Diddy On Trial
Diddy hit with additional charges, plus why are Beyonce and LeBron mentioned in a lawsuit?
Thu, 10 Apr 2025
It’s the month before Diddy stands trial and the news keeps coming.Mr Combs is now facing new criminal charges of sex trafficking and prostitution, relating to a second victim between 2021 and 2024. Diddy denies all allegations and his team say the prosecution is making it ‘impossible for Mr Combs to receive a fair trial’ by adding new evidence.Meanwhile the woman referred to as ‘Victim 1’ says she is prepared for her identity to be made public, when she takes the stand and gives evidence against Diddy.And we break down a new civil lawsuit accusing Diddy of sexual assault, which mentions Beyonce, Le Bron James, Jay-Z and the Estefans as witnesses. They deny any involvement.Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty goes through all the latest news with criminal defence attorney Shaun Kent and Rolling Stone’s senior investigative reporter Cheyenne Roundtree.The Diddy on Trial podcast is here to investigate the rumours, confront the theories, and give you the answers that you need.We also want YOU to be part of the conversation. Have you any burning questions about the cases or the upcoming trial? Heard a theory that doesn’t sit right with you? Get in touch now via WhatsApp: 0330 123 555 1.Presenter: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Series Producer: Laura Jones Sound Design: Nicky Edwards Production Coordinator: Hattie Valentine Editor: Clare FordhamCommissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts Assistant Commissioner: Will Drysdale Commissioning Producer: Adam Eland Commissioning Assistant Producer: Rechmial MillerSean ‘Diddy’ Combs - who has also gone by the names Puffy, Puff Daddy, P Diddy, Love, and Brother Love - emerged into the hip-hop scene in the 1990s. He founded Bad Boy Records, which launched the careers of the Notorious B.I.G. and Mary J Blige.His current legal issues began when he was sued by his ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura, also known as Cassie, in late 2023. She accused him of violently abusing and raping her. That lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed amount a day after it was filed, with Mr Combs maintaining his innocence.His controversial history with Ms Ventura resurfaced in 2024, when CCTV footage emerged showing Mr Combs kicking his former girlfriend as she lay on a hotel hallway floor in 2016.Multiple people have filed lawsuits accusing Mr Combs of sexual assault, with accusations dating back to 1991. He denies all claims.He is accused of the federal charges of kidnapping, drugging and coercing women into sexual activities, sometimes by using firearms or threatening them with violence. He denies the charges.
Chapter 1: What are the latest charges against Diddy?
And our resident criminal defence attorney, Sean Kent. Hi, Sean.
Hey, how are you doing? How's everybody?
So a bit of a reminder, we haven't had a superseding indictment for a while. Indictments, as Sean tells us, are just criminal lawsuits, a story or a list of accusations made by the government, in this case against Diddy. A superseding indictment replaces the original indictment. It usually includes extra charges, new counts or additional co-defendants.
It can also take stuff away, I believe, but that's not what we're dealing with here in this case. Cheyenne, what are the big differences in this new superseding indictment?
So the biggest difference is now the inclusion of victim two now with its own count of sex trafficking. So before we've heard about victim two, victim three, but they were kind of put under the racketeering count one charge. Now this victim two has its own separate count of alleged sex trafficking and the Mann Act, which is transportation to engage in prostitution.
That's kind of the big thing here.
So this was something I found confusing. We've seen these allegations before related to victim two. Why is it that they now, in effect, have their own paragraph, Sean?
And this is where I start law dorking out, because I think this is fascinating analysis is what's ended up happening. Since day one, I have said that neither side is ready to go to trial. Because there's terabytes of information, but both of them are playing a game of chicken. Nobody wants to be the one that says they're not ready.
And when this ends up happening, you find out stuff over and over and over again. You remember at the beginning when we first talked, I said, get ready for a slew of superseding indictments. There's three possibilities. Possibility one, the government is trying to figure out a creative way to get other information in.
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Chapter 2: Who are the witnesses mentioned in the lawsuit?
One hundred percent. The thing that's interesting is if you read the indictment, they specifically reference U.S. Code 1591 E2, which is the definition of coercion. And when you talk about coercion, it says two things. One coercion is you took the hell out of somebody and says, I'm making you do it. The other coercion is the much more subtle, the mental coercion.
But there is a possibility that both sides could be telling the truth. In a weird, unique situation that in Diddy's mind, I wasn't coercion anybody. This is how my relationships are. She enjoyed this rough relationship, if you will, and enjoyed the benefits of the relationship. She enjoyed the thing she was getting because maybe that's the way I was raised. That's the relationship I have.
And she never complained about it. That's what I thought. She could be saying, I never told him that. But in my mind, I knew if I didn't do these things, he would cut me off. I'd be out of the relationship. I'd be gone from the relationship. So in a weird way, they both could be telling the truth. The difference is Diddy's way is still against the law.
We've had some other interesting filings relating to the victims. Cheyenne, what's been the update on what Victim 1 has now decided to do?
Victim one has said that she will come forward with her name and she plans to testify under her name. The other victims, victim two, three, four, have requested to remain anonymous because of the high profile, the sensitive nature of these allegations. But the government has said victim one is ready to testify with her full legal name.
And when the government officially names that person, we will report it. So we've said before the testimony of victim one or the allegations from victim one closely aligned with those made by Cassie Ventura, the longtime romantic partner of Diddy.
Just in terms of what that looks like in a court, Cheyenne, for somebody who's never sat in criminal proceedings or in a court, what does that mean for victim one?
It means that they will use her name on the stand, that she will be introduced as that. We might even see her walk into court. She might not use the back door that they sometimes use for people that are trying to protect their identity.
The sketch artists that are there, because we don't have cameras in this federal court, the sketch artists can draw her and the press will be able to report and say who this person is. So it's a full on, the same way that we're talking about Diddy in court, we will be able to talk about victim one.
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