What’s wrong with Sean “Diddy” Combs?

2024 is shaping up to be a memorable year for US hip-hop star Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, and for all the wrong reasons. Here’s why—and what “freak-off” parties have to do with his fall from grace.
Photo: ROBYN BECK

Warning: This story contains details that may upset some readers.

Explanation: Once upon a time in the ’90s, P Diddy (real name: Sean Combs) was the crowned king of US hip-hop, with a stellar music career and friends in high places. Now he’s in big trouble – and incarcerated – after being accused of sex trafficking and organized crime. How did we get here?

Who is P Diddy anyway?

Sean “Diddy” Combs, 54, is an American music mogul and influential hip hop producer who first rose to fame in the 1990s.

Combs, also known as Puff Daddy, P. Diddy and Diddy, made his name as the manager and producer of rapper Notorious BIG (Biggie Smalls). He is a three-time Grammy Award winner and has worked with a long list of big names, including Mariah Carey, Mary J Blige, Usher and Faith Evans.

His debut albumNo way outsold seven million copies worldwide and included “I’ll Be Missing You,” a tribute he wrote after Biggie’s death in 1997.

He has also tried his hand at fashion, launched a television channel and entered into a partnership with a major beverage company.

What accusations are being made against him?

Last week, Combs was arrested and taken into custody at a Manhattan hotel. He was charged with three counts of sex trafficking, transportation for the purpose of prostitution and organized crime. Reuters reported that prosecutors accused Combs of running a criminal enterprise for at least 16 years to facilitate his exploitation of women. According to the 14-page federal indictment against Combs, the rapper was responsible for coordinating day-long sex parties – known to those involved as “freak offs.”

While Combs’ defense team tried to get him released on $50 million bail, prosecutors told the judge that Combs was “extremely dangerous to the community.” He will remain in custody until his trial.

What do we know about the “Freak-Offs”?

The New York Times Combs was reportedly responsible for staging these “freak-offs” and covering up any damage to hotel rooms or people.

Official court documents described them as “elaborate and staged sexual performances” that included drug use and forced sex and allegedly left the defendants so exhausted that they required intravenous fluids to recover.

The New York Times reported that Combs used all the videos he shot at the freak-offs as a weapon to silence everyone.

“The core of this case is freak-off activity, and freak-offs are inherently dangerous,” Emily A. Johnson, one of the prosecutors, said at a hearing last week.

Combs’ lawyers say the encounters were consensual. “Does everyone have experience with this kind of intimacy? No,” said Marc Agnifilo, a lawyer for Combs, at a court hearing Tuesday. “Is this sex trafficking? No, not if everyone wants to be involved.”

The government alleges that Combs ran a criminal racketeering enterprise and that these outbursts were organized by people who worked for him. “Combs didn’t do all of this on his own,” Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said at a news conference last week.

“He used his company and employees of that company, as well as other close associates, to enforce his will. These individuals allegedly included high-ranking company supervisors, personal assistants, security personnel and domestic staff.”

When did P Diddy’s problems start?

In late 2023, things started to fall apart for Combs in a big way. Within a week, Combs faced three lawsuits from women accusing him of abuse and assault, including one from his former partner Cassie Ventura. That particular case was settled a day after it was filed, although Combs’ attorney said it was “in no way an admission of wrongdoing.”

Shortly after the Ventura case was settled, Combs was sued by another woman who accused him of sex trafficking and gang rape.

On Instagram, he protested his innocence, claiming the accusation was “disgusting” and “made against me by people looking for a quick payday.”

In February 2024, Combs was accused of “grooming” by music producer Rodney Jones Jr. and a NZ$50 million lawsuit was filed against him.

A few months later, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security raided Diddy’s mansions in Los Angeles and Florida. The Associated Press reported that the properties were searched “as part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation.”

It was not clear at the time whether Combs himself was a target of the investigation, but the raid sparked widespread speculation about his whereabouts. Court documents now show that authorities found drugs and 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant, as well as AR-15 rifles with obscured serial numbers.

A few weeks later, things got even worse for him. In May 2024, CNN released a 2016 hotel surveillance video showing Combs grabbing, shoving, and kicking Cassie Ventura in the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel in 2016.

After the footage became public, Combs wrote on Instagram that his behavior was “inexcusable” and that he was “determined to be a better person.”

“I was disgusted when I did it. And I still am now.

“I had to ask God for his grace and mercy. I am so sorry,” he said.

What’s next for Diddy?

In a few months, a jury in Manhattan will have to decide which side of the events at the “Freak-Off” parties is more credible.

Until then, Combs will likely remain in federal prison in Brooklyn because he was denied bail. The judge said the rapper poses a risk of witness tampering and is a danger to the community as he awaits trial on sex trafficking conspiracy and organized crime charges.

Prosecutors told the court last week that they have a “vast amount” of evidence, including witness statements, photos, videos and text messages. This includes the video that was released showing Diddy with his ex-girlfriend Ventura. In the video, he is seen hitting her and pulling her hair while standing in the hallway of LA’s InterContinental Hotel wearing only a towel. It is alleged that she was trying to leave the scene of a tantrum. Combs’ lawyer explained the video at the time, saying Ventura found evidence that the rapper had “more than one girlfriend” and that she hit him on the head with his cell phone and took off all his clothes.