Content warning: The article contains disturbing details about violence and abuse.
When horrific details of rapper and music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs came to light, Hollywood was in shock. Diddy had been convicted on charges ranging from trafficking and racketeering conspiracy to transportation to engage in prostitution, which is a Mann Act violation.
Following his arrest on September 16, 2024, the now-disgraced rapper is serving a four-year, two-month sentence at a federal prison in New Jersey and is scheduled for release in May 2028.
As per MSN, he has faced charges of abusing a male escort and threatening to kill him. Moreover, Combs allegedly made the escort perform a forceful, intimate oral act in a hotel room and other such acts in Los Angeles, followed by the gut-wrenching testimony of his ex-girlfriend, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, whom Diddy split up with in 2018.
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In November 2023, Cassie filed a shocking lawsuit against Diddy, accusing him of years of domestic violence and s—– abuse, after which a clip of Diddy physically torturing her and dragging her in a hotel resurfaced.
Diddy later posted an apology video, crying as he received massive backlash for his shocking conduct, which netizens claimed were “crocodile tears.”
Ventura testified against her former boyfriend in the federal criminal trial. At the same time, she was pregnant with her now-husband, Alex Fine, whom she married in 2019. In addition, another woman, who testified under the pseudonym Jane, described similar experiences of forced and drugged s—– encounters that she said took place from 2021–2024.
As Sean “Diddy” Combs pays the price for his deeds, lawyers representing hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs have asked a federal appeals court in New York to overturn his prostitution-related convictions, order his immediate release from prison, or significantly reduce his sentence.
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According to The New York Post, in a filing submitted on December 23 to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan, Combs’ legal team argued that the judge who sentenced him acted unfairly by allowing evidence tied to charges for which he was acquitted to influence the punishment.
Meanwhile, in July, a jury cleared him of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges but found him guilty of two counts under the Mann Act, as mentioned before. Moreover, his lawyers argued that his consideration of allegations related to the acquitted charges during sentencing was not proper. They claimed the judge effectively acted as an additional juror by making findings that went beyond the jury’s verdict. They called the verdict “forced” and “exploited.”
His legal team is also allegedly exploring applying for a presidential pardon.
According to ABC News, the 56-year-old convict’s lawyers said, “Defendants typically get sentenced to less than 15 months for these offenses — even when coercion, which the jury didn’t find here, is involved.”
At sentencing, Subramanian rejected the defense’s portrayal of the conduct as a consensual act, stating that Diddy Combs abused his influence and control over the women he was involved with for years.
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“You abused the power and control that you had over the lives of women you professed to love dearly. You abused them physically, emotionally, and psychologically. And you used that abuse to get your way, especially when it came to (…) hotel nights,” the judge added.
After more than a year of arrest, Diddy issued a proper public apology during a trial in October to his ex-girlfriend, Cassie and the women whose lives he had spoiled.
“One of the hardest things I’ve had to handle is having to be quiet and not being able to express how sorry I am for my actions. I want to personally apologize again to Cassie Ventura for any harm or hurt that I’ve caused her, emotionally or physically. I don’t take that lightly. I would like to apologize to her family. I’m so sorry,” he added.
“I want to thank you for giving me the chance to speak up for myself finally,” he said as closing remarks. Furthermore, Diddy’s attorney, Marc Agnifilo, appeared in a new TMZ Studios documentary titled “The Downfall of Diddy: The Indictment,” which will be dropping soon on Tubi.
“It’s a risky move … Diddy’s going to be able to tell his side of things,” his lawyer added.
