Diddy trial opening statements: The key points summarized

The rap mogul faces life in prison if convicted.

The federal sex trafficking trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs officially began today (May 12) at Federal District Court presided by Judge Arun Subramanian in Lower Manhattan. The hip-hop mogul has been held without bail since his arrest on September 16, 2024; jury selection concluded today, and both the defense and prosecution delivered their opening statements. Here’s a breakdown of everything that was said.

What are Diddy’s charges?

Diddy faces five charges, including sex trafficking and racketeering, and could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted; he has pled not guilty to all charges.

Prosecutors allege that Combs has run a criminal enterprise since 2008. From the indictment: “Members and associates of the Combs Enterprise engaged in, and attempted to engage in, among other activities, sex trafficking, forced labor, interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution, coercion and enticement to engage in prostitution, narcotics offenses, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice.”

Diddy’s legal troubles began in November 2023 when singer Cassie filed a lawsuit alleging rape and physical abuse, choosing to settle the following day. Since then, Diddy has faced dozens of separate civil lawsuits alleging sexual assault, physical violence. He has denied all charges.

The prosecution alleges Diddy was an abuser at the head of a “criminal enterprise”

Federal prosecutor Emily Johnson delivered the government’s opening statement on Monday morning to a courtroom gallery; members of Diddy’s family were reportedly present for the beginning of proceedings.

“This is Sean Combs,” Johnson told the Manhattan jury according to the CBC. “To the public he was Puff Daddy or Diddy. A cultural icon. A businessman. Larger than life. But there was another side to him. A side that ran a criminal enterprise.”

She continued: “During this trial you are going to hear about 20 years of the defendant’s crimes. But he didn’t do it alone. He had an inner circle of bodyguards and high-ranking employees who helped him commit crimes and cover them up.”

According to CNN, Johnson claimed Diddy and his entourage engaged in “kidnapping, arson, drugs, sex crimes, bribery and obstruction,” and pointed to his relationship with Cassie Ventura, a former girlfriend who was filmed being assaulted by Diddy in 2016 – video of the incident emerged in 2024, shortly before Diddy’s arrest.

Cassie has accused Diddy of rape and physical abuse throughout their relationship, and is expected to take the stand as a witness during the trial. Though the 2016 attack is unrelated to Diddy’s trafficking charges, the prosecution will use the video as evidence of Diddy’s propensity for using physical violence to force women to do his bidding. At least three accusers will testify, CNN reports, as well as former business partners and sex workers.

Cassie and a second woman, known pseudonymously as Jane Doe, are alleged to have been forced into engage in the notorious sex parties known as “Freak Offs.” In her statement, Johnson said Diddy forced Cassie to have sex with male escorts and filmed the encounters to use as blackmail. “Half of every week Cassie was in a dark hotel room high and awake for days performing sex acts she did not want to do on male escorts,” Johnson said, claiming the Freak Offs “lasted multiple days and they involved multiple escorts.”

Johnson implied that the defence will seek to paint a “complicated” picture of their relationship with both parties acting “unfaithful, jealous, and at times angry.”

“But only one of them had power. Only one of them had control,” Johnson said. “And that was the defendant. And with that power and with that control, he made Cassie do his bidding in those dark hotel rooms.”

The defence claims he’s an innocent if imperfect man

Diddy’s attorney Teny Geragos painted a very different picture of her client, claiming in her opening statement that any sexual encounter that occured was consensual. “Sean Combs is a complicated man but this is not a complicated case,” she said. “This case is about love, jealousy, infidelity and money. This case is about voluntary adult choices made by capable adults in consensual relationships.”

Geragos acknowledged that the 2016 video of Diddy’s assault on Cassie was “indefensible,” but not evidence of trafficking. Their 11 year relationship, Geragos insisted, was evidence that the relationship was not abusive. “She made a choice, every single day for years — a choice to stay with him, a choice to fight for him, because for 11 years, that was the better choice. That was her preferred choice.”

“Sean Combs has a temper and when he drank and took the wrong drugs he got violent,” Geragos said. “He’s not charged with being a jerk or being mean – he’s charged with running a criminal enterprise.”

In a September 2024 raid on Diddy’s home, federal agents seized over 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant from the property. Gergaos referenced this haul in her statement: “You may know of his love of baby oil. Is that a federal crime? No.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.