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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs arrested amid sexual assault lawsuits

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs arrested amid sexual assault lawsuits

The rap mogul's fame has plunged after a wave of sex trafficking and assault accusations.
17 Sep, 2024

Sean “Diddy” Combs — the rap mogul whose star has plunged after a wave of sex trafficking accusations and assault lawsuits — was arrested by federal agents in Manhattan late Monday, a US federal court said.

The attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, said in a statement that the arrest stemmed from a sealed indictment filed by his office.

“We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time,” he said, without providing further details of the charges.

Diddy’s lawyer Marc Agnifilo said in a statement provided to AFP that Combs had voluntarily relocated to New York anticipating the charges. Combs’s lawyer said their team is “disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Combs by the US Attorney’s Office.”

The rapper is the target of several civil lawsuits that characterise him as a violent sexual predator who used alcohol and drugs to subdue his victims.

His homes were raided in March by federal agents, in a heavily publicised bicoastal operation that indicated a federal investigation and potential criminal case was mounting against Combs.

Armed agents entered his sprawling luxury properties in Miami and Los Angeles, marking a rapid downfall for the powerful music industry figure who in recent years has vied to rebrand himself as “Brother Love.” His legal team said Monday that Combs was being “cooperative with this investigation” and “looks forward to clearing his name in court.”

Bombshell suit

The artist, who’s gone by various monikers including Puff Daddy and P Diddy, was widely credited as being key to hip hop’s journey from the streets to the bottle-service club.

Over the decades he’s amassed vast wealth not least due to his ventures in the liquor industry.

But despite his efforts to cultivate an image of a smooth party kingpin and business magnate, a spate of lawsuits describe Combs as a violent man who used his celebrity to prey on women.

The artist has denied all accusations against him.

He has no major convictions but has long been trailed by allegations of physical assault, dating back well into the 1990s.

Late last year the floodgates opened after singer Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, alleged Combs subjected her to more than a decade of coercion by physical force and drugs as well as a 2018 rape.

The pair met when Ventura was 19 and he was 37, after which he signed her to his label and they began a romantic relationship.

The bombshell suit was quickly settled out of court, but a string of similarly lurid sexual assault claims followed — including one in December by a woman who alleged Combs and others gang-raped her when she was 17.

Disturbing surveillance video then emerged in May showing Combs physically assaulting his then-girlfriend Ventura, corroborating allegations she made in the now-settled case.

Global fame with dark shadow

Born Sean John Combs on November 4, 1969, in Harlem, the artist entered the industry as an intern in 1990 at Uptown Records where he eventually became a talent director.

He gained a reputation as a party planner, which would be central to his brand as his fame rose.

In 1991, he promoted a celebrity basketball game and concert at the City College of New York that left nine people dead after a stampede.

The event was over capacity by the thousands and resulted in a string of lawsuits, with Combs blamed for hiring inadequate security.

He was fired from Uptown and founded his own label, Bad Boy Records.

Thus began a quick ascent to the top of East Coast hip hop, along with his disciple, the late The Notorious B.I.G.

Combs boasted a number of major signed acts and production collaborations with the likes of Mary J Blige, Usher, Lil’ Kim, TLC, Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men.

He was also a Grammy-winning rapper in his own right, debuting with the chart-topping single ‘Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down’ and his album No Way Out. He built an image as a brash hustler with unapologetic swagger, a major producer who also ventured into Hollywood, reality television and fashion and had high-profile romantic links with the likes of Jennifer Lopez.

But a dark history of violence and serious misconduct has long haunted his fame — and now appears to be eclipsing it.

Comments

Gulabo Sep 17, 2024 12:10pm
Lock him up for life
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Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmad Sep 17, 2024 12:47pm
As you sow, so shall you reap.
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Tahmad Sep 17, 2024 05:20pm
Fame in life sometimes make us crazy and all of the sudden we do silly things as Sean Diddy did it and cashed his fame in sexual misconducts and now he lost all his fame and credibility what he had earned during his best career years. So sad.
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Laila Sep 18, 2024 03:19pm
@TAHMAD I have to respectfully disagree with you on this occasion. What P Diddy stands accused of is not "silly things" or just a bout of craziness. It's decades long abuse. Kindly read up on his antics. lt includes elite level explicit sex parties, rape and sexual harassment of females and males alike, so-called "freak offs" where he forced his then longterm girlfriend Cassia Ventura to engage in sex acts with male prostitutes while Diddy himself watched and pleasured himself - among other things. This is not silly, but repugnant and beyond comprehension. Further more his violent attack of the same ex girlfriend is documented on CCTV tape. He is dangerous and sick. Read and listen to those accusing him like Jaguar Wright, ex bodyguard Gene Deal, and Rodney 'Lil Rod' Jones etc. Understand why Diddy settled out of court with Cassie 1 day after she filed her suit against him. This is heavy duty stuff. Not child play or mistakes. Many people are famous, rich and many of them have issues. However, they don't usually engage in such extreme immorality where they harm others. Power comes with responsibility and accountability.
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Laila Sep 18, 2024 03:21pm
So he carried on with his abuse of women and predator behavior for at least 3 decades. Ask, why he is only caught now? Let me spell it out. He is part of heirarchy of powerful abusive males. He stepped on somebody's toes. Somebody more powerful than him. Suddenly the police is raiding his house. Several years old CCTV footage is leaked. The same as R Kelly, Bill Cosby etc. They were allowed to do this for decades. Now imagine how much higher up this goes. When the police raided his house it wasn't to collect evidence against him. It was to protect those higher up because he filmed every freak off orgy parties in his house. That's a lot of footage. A lot of leverage. They confiscated and destroyed that. This is all about power.
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