A timeline of the rise and fall of Sean 'Diddy' Combs
For more than two decades, Sean 'Diddy' Combs was one of one of hip-hop's most opportunistic entrepreneurs, spinning his hitmaking talents into a broad business empire that included a record label, a fashion brand, a TV network, deals with liquor companies and a key role in a reality TV show.
But U.S. prosecutors say that behind the scenes, Combs was coercing and abusing women with help from a network of associates who helped silence victims through blackmail and violence.
Combs has pleaded not guilty and denied the allegations. Jury selection for his trial starts Monday.
Here is a timeline of major events in his rise and fall:
1990: Combs, then a student at Howard University, gets his start in the music business with an internship at Uptown Records in New York.
Dec. 28, 1991: Nine people die at a celebrity basketball game promoted by Combs and the rapper Heavy D when thousands of fans try to get into a gym at the City College of New York. A mayoral report lays part of the blame for the catastrophe on poor planning by Combs.
1992: Combs is one of the executive producers on 'What's the 411?,' the debut album by Mary J. Blige.
1993: After being fired by Uptown, Combs establishes his own label, Bad Boy, which quickly cuts a lucrative deal with Arista Records.
1994: Bad Boy releases Notorious B.I.G.'s album 'Ready to Die." Two months later, Tupac Shakur survives a shooting in New York and accuses Combs and Biggie of having prior knowledge of the attack, which they deny. Shakur was later killed in a 1996 shooting in Las Vegas.
1996: Combs is convicted of criminal mischief after he allegedly threatened a photographer with a gun.
1997: Biggie is killed in Los Angeles. Combs, then known as Puff Daddy, releases 'I'll be Missing You' in honor of his slain star.
1998: Combs wins two Grammys, one for best rap album for his debut 'No Way Out' and another for best rap performance by a duo or group for 'I'll Be Missing You' with Faith Evans. Also that year, Combs' Sean John fashion line is founded.
April 16, 1999: Combs and his bodyguards are charged with attacking Interscope Records music executive Steve Stoute in his New York office in a dispute over a music video. Combs is sentenced to an anger management course.
Dec. 27, 1999: Combs is arrested on gun possession charges after he and his girlfriend at the time, Jennifer Lopez, fled a shooting that wounded three people at a New York City nightclub. Some witnesses tell police Combs was among the people shooting in the club. He is later charged with offering his driver $50,000 to claim ownership of the 9 mm handgun found in his car.
March 17, 2001: Combs is acquitted of all charges related to the nightclub shooting. One of his rap proteges, Jamal 'Shyne' Barrows, is convicted in the shooting and serves nearly nine years in prison. Two weeks after the trial, Combs announces he wants to be known as P. Diddy.
2002: Combs becomes the producer and star of 'Making the Band,' a talent-search TV show.
Feb. 1, 2004: Combs performs at the Super Bowl halftime show along with Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake and others. A week later, Combs, Nelly and Murphy Lee win a Grammy for best rap performance by a duo or group for 'Shake Ya Tailfeather.'
April, 2004: Combs makes his Broadway acting debut in 'A Raisin in the Sun.'
2005: Combs announces he is changing his stage name to Diddy, getting rid of the P.
March, 2008: Combs settles a lawsuit brought by a man who claims Combs punched him after a post-Oscar party outside a Hollywood hotel the previous year. In May, Combs is honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
2015: Combs is arrested after a confrontation at UCLA in Los Angeles, where one of his sons played football. Assault charges are later dropped.
2016: Combs launches the Capital Preparatory School charter school in Harlem. Also that year, he announces he is donating $1 million to Howard University.
2017: Combs is named the top earner on Forbes ' list of the 100 highest-paid celebrities, which says he brought in $130 million in a single year.
2018: Kim Porter, Combs' former girlfriend and mother of three of his children, dies from pneumonia at age 47.
2022: Combs receives a lifetime honor at the BET Awards.
September, 2023: Combs releases 'The Love Album — Off the Grid,' his first solo studio project since 2006's chart-topping 'Press Play.'
Nov. 16, 2023: R&B singer Cassie sues Combs, alleging he subjected her to years of abuse, including beatings and rape. A day later, the lawsuit is settled under undisclosed terms. Combs, through his attorney, denies the accusations.
Nov. 23, 2023: Two more women accuse Combs of sexual abuse in lawsuits. Combs' attorneys call the allegations false. Dozens of additional lawsuits follow by women and men who accuse Combs of rape, sexual assault and other attacks. Plaintiffs include singer Dawn Richard, a 'Making the Band' contestant who alleged years of psychological and physical abuse. Combs denies all the allegations.
March 25, 2024: Federal agents search Combs' homes in Los Angeles and Miami Beach, Florida.
May 17, 2024: CNN airs video that shows Combs attacking and beating Cassie in a hotel hallway in Los Angeles in 2016. Two days later, Combs posts videos on social media apologizing for the assault.
Sept. 16, 2024: Combs is arrested at his Manhattan hotel. A sex trafficking and racketeering indictment unsealed the next day accuses him of using his business empire to coerce women into participating in sexual performances. Combs denies the allegations. His attorney calls it an unjust prosecution of an 'imperfect person.'
May 5, 2025: Jury selection is scheduled to begin for Combs' trial.
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An anonymous former girlfriend and alleged victim of Sean "Diddy" Combs - known only as Jane - begun her evidence against the rapper on the 17th day of his sex-trafficking trial. Scroll down to catch up on proceedings as they happened. 21:11:58 Court finishes for the day It's just after 4pm in New York and so the judge leaves Jane's testimony there for the day. She will be back on the stand tomorrow and is expected to continue giving evidence for several days next week as well. We'll be back with a recap of today's hearing soon - in the meantime scroll through our posts to catch up on what was said in court. 21:09:47 Escort sex sessions lasted up to 30 hours with no sleep, Jane tells court Jane tells the court that she and Sean "Diddy" Combs had "hotel night" - sexual encounters with male escorts, also described as "freak offs" during Cassie's testimony - in Turks and Caicos, Miami, Los Angeles and New York. Combs's employees would arrange travel, she says, and he would pay. Hotel nights always followed the same pattern, the court hears - "hotel suites, red lights, music, lotions and alcohol, there would be bed sheets covering everything, blankets and towels, because of the excessive use of baby oil everywhere". Jane says she would "have drugs in my system" and wear "provocative" lingerie and "high stripper shoes". The encounters with escorts would start with small talk before she would dance in her robe, she says, to "get my nerves out". Combs liked her to pour baby oil on the men and on herself, she says, and adds that a "typical hotel night lasted a very long time". After having sex with an escort, Combs would "excuse" her, she says, and they would have sex with each other. They typically lasted between 24 and 30 hours, she says, with "no sleep". 20:52:20 Jane 'wanted to earn her own money and considered OnlyFans - but Diddy said to wait' Jane is continuing to answer questions about her relationship with Sean "Diddy" Combs, telling the court it was always him who decided when they would see each other. Often, this was at short notice - a night before or on the day, the court hears. She tells jurors she always made sure she was "put together" and ready in case he called. "I liked looking beautiful for him." Combs liked her with straight hair and white coloured nails, she says, and later in the relationship he wanted her to get piercings. "Looking nice" took a lot of time and money and became like a "habit", she continues, as she strived to make him happy. The court hears that while Jane started to earn less money after she prioritised her relationship with Combs, the rapper would support her with money - payments of $5,000, $10,000 or $20,000, she says. She tells the court she wanted to make her own money and had considered content creating on adult website OnlyFans - posting photos but not showing sexual activity. Combs told her to give it time, the court hears. Asked why she felt she needed his approval, she replies: "I felt like he was my boyfriend." 20:38:38 Jane describes 'debauchery' or 'hotel nights' - and says she felt 'obligated' as Diddy paid rent After that first night in May 2021, Jane is asked what percentage of the time with Sean "Diddy" Combs she was having sex with another man. She replies: "90%." Asked if this is what she wanted, she says: "No." Jane tells the court she wanted "an old-fashioned relationship with me and him" - which is how it felt when they first met. After the first sexual encounter with an escort, Combs quickly suggested they do it again, Jane says, telling the court she was agreeable because she wanted him to be happy. "I went along with it because I loved him at this point," she says. However, Jane says she started to tell him - more than once, in writing and in person - that she did not want to have sex with other men. Over the next three years she says she told him this "many times", but it would be "uncomfortable" whenever the subject came up. Combs would dismiss it and move the conversation on, she says, or tell her she didn't have to. He would also tell her she could break up with him if she wanted to, she says. Combs paid her rent, but would threaten to stop doing so, she adds. Jane says she felt "obligated" to perform on some nights "because I knew he was paying my rent". Asked the words she and Combs used to describe the sexual encounters with male escorts, she says they would call them "debauchery" or "hotel nights". 20:27:01 First sexual encounter with male escort 'opened Pandora's box', Jane tells court After being told by Sean "Diddy" Combs that he could make the fantasy of role play with another man come true, Jane says she went to the bathroom. When she returned, she says he was in his robe and "looking serious" on his phone. He told her he could "make it happen tonight", the court hears. Jane says she was taken aback but agreed. A few hours later, she says assistants set up a room for them and she was introduced to an escort, Don. She tells the court she was nervous but Combs told her to relax and asked her to stand up. At his suggestion, she started dancing, she says, as the escort got closer and started to touch her. Combs was naked, she says, and masturbated as he watched them. Jane says she wanted to "speed things up" so asked for a condom. Combs told her he "didn't want that", she says, saying the guys were "safe" and regularly tested. Eventually, however, he did give Don a condom and they had sex, she says. Afterwards, Don left and the two of them had sex together, she says. "We were really happy." The day afterwards, Jane says she "felt excited" that she had done something "taboo", something she had never done before. However, she says she thought it was a one-off. Asked how the relationship changed after this, she tells the court "it opened a Pandora's box", and "set the tone" going forward. 20:11:06 'Diddy wanted role play with other men and liked me to have baby oil all over' Jane tells the court her relationship with Sean "Diddy" Combs was kept private. Between February 2021 and May 2021, she says he would fly her to see him in Miami every few weeks, and also gave her money. During this period, they took drugs including ecstasy, molly (MDMA), cocaine and ketamine, she says. Jane says Combs wanted her to wear "provocative lingerie outfits" when they had sex and liked her to have baby oil "all over my body". Sexual sessions could last for up to 24 hours and he liked to have red lights on in their hotel rooms, she adds. Asked how she felt about the long sex sessions at this point, Jane tells the court she "really loved" Combs and enjoyed the affection. "Sean was really passionate," she says, and very complimentary. In those first three months, she says she "loved him very much". Asked what happened in May 2021, she bows her head and becomes emotional. "We would watch a lot of pornography, we started having a lot more fantasy conversations." Combs started to talk about role play with other men, she says, and one night told her he could make the fantasy a reality. Jane says she told him "okay" - but did not think it would really happen and says she did not want to have sex with anyone other than Combs. 19:55:02 Diddy 'used L word' - but made it clear he was seeing other women, Jane tells court In February 2021, Sean "Diddy" Combs and Jane went on a trip to the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Bahamas, the court hears. Jane says he organised the break after she told him her birthday was coming up, and that he had several members of staff there too, including an assistant, a chef and a butler. She says they had a good connection and were "passionate" about each other - that she told him about her work and being a single mother. Asked about gifts during this trip, Jane tells the court Combs gave her a bracelet - and later offered to send her $10,000 because she wasn't working while they were there. She is also asked about drugs, and says they took ecstasy. Jane tells the court she developed deep feelings for Combs and that they "started using 'the L word'." He told her he "really liked" her, she says, but made it clear he was seeing "multiple" women. She says she was okay with this because she liked him. Asked if she had the option of a monogamous relationship, she replies: "I don't think so." The relationship lasted, on and off, until Combs was arrested in September 2024, the court hears. 19:41:04 Alleged victim Jane says she fell 'head over heels' after first date with Diddy Jane tells the court she was in a relationship with Sean "Diddy" Combs between 2021 and 2024. She called him Sean or Diddy, the court hears, sometimes Schnookums, or sometimes Ernie - she was Bert and he was Ernie, like the characters from Sesame Street. Jane says she met the hip-hop mogul during a trip to Miami in late 2020. At the time, he was involved with one of her friends, she tells the court, and he invited a group of them to his home. The witness says they spent time on a yacht and that she was "drawn" to Combs. They flirted and exchanged numbers, which is when he suggested the Bert and Ernie nicknames, she says. Asked if she saw drugs, she says she remembers seeing a pink, powdery substance on that first night. Combs told her he wanted to take her out the following day, jurors hear. She says the situation was "complicated" but they remained in touch and Combs pursued her. After the friend who had previously been seeing him got engaged to someone else, Jane says she decided to "potentially entertain" the idea. They agreed to meet up in Miami in January 2021, the court hears. Jane says they went to a hotel, had dinner on the balcony, and she ended up staying for five days. Afterwards, she says, she was "head over heels". 19:23:35 Third alleged victim 'Jane' begins her testimony The government calls "Jane" to the stand. Jane, who is giving evidence under a pseudonym, is a former girlfriend of Sean "Diddy" Combs. After Cassie Ventura and "Mia", a former personal assistant to the hip-hop mogul, she is the third alleged victim to give evidence during this trial. Jane was allegedly engaged in commercial sex acts "as a result of force, fraud or coercion" by Combs. "The defendant used lies, drugs, threats, and violence to force and coerce, first, Cassie, and later Jane, to have sex with him in front of male escorts," prosecutors said in their opening statement at the beginning of the trial. Judge Arun Subramanian tells the court her real name will not be mentioned in court. Evidence monitors have been switched off in overflow rooms. 19:18:03 Investigative analyst answers questions on Cassie's mobile phones Enrique Santos tells the court he is an investigative analyst for the US attorney's office for the Southern District of New York. His duties include forensic examination of mobile phones, tablets and other devices with GPS technology, the jury is told. Santos says he has carried out close to 3,000 mobile phone "extractions", which means preserving and analysing electronic data, during his career, and tells the court about the methods and tools he uses for his work. He says he was asked to extract three iPhones for this case and later found out they belonged to Cassie Ventura. They were generally in good shape, he says. Santos says investigators recovered several deleted records from the devices. After a few questions from both the prosecution and the defence, he finishes his evidence.
