Diddy Trial Begins as Potential Jurors Asked if They Are Familiar With Michael B. Jordan, Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Mike Myers and More Celebrities
Jury selection for Sean 'Diddy' Combs' sex trafficking trial began Monday morning in New York as a media circus surrounded the courthouse in Lower Manhattan.
One hundred and fifty potential jurors were asked to fill out a questionnaire that gauged their knowledge of Combs, their views on law enforcement, whether they have experienced a sexual assault and more. They were also given a list of at least 190 celebrities and public figures and asked to indicate which names they recognized.
More from Variety
Sean 'Diddy' Combs Rejected Plea Deal in Federal Sex Trafficking Case, Prosecutors Disclose
Sean 'Diddy' Combs' 'Rise and Fall' to Be Examined in BBC Documentary
Sean 'Diddy' Combs' Attorneys File Motion to Exclude Cassie Ventura Assault Video From Federal Trial
Among the names on that list are Michael B. Jordan, Kanye West, Mike Myers and Kid Cudi. It's unclear how the names on the list relate to the Combs trial, if at all. Combs is known to have hosted big Hollywood parties and was well-connected among celebrities.
Prosecutors believe that Kid Cudi, for one, is the victim of a car bombing committed by Combs in 2011. During that time, the 'Pursuit of Happiness' rapper was romantically involved with Combs' longtime ex-girlfriend, Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura, the star witness of the federal trial.
Other names listed include Destiny's Child singer Michelle Williams, actor Lauren London, singer Dawn Richard, singer-producer Dallas Austin and many of Combs' family members. A surprising number of potential jurors indicated that they were not familiar with any of the names.
The jurors were given the option to discuss sensitive or personal questions in a private sidebar with just the judge, court reporter and two attorneys from each party.
Combs is facing five counts, including one for racketeering, two for sex trafficking and two for transportation to engage in prostitution. If he is convicted on any or all counts, Combs could spend the rest of his life in prison.
Since 2023, the music mogul has been hit with more than 70 civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual misconduct ranging from rape to sex trafficking. Those lawsuits are separate from the federal trial, which will likely feature testimony from high-profile figures such as Combs' ex-girlfriend Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura and other alleged victims whose names have yet to be revealed.
Federal prosecutors say they have interviewed more than 50 witnesses and recovered evidence from over 100 laptops, cellphones and other electronic devices that paint Combs as a serial abuser who led a vast criminal network held together by assistants, security guards and other employees who kept quiet for years. The charges in the indictment stem from alleged crimes that span from 2004 to 2024. Combs has denied all allegations and has insisted that all sexual activities were consensual.
Best of Variety
Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival
New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week
What's Coming to Netflix in May 2025
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Harvey Weinstein Accuser Kaja Sokola: ‘The Devastating Part Was Not the Trial Itself — It Was the Betrayal of My Sister'
Kaja Sokola spent five intense days testifying in Harvey Weinstein's New York retrial. Her testimony covered two alleged instances of sexual assault: one in 2002, when she was 16, and another at a Tribeca hotel in 2006. On June 11, a New York jury acquitted Weinstein of sexually assaulting Sokola. But for the former Polish model–turned–psychotherapist, neither the testimony nor the verdict was the hardest part of Weinstein's months-long retrial in New York. More from Variety Harvey Weinstein Judge Declares Mistrial on Rape Charge Harvey Weinstein Found Guilty of Sexual Assault After Tensions Explode on New York Jury Amanda Seyfried Grossed Out She Invited 'Dictator' Harvey Weinstein to Past Sundance Premiere: 'It's Just the Way It Was - We All Needed Him' 'The devastating part was not the trial itself — it was the betrayal of my sister,' Sokola told Variety. 'I truly don't understand how she could — how anyone could do something like that.' On her fourth day on the stand, the defense confronted her with a private journal in which she documented people who had sexually assaulted her — but did not include Weinstein. The journal, which Sokola said was part of a 'workbook for addiction treatment,' was provided to the defense by her older sister, Ewa. 'Please don't read that,' she said on the witness stand. 'This is my personal things.' The former producer was mentioned in an entry referring to 'Harvey W,' where Sokola wrote that he was 'promising help' but 'nothing came of it.' The defense used the journal to argue that Sokola had fabricated her assault allegation. Sokola told Variety that she had written about Weinstein's abuse in other diaries, but those were not read for the jury. 'My sister chose to bring this one thing from Poland that said what it said,' she said. 'This felt very unjust and very hurtful… These kinds of tactics are just showing how dirty of a game it is for them.' Sokola said her relationship with her sister has been strained over the years. 'My sister was trying to do a lot of harmful things to me in the past,' she said. 'A lot of this was correlated with money, so we didn't have — let's say — the best relationship ever.' Michael Cibella, Weinstein's attorney who questioned Sokola, told Variety that he is 'not aware of any other journals that have any allegations of abuse against Weinstein.' 'We had this journal which had allegations of sexual abuse against four other people, and in that same writing, talked about Harvey Weinstein having made promises that he didn't keep,' Cibella said. 'Nothing about sexual abuse whatsoever against Harvey Weinstein.' Ewa Sokola testified for the prosecution in the case. She corroborated that she and Kaja had a lunch meeting with Weinstein at a Tribeca hotel in 2006. At one point during the meal, Kaja and Weinstein took an elevator upstairs together while Ewa remained at the table. When Kaja returned by herself, the sisters left the hotel. Ewa recalled that Kaja appeared to be under 'extreme tension' after her time alone with Weinstein, though the two went on as if it were a 'regular day.' During cross-examination, when the defense asked whether Kaja had ever said anything negative about Weinstein before 2017, Ewa said no. 'She was proud of knowing him,' she told the courtroom. In the defense's closing argument, Arthur Aidala — another one of Weinstein's attorneys — mentioned Ewa to the jury again, arguing that she ultimately became a defense witness after her testimony. 'She was supporting our theory of the case,' Aidala said. 'That everything was fine with her sister.' Over the phone, Cibella commended Ewa for her testimony. 'She told the whole story — not just one part of the story that helped the prosecutor.' Kaja Sokola, meanwhile, has a theory about how her sister connected with the defense. She said that her sister's friend — an attorney Ewa's known for roughly 20 years — works for Aidala's firm, which she believes 'speaks a lot.' 'It's very sad and unfortunate when you see families being broken up because of these kinds of reasons,' she said. Sokola also said that her sister's lawyer friend had visited her at the New York apartment she lived in back in 2006. 'He knew that I had known Harvey for a long time, and that I was scared of him for a very long time.' 'I'm familiar with the attorney that she is referring to, and he does not work at Arthur Aidala's firm,' Cibella replied when asked about Kaja's claims. 'But we are familiar with that attorney, and it is someone that [Ewa's] had a friendship with for quite some time.' Kaja Sokola did not testify at Weinstein's 2020 trial. However, after an appeals court overturned his rape and sexual assault convictions — sending the case back for retrial — prosecutors added a new sexual assault charge in September 2024 based on the allegations by a then-anonymous Kaja. Her identity was revealed to the public months later, during opening statements of Weinstein's retrial in late April. 'He looked miserable, and he looked like a sick, old man,' Sokola told Variety of seeing Weinstein in the courtroom. 'Part of me felt sorry for him, because this man has messed up his life. He has done things that are crimes and, right now, he's paying the price for it. It didn't feel like seeing the Harvey that I knew from years ago.' In her testimony, Sokola described two alleged sexual assaults by Weinstein in 2002 and 2006. The defense, however, repeatedly argued during the trial that Kaja never met Weinstein in 2002, pointing to a lack of evidence — such as writings or photographs — showing the two together that year. 'Harvey did not meet this woman when she was 16 years old,' Cibella reasserted to Variety. 'He did not know her in 2002 and adamantly has denied that. And the jury, by their verdict, they didn't believe her — and she was not credible.' Sokola's attorney, Lindsay Goldbrum, said that an individual who was friends with her before the 2006 incident could have testified that Kaja had known Weinstein prior to that time as well. 'Unfortunately, because of criminal procedure laws and rules regarding hearsay, they were not able to call her as a witness, even though she was willing to testify on Kaja's behalf. And so that's one of the unfortunate pieces of the criminal justice system, is that juries don't ever get to hear the entire story,' Goldbrum said. 'The fact that there may not have been physical written evidence of the fact that Harvey Weinstein assaulted Kaja in 2002 doesn't mean it didn't happen. This event was an in-person interaction between two individuals from 23 years ago. Do we really expect there to be a mountain of written and photographic evidence? No, I think that many of us have interactions on a daily basis that there would be no written record of, and so I don't think it's indicative of anything.' Although Weinstein was acquitted of the charge related to Sokola, he was convicted of one count of committing a criminal sexual act in the first degree, based on allegations by former TV production assistant Miriam Haley. The judge declared a mistrial in the rape case involving Jessica Mann. 'I was hoping for something else, but it still didn't change the whole scenario for me — because the whole point is to put this man in jail,' Sokola said. 'It's not my story. I'm not on trial. It's not about me. It's about him and him being accountable for what he did.' Outside the courthouse, following the declaration of a mistrial on Weinstein's remaining count, Aidala referenced Sokola, who had made a statement the previous day about the initial partial verdict. He criticized her response, saying she 'took some kind of a victory lap after 12 jurors said, 'We don't believe you.'' Aidala also claimed that Sokola's case had received the jury's 'fastest and quickest verdict,' citing conversations with several jurors. 'It just shows you how really bastardized the whole MeToo movement has become now,' Aidala said. 'She comes here and says, 'It's a great victory,' when 12 people told her, 'You lied.'' Goldbrum described Aidala's comments as 'interesting,' noting that they were 'not consistent' with what their team had heard about the jury's deliberations regarding Kaja. 'I think that he has an incentive to say what he has to say about Kaja, as Harvey Weinstein's attorney,' Goldbrum said. 'I also think that he is distorting what is truly the jury's verdict, which is not that they don't believe her. It's not that they think she lied. The standard is truth beyond a reasonable doubt. It's not she's lying or she's telling the truth. It is whether or not there is reasonable that is the hardest standard to meet — the hardest threshold to cross — and that is the way it is for a reason, right?' Weinstein now faces up to 25 years in prison following his conviction in Haley's case. Prosecutors have said they are prepared to retry him on the rape charge, which carries a potential sentence of up to four years. Sokola had a message for Weinstein and his legal team: 'I want to tell them that we won. We won. Don't try to split women apart and tear them down individually, because that's what they were trying to do in the courthouse throughout the trial — and it did not succeed.' Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts? 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar
Business Upturn
an hour ago
- Business Upturn
Is The Pitt season 2 releasing in June 2025? Everything we know so far
By Aman Shukla Published on June 14, 2025, 17:30 IST Last updated June 14, 2025, 11:32 IST The Pitt , Max's gripping medical drama starring Noah Wyle, has captivated audiences with its intense real-time storytelling and realistic portrayal of emergency room challenges. After a successful first season, fans are eager to know: Is The Pitt Season 2 releasing in June 2025? Here's everything we know so far. The Pitt Season 2 Release Date: Is June 2025 Possible? Despite some speculation, The Pitt Season 2 is not releasing in June 2025. Multiple reports, including Variety and TVLine, confirm that the second season is slated to premiere in January 2026. Max CEO Casey Bloys emphasized the show's annual release model, noting that Season 2 will debut exactly one year after Season 1's January 2025 premiere. This aligns with the production timeline, as filming began in June 2025, following a similar six-month post-production schedule as Season 1. The January 2026 release date allows Max to maintain a consistent schedule, avoiding the long gaps common in streaming series like House of the Dragon or The Last of Us . While a June 2025 release would have been exciting for fans, it's not feasible given the current production stage. What to Expect from The Pitt Season 2 Plot Season 2 of The Pitt will continue its unique real-time format, covering a single 15-hour shift over 15 episodes. Set approximately 10 months after Season 1, the new season will take place during the Fourth of July weekend, a notoriously chaotic time for emergency rooms due to fireworks accidents, heat-related illnesses, and alcohol-related injuries. Showrunner R. Scott Gemmill revealed that this time jump allows for fresh storylines while catching up with the characters' development. A key focus will be on Dr. Frank Langdon (Patrick Ball), who was mandated to attend a 30-day rehab program in Season 1 after stealing medication. Season 2 will likely begin on Langdon's first day back at work, exploring his journey to regain trust, particularly with his mentor, Dr. Michael 'Robby' Robinavitch (Noah Wyle). Gemmill hinted at addressing broader healthcare issues, including disparities in care for people of color with diabetes, suggesting a socially relevant narrative. How to Watch The Pitt Season 2 The Pitt Season 2 will stream exclusively on Max, with episodes likely releasing weekly on Thursdays, following the Season 1 schedule. All 15 episodes of Season 1 are currently available on Max, allowing fans to catch up before the new season. Ahmedabad Plane Crash Aman Shukla is a post-graduate in mass communication . A media enthusiast who has a strong hold on communication ,content writing and copy writing. Aman is currently working as journalist at
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Princess Charlotte's Expected Role at Trooping the Colour Proves She's the Ultimate Big Sister
Princess Charlotte, 10, and the rest of the royal family are gearing up for Trooping the Colour on June 14 and fans are already expecting an important personal role for her. The middle child of Prince William and Kate Middleton is known to be the reliable rule-follower in the family — that means she will probably be helping Mom keep Prince Louis' adorable antics to a minimum. A royal source promised GB News that Charlotte loves playing the big sister role to her little brother. And if he misbehaves? More from SheKnows Kate Middleton's 2025 Trooping the Color Look Honors Both Princess Diana & Queen Elizabeth II 'Don't worry, his sister will do [take care of] that,' the palace insider confirmed. At Trooping the Colour in 2024, Charlotte was spotted helping Louis with royal protocol. She sweetly showed him how to hold his arms for the English National Anthem, but she also scolded him to 'stop' when he danced on the balcony. Charlotte takes her royal role very seriously. Princess Charlotte's 'strong character' is why her appearances will reportedly be ramped up this summer. Childrenswear designer Amaia Arrieta described the young royal to People as 'almost wise beyond her years.' 'She looks very confident and at ease with herself and the environment she's in,' she added. 'The maturity that comes with that responsibility—she seems to nail it every time.' Prince Louis, 7, has become known for his carefree, wild streak, something that royal fans don't necessarily see in Prince George, 11, or his younger sister. BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond explained why there seems to be parenting differences with Louis. 'Being the youngest is often something of a privilege,' she told the Mirror. 'You get away with a lot more and you are that little bit special as the last-born.' 'Catherine probably lets Louis run wild more than she did with George. She and William are very experienced parents and I'm sure they love all three kids equally—but probably in different ways,' she added. 'George because he's the first-born and has a destiny to fulfill, Charlotte because she's the only girl, and Louis because he's the youngest.' So, Charlotte will likely step up and guide Prince Louise throughout the Trooping the Colour festivities as she shines as a leader in the royal family. Before you go, click to see the best photos of the royal family at Trooping the Colour over the years. Best of SheKnows 36 Times Prince Louis Proved That the Third Child Is a Wild Card Every Single Time Kate Middleton & Princess Charlotte Coordinated Their Colorful Looks Make Dad Melt With These Adorable Free Father's Day Printables
