What began as a sprawling federal investigation into one of hip-hop’s most iconic figures has now brought Sean “Diddy” Combs to a grim new reality; one that’s far removed from the lavish, champagne-soaked lifestyle he once flaunted.
Ahead of his sex crimes trial scheduled for May, Diddy is behind bars at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in New York. Reports suggest his days of designer everything have been replaced by communal showers, 15-minute phone calls, and mackerel used as currency.
According to insiders cited by The New York Times, Diddy, once the face of ultra-luxury, now relies on $1 cans of mackerel, colloquially known as “macks” among inmates, to purchase goods inside the prison commissary. He’s limited to spending a maximum of $180 every two weeks, like every other inmate. The funds are mostly deposited by loved ones into his commissary account, perhaps now managed by one of his children or a representative from his team.
Diddy was arrested in September on multiple serious federal charges, including racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted, the rapper faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years for the trafficking charges and a potential life sentence on the racketeering charge.
Currently housed in MDC’s 4 North unit, a dormitory that also previously held high-profile inmates like crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried, Diddy shares space with around 20 other men. His daily schedule includes mandatory check-ins, communal meals, and limited recreational access such as gym time and television shared among inmates.
Phone calls are capped at 15 minutes. Family visits are possible on Tuesdays but most of his face-to-face interactions are reportedly with his legal team. As the trial nears, preparations are intensifying. Later this month, jury selection will begin with questionnaires to potential jurors before in-person interviews by prosecutors and defense attorneys.
The federal indictment names four alleged victims, including his ex-girlfriend Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura, who will testify under her real name. Cassie made headlines after a 2016 video surfaced last year that showed Diddy assaulting her in a hotel hallway. The identities of the other three victims are sealed to the public, though the court granted a motion to reveal them to the defense.
In pre-trial filings, Diddy’s lawyers are pushing to limit the scope of the prosecution. “The Court should require the government to try the case it charged and prove that case to the jury beyond a reasonable doubt,” the defense argued in documents obtained by The Daily Mail. “The government should not be permitted to pollute the trial with decades of dirt and invite a conviction based on propensity evidence with no proper purpose by painting Mr. Combs as a bad guy who must have committed the charged crimes.”
The defense also criticized the late disclosure of the government’s witness list and called it a tactic that “undermines the defense’s ability to prepare adequately.” They have until April 18 to review the expanded list of witnesses the prosecution intends to call.
BREAKING: @Diddy is now spending his days in New York’s most notorious jail, known for its “barbaric conditions.” 300+ grand jury subpoenas later, Diddy can’t wiggle his out of this one. And he’s not the only one… pic.twitter.com/M64EDxQUbh
— Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) September 19, 2024
Diddy’s criminal case looms large; he recently notched a partial win in a separate civil matter. A federal judge dismissed several claims in a $30 million lawsuit brought by former associate Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, who alleged he was groomed, abused, and financially exploited by the music mogul.
Judge J. Paul Oetken of the Southern District of New York tossed out key elements of the lawsuit, including racketeering and breach of contract claims over unpaid royalties for Diddy’s The Love Album: Off the Grid. The judge also rejected three claims of emotional distress and one under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.
Also, the judge took aim at Jones’ attorney, Tyrone Blackburn and called his conduct “unsettling” in the court’s 31-page ruling.
Once hailed as one of the most powerful moguls in music; with chart-topping hits, fashion lines, and star-studded parties that defined an era, Sean “Diddy” Combs now faces a far more sobering chapter.
Diddy’s story now stretches from the height of music stardom to a jailhouse existence measured in commissary rations and court deadlines.
