Could the Diddy case be hip-hop's #metoo moment?
Sean Combs, iconic rapper and music mogul, is behind bars awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has denied all the charges, but this story has people talking about hip-hop's #metoo moment.
This week on Now You Know, we talk to an industry writer, producer, editor about the hip-hop scene and question whether it has a history of silence around abuse.Combs' case will mark a turning point for accountability in the industry?
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Al Jazeera
14-05-2025
- Al Jazeera
Singer Cassie describes abusive relationship with Diddy in court testimony
Casandra Ventura, the singer popularly known as Cassie and former girlfriend of rap mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs, has taken to the witness stand on the third day of his trial to portray a relationship defined by physical abuse and routine humiliation. Testifying before the court on Wednesday, Ventura said Combs, who faces sex trafficking and racketeering charges, beat her and threatened to release compromising videos that could damage her career. 'He would grab me up, push me down, hit me in the side of the head, kick me,' Ventura, a rhythm and blues singer, told jurors in Manhattan federal court. 'It would just make him more violent, make him stronger, make him want to push me harder,' Ventura said of efforts to resist Combs's violent behaviour during their decadelong relationship. Prosecutors have alleged that Combs used his wealth and control of an entertainment empire to manipulate and coerce women, sometimes through physical violence, into participation in drug-fuelled sex parties known as 'freak-offs' and then used videos of sexual encounters as blackmail. 'He said that it would ruin everything that I had worked for, that it would make me look like a slut, that I would be shamed,' Ventura said. 'Nobody should do that to anyone.' She stated participation in the 'freak-offs' started to feel like 'a job where there was no space to do anything else but to recover and just try to feel normal again' and she developed an opioid addiction to cope. On one occasion in 2013, Ventura sent Combs pictures of injuries she sustained when he threw her into a bed frame so he could 'remember' what he had done. 'You don't know when to stop. You pushed it too far and continued to push,' he responded. 'Sad.' Combs's lawyers have conceded that the rapper has an aggressive temperament and has physically assaulted people but state he has been incorrectly charged with racketeering and sex trafficking and a freewheeling sexual lifestyle is being misconstrued by prosecutors. Combs has pleaded not guilty to five counts of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. If he is convicted on all charges, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.
Al Jazeera
13-05-2025
- Al Jazeera
Sean ‘Diddy' Combs trial: Key takeaways from day 1, what's expected today?
Disclaimer: This explainer contains distressing details The criminal trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs continues for its second day on Tuesday in Manhattan, New York, where he faces charges, including sex trafficking and racketeering. The trial opened on Monday with jury selection, opening statements and two harrowing testimonies. The three-time Grammy winner has been accused of using his fame and fortune to abuse women over a period of 20 years. Diddy, 55, who is a rapper, musician and founder of record label Bad Boy Records, has been in federal custody since his arrest in September. District Judge Arun Subramanian is presiding over the case. The trial officially began on May 5. A five-count indictment, spanning 17 pages, against Diddy accuses him of sex trafficking, racketeering, forced labour and transporting individuals for the purpose of prostitution. Racketeering refers to fraudulent or dishonest conduct in business. In November 2023, his ex-girlfriend and musician, Casandra Ventura, also known by her stage name Cassie, filed a lawsuit against Diddy, accusing him of sex trafficking, sexual assault and battery from 2007 to 2018. The next day, Cassie and Diddy settled the lawsuit, with details of the settlement unknown. Since then, the hip-hop mogul has faced more than 50 lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault. Diddy has pleaded not guilty to all charges. If convicted, he could face punishment ranging from 15 years in prison to a life sentence. The day began with the selection of 12 New York jurors and six alternates, who are used in case a juror is unable to attend due to an emergency, such as illness. Then, the court heard opening statements. Courtroom sketches from Monday show Diddy with grey hair and a grey-beige sweater. His mother, Janice Combs, was also present in the courtroom. 'For 20 years, the defendant, with the help of his trusted inner circle, committed crime after crime,' Emily Johnson, assistant US attorney, said. 'That's why we are here today. That's what this case is about.' After this, witnesses were brought to the stand and evidence was presented. A March 2016 surveillance camera video of Diddy physically assaulting Cassie was shown in court. In the video, he is seen in the lift bank of a hotel, aggressively shoving Cassie to the ground and kicking her multiple times. He is then seen picking up her belongings and dragging her across the floor and leaving. Cassie is seen distressed, getting up to use the hotel landline phone. In another video clip, Diddy is seen throwing a glass vase, shattering it. This video first surfaced when it was aired by CNN in 2024, after which he apologised. The video was shown to support the testimony of the first witness, Israel Florez, who is currently a Los Angeles police officer. In March 2016, Florez was a security guard at the Intercontinental Los Angeles Century City, where the surveillance camera video is from. Florez told the court he received a call from a distressed woman and found Diddy and Cassie on the sixth floor. Florez said Cassie had a purple eye, and she declined his suggestion of calling the police. Prosecutors said in opening statements that Diddy was involved in 'freak-offs' or sex parties that would span days and involve multiple sex workers. They said these parties were drug-fuelled, and the victims were blackmailed with video footage. 'They will tell you about some of the most painful experiences of their lives. The days they spent in hotel rooms, high on drugs, dressed in costumes to perform the defendant's sexual fantasies,' Johnson, the assistant US attorney, said. Diddy's defence held that these events were consensual and the victims did not call the police. The second witness called to court was a male stripper, Daniel Phillip, who told the court he had sex with Cassie for money on multiple occasions between 2012 and 2013 while Diddy watched. Phillip told the court he saw Diddy physically assault Cassie, slapping her, dragging her by the hair and throwing a liquor bottle towards her. 'She literally jumped into my lap, and she was shaking, like literally her whole entire body was shaking. She was terrified,' Phillip said about Cassie. The defence team also spoke on the opening day. Teny Geragos, the defence lawyer, held that her client is angry and violent, but the allegations against him amount to domestic violence rather than sex trafficking, and that his relationships have been consensual. 'This case is about voluntary choices made by capable adults in consensual relationships,' Geragos said during her opening statement. 'For Cassie, she made a choice, every single day, to stay with him,' she was quoted as saying by the BBC. Geragos added that those accusing Diddy were seeking financial compensation. The trial is expected to resume at 9:30am (13:30 GMT) on Tuesday with the cross-examination of Phillip. After this, Cassie is expected to take the stand. Prosecutors have said four of Diddy's accusers will testify during the trial, without identifying them publicly. The trial is predicted to last about two months. No, the trial is not televised, and electronic media is not allowed inside the courtroom. For this reason, photography and videos are also prohibited inside the courtroom.
Al Jazeera
12-05-2025
- Al Jazeera
Music mogul ‘Diddy' faces allegations of abuse during first day of US trial
A number of witnesses have taken to the stand in the trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs, who is facing allegations of racketeering and sex trafficking during his time as head of an entertainment empire. Testimony in the trial began on Monday after the final phase of jury selection and opening statement from lawyers. Combs, donning a light-grey sweater, gave a thumbs-up to supporters in the courtroom in New York City in the United States. 'For 20 years, the defendant, with the help of his trusted inner circle, committed crime after crime,' Assistant US Attorney Emily Johnson told the court. 'That's why we are here today. That's what this case is about.' A number of witnesses testified that they had experienced physical violence, intimidation, and manipulation by Combs, while the rapper's lawyers said that he has been charged with the wrong categories of crimes and 'his kinky sex and his preferences for sex' were being portrayed as nefarious. Attorney Teny Geragos told jurors that they may end up thinking Combs was a 'jerk' or 'kind of mean', but that he is not being charged 'with being mean or a jerk'. 'This case is about voluntary choices made by capable adults in consensual relationships,' Geragos said during her opening statement. Johnson, the US attorney, said that Combs 'viciously attacked' women who refused to participate in the parties that were called 'freak offs'. 'They will tell you about some of the most painful experiences of their lives. The days they spent in hotel rooms, high on drugs, dressed in costumes to perform the defendant's sexual fantasies,' Johnson told jurors of testimony from victims in the case. The courtroom became audibly silent as a video of Combs beating and kicking his former girlfriend Casandra Ventura in 2016 was shown. A stripper named Daniel Phillip testified that Combs had thrown a liquor bottle towards Ventura before grabbing her by the hair and dragging her screaming into another room, where Phillip says he heard Combs yelling and beating Ventura. 'She literally jumped into my lap and she was shaking, like literally her whole entire body was shaking. She was terrified,' Phillip testified of Ventura. Geragos conceded that Combs is prone to jealousy and had committed an act of 'horrible, dehumanising violence' in the video shown to jurors, but that it was evidence of domestic abuse, not alleged acts of sex trafficking or racketeering that are at the centre of the case. Prosecutors say that Combs, who faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison if convicted of all five felony counts to which he had pleaded not guilty, pushed women to engage in drug-fuelled parties and then blackmailed them with videos of their encounters. Combs's status as a high-profile entertainer has brought substantial attention to the trial, as well as larger debate about how powerful figures in sectors such as entertainment, business, sports, and politics often evade accountability for acts of abuse. As the case began, the jury and alternates – 12 men and six women – were seated in the courtroom. Opening arguments started after the judge finished explaining the law as it relates to this trial, along with incidentals such as that a light breakfast will be provided to the jury in addition to lunch. The jury for this case is essentially anonymous, meaning their identities are known to the court and the prosecution and defence, but will not be made public. 'We will keep your names and identities in confidence,' Subramanian told jurors. It's a common practice in federal cases to keep juries anonymous, particularly in sensitive, high-profile matters where juror safety can be a concern. Juror names also were kept from the public in US President Donald Trump's criminal trial last year in state court in New York. Subramanian urged jurors to judge the case only based on the evidence presented in court. It's a standard instruction, but it carried added significance in this high-profile case, which has been the subject of intense media coverage. 'Anything you've seen or heard outside the courtroom is not evidence,' the judge said. 'It must be disregarded.'
