Diddy Trial Underway: Jury Selection Poses Significant Obstacle

Jury selection begins Monday in the long-awaited sex trafficking trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs, marking the first courtroom test of whether the influential music mogul used his vast wealth and industry power to sexually exploit women over decades. The federal case against Combs—who has gone by Puffy, Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, and now Love—presents a dramatic fall for one of hip-hop’s most iconic and once-untouchable figures.

Federal prosecutors in New York allege that Combs, 55, operated a criminal enterprise that trafficked women for sex through coercion, threats, and manipulation, using the music, clothing, and spirits empires he built as both cover and leverage. At the center of the five-count indictment are disturbing claims of drug-fueled “freak offs” with male prostitutes, threats of retaliation, and post-event IV treatments used to recover from the physical toll.

“After Freak Offs, Combs and the victims typically received IV fluids to recover from the physical exertion and drug use,” the indictment reads.

Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation for prostitution. His attorneys argue all encounters were consensual and part of a “swinger lifestyle,” describing the accusations as criminalizing personal behavior common in certain social circles. “There’s a lifestyle, call it swingers, that he was in… because it’s so common,” attorney Marc Agnifilo said at a recent hearing.

The trial’s opening coincides with the annual Met Gala, where Combs was once a red-carpet staple. Potential jurors have already submitted written questionnaires to gauge their knowledge of the case and readiness to sit through the anticipated two-month trial, which will involve graphic and explicit testimony.

A key piece of evidence is a hotel surveillance video—first aired by CNN in 2024—that shows Combs violently assaulting then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in 2016. That video and Ventura’s subsequent civil lawsuit, which was settled without admission of wrongdoing, sparked the criminal investigation that led to Combs’ indictment and arrest last September. Combs later acknowledged the video, saying, “I make no excuses… I take full responsibility for my actions in that video.”

Ventura is expected to testify, along with three other alleged victims, two under pseudonyms. Prosecutors will also introduce evidence seized from Combs’ homes during Homeland Security raids, including electronic devices and AR-15-style rifles with defaced serial numbers.

In a dramatic pretrial moment, prosecutors reportedly offered Combs a plea deal that would have spared him a lengthy prison term. When asked in court if he rejected it, Combs replied, “Yes I do, Your Honor.”

The music executive will appear before jurors in civilian clothes, though he remains in custody and has appeared in prior hearings wearing jail-issued beige garb. His family, including his mother, is expected to be in court during the trial.

Combs’ high-powered defense team includes Agnifilo and Teny Geragos, both veterans of the NXIVM cult trial; Brian Steel, who represents rapper Young Thug; and appellate specialist Alexandra Shapiro, who also defends crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried.

The prosecution team is led by Maureen Comey—who helped convict Ghislaine Maxwell—alongside seasoned federal prosecutors Emily Johnson, Mitzi Steiner, Madison Smyser, and Christy Slavik, who brings extensive gang-crime experience.

The trial promises to be a landmark legal battle—one that could reshape the legacy of a man who once called himself the “Bad Boy for Life,” and now faces the very real possibility of life behind bars.