Fact Check: Secret Prince recording wasn't played at Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial

Yahoo

20-05-2025

Claim:
During Sean "Diddy" Combs' federal sex-trafficking trial in New York in May 2025, prosecutors presented a recording from Prince's final days alive, in which he divulged details of Combs' alleged illicit activities at past parties.
Rating:
A rumor that circulated online in May 2025 claimed federal prosecutors in Sean "Diddy" Combs' New York sex-trafficking trial presented as evidence a secret recording of Prince exposing the music mogul. Specifically, the rumor said that, in the seven-time Grammy-winning recording artist's final days alive, Prince divulged details of Combs' alleged illicit activities at past parties, including saying, "If something happens to me, this recording needs to go to the press or the police, either one."
However, searches of Bing, DuckDuckGo, Google and Yahoo found no news media outlets credibly reporting anything about a Prince video or audio recording at Combs' trial. Instead, those searches displayed links to YouTube videos promoting similar rumors in previous days and months, all with misleading and sensationalist thumbnail images.
A video (archived) from WhatIsMyStarWorth, a YouTube channel promoting the rumor, showed a text description describing the clip as fictional content — a disclaimer only visible upon expanding the text description by clicking "more." The same clip also displayed a YouTube-enabled disclaimer about "altered or synthetic content," referencing the artificial intelligence (AI)-generated scripting and voice narration. Further, the inauthentic thumbnail image showing pictures of Prince and Combs claimed the matter involved a "Prince & 'Diddy' video" recording, while the YouTube video itself contradicted that claim, only telling of an audio recording.
On May 14, R&B singer Cassie, formally Cassie Ventura — Combs' ex-girlfriend who testified against him during the trial — said in court that she once fled Prince's house during a party after noticing Combs' presence, alleging Combs later physically assaulted her at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Her testimony made no mention of a Prince recording.
Prince died on April 21, 2016. Weeks later, on June 2, a Minnesota medical examiner announced Prince's cause of death as an accidental overdose of fentanyl.
Snopes contacted by email a manager of the WhatIsMyStarWorth YouTube channel to ask why they didn't feature the fictional content disclaimer anywhere in the video itself, and if their primary goal is advertising revenue based on promoting misleading content. We will update this article if we learn more information.
On May 18, a manager of the WhatIsMyStarWorth YouTube channel, one of many channels promoting the rumor, posted a video (archived) titled, "1 MINUTE AGO: Prince's SECRET Recording Just Shattered Diddy's Trial…" As of this writing, the clip received over 757,000 views. Other users also promoted the same false rumor on Bluesky (archived), Facebook, Threads (archived), TikTok, X (archived) and YouTube (archived).
The clip displayed a brief text description including a disclaimer about its fabricated content:
In a stunning turn of events, a previously unreleased recording from the late music icon Prince has surfaced — and it's reportedly causing major damage to the ongoing trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs. The recording, said to have been made in confidence, contains explosive insights and personal warnings that directly tie into the heart of the case.
In this video, we break down the content of the alleged recording, how it resurfaced, and why it's being described as a game-changer in the courtroom. Prince, known for his cryptic genius and deep knowledge of the music industry, may have left behind more than just music—he may have left a warning no one expected.
This revelation could shift everything.
Disclaimer: This content is fictional and for entertainment purposes only. No official sources confirm the existence of such a recording.
The video begins with the AI-generated voice narrator announcing the disclaimer, "Before we begin, viewer discretion is strongly advised. The following is for educational and entertainment purposes only." In the very next sentence, the narrator says, "This is the verbatim federal courtroom testimony of the Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial, as reported by Inner City Press."
The authentic Inner City Press online presence said on X (archived) that the idea of the prosecution playing a Prince recording, and their publication reporting on it, were both false.
The video doesn't feature an AI-generated version of Prince's image and voice on a recording. Rather, the clip's AI-generated narrator speaks about the words purportedly said by Prince on the alleged "tape." After one moment, the narrator says that Combs stood up and yelled in the courtroom, "That's a lie!" According to the narrator, the prosecution timed the reveal of the alleged secret recording to catch Combs with his guard down, in order to show the jury his "rage, guilt [and] loss of control" — a story the YouTube creator or someone else fabricated entirely.
The fictional story spread during Combs' trial in Manhattan federal court. In September 2024, the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York charged him with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution, all centered on so-called "freak-off" parties — alleged sexual marathons involving drug use and coercion. Combs pleaded not guilty; if convicted, he faces a minimum prison sentence of 15 years and a maximum of life in jail.
Between May 16 and 19, the WhatIsMyStarWorth YouTube channel created other videos also centered on Combs' trial, similarly containing disclaimers about fictional content. The video "1 MINUTE AGO: Cassie Reveals What She Saw Inside Diddy's Secret Tunnels" received over 961,000 views; "1 MINUTE AGO: Justin Bieber Step In On Day 5, Diddy Loses It in Court" displayed more than 403,000 views; "1 MINUTE AGO: 50 Cent ENDED Diddy's Case in Court, What Happened Next Was Shocking...." showed nearly 940,000 views; "1 MINUTE AGO: Diddy's Bodyguard Finally Releases the Tape, Courtroom in SHOCK..." earned around 400,000 views; and "1 MINUTE AGO: Mo'Nique Names Tyler Perry, Oprah & Diddy in EXPLOSIVE Testimony..." revealed about 227,000 views, all of this writing.
For further reading, a previous fact check examined whether Prince once said, "Money won't buy you happiness, but it'll pay for the search."
Bacher, Danielle, and Liam Quinn. "Cassie Says She Fled 'Once in a Lifetime' Experience at Prince's House After Learning Diddy Was There Too." People.com, 14 May 2025, https://people.com/cassie-fled-diddy-prince-house-once-in-lifetime-11735012.
Cohen, Luc, and Jonathan Stempel. "Sean 'Diddy' Combs Pleads Not Guilty to Sex Trafficking; Judge Denies Bail." Reuters, 18 Sept. 2024, https://www.reuters.com/world/us/sean-diddy-combs-criminal-charges-expected-be-unveiled-ny-after-arrest-2024-09-17/.
Gainer, Alice, and Mark Prussin. "Singer Dawn Richard Testifies at Sean 'Diddy' Combs Trial, along with a Former Friend of Cassie's." CBS News, 19 May 2025, https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/live-updates/diddy-trial-live-updates-week-2/.
Italie, Hillel, et al. "Prince, Hugely Inventive, Influential Musician, Dead at 57." The Associated Press, 22 Apr. 2016, https://apnews.com/988e107cf6964494b58ad2ca9bcd0985.
Landrum Jr., Jonathan. "Diddy Faces Public Scrutiny over Alleged Sex Crimes as Questions Arise about Future of His Music." The Associated Press, 21 Sept. 2024, https://apnews.com/article/sean-combs-diddy-7ffff613c885e5010ba3cfdb0625fb5a.
"Prince | Artist." Grammy.com, https://grammy.com/artists/prince/5675.
Sisario, Ben, and Julia Jacobs. "Drugs, Sex, Baby Oil: The 'Freak-Offs' at the Core of Sean Combs's Troubles." The New York Times, 22 Sept. 2024, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/22/arts/music/sean-combs-diddy-freakoffs-sex-drugs.html.
"Timeline of Key Events in Investigation into Prince's Death." The Associated Press, 18 Apr. 2018, https://apnews.com/article/c6322559d0574b51a99f43da1d26f8d0.