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Good morning and welcome to the Daly Ohs. I'm Zara, and over the next little while, we're going to be bringing you a bonus series featuring our favorite deep dives from twenty twenty four. We've put together the best deep dives to listen to on the beach, road, tripping when you don't want to talk to the person next to you, or just reflecting on the year that was. Welcome to tda's summer series. Earlier this year, I'd say the world was really rocked by really severe allegations that were made
against a very prominent rapper, producer, and entrepreneur. His name is Sean Combs, but he goes by Diddy, and in today's deep Dive, we unpack all of the allegations that were leveled at diddy O for the past couple of months. Just a quick note, though, since we have recorded this episode, did he has been the subject of additional lawsuits. Those lawsuits are also accusing him of sexual assault. Those allegations are on top of the ones that we discuss in
this episode. But Did He has similarly rejected these accusations too. This continues to be an evolving story, which we will of course keep you updated on next year.
Okay, Zara, So today we are talking about Sean Diddy Comb's AKAP Diddy aka path Daddy, a string of allegations that he is currently facing. Now, this is a story that's completely rocked the music industry, the entertainment industry more broadly, and it has really far reaching implications. But let's start from the beginning. There are a lot of layers to this, as we'll get to for anyone who isn't familiar with this story with this man who is Diddy.
Okay, So Sean Diddy Combs, and you referred there to his many names. He's known as Puff Daddy, p Diddy, Puffy, and Diddy. He's a rapper and a producer, and just I think for clarity, we'll just call him Diddy throughout this podcast because I think that's how most people our age would know him and would certainly be familiar with him through that name. So did He founded bad Boy Records back in nineteen ninety three, and that was a really big music label that represented some of the world's
biggest and most famous rappers, including the Notorious Big. He's a three time Grammy Award winner. He's worked with people like Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Usher, and Faith Evans. He's also done a bit of acting. He starred in Monster's Ball, Get Him to the Greek and Draft Day. And I do really just want to say here, I'm not, you know, running through his resume for any reason, but
to show the extent of Ditty's power. He kind of had this power that wasn't just contained, as you said, to the music industry, but more broadly, he had really shaped the foundations of the entertainment industry.
And as a businessman, you might know him from Sarok vodka, like, he is an entrepreneur in many different industries.
Yes, so he was until very recently, one of the most powerful figures in the entertainment industry.
So you've mentioned there very poignantly until recently. So when did we first learn of the allegations against Diddy?
Yeah, So I think that it is important to go through this timeline because the news of this month didn't happen in a vacuum. There were previous allegations that kind of led to what happened earlier this month, and I'll get to that in a second, but we'll start with the first allegations that were leveled at Ditty, and they were in twenty twenty three, and they were made by former partner Cassandra Ventura. She's known as Cassie. She is a singer. So Cassie accused Ditty of sexual assault back
then in twenty twenty three. At the time, her lawyers described him as vicious, cruel and a controlling man. Did He denied all of the allegations, and just one day after Cassie filed that lawsuit, the matter was settled out of court. Then, in May of this year, CNN published I think what can only be labeled as very disturbing footage that appeared to show Diddy kicking and dragging Cassie in a hotel hallway that dated back to twenty sixteen.
In a video to Instagram, did He apologized for what he called his quote inexcusable behavior, but he didn't name Cassie in that statement. Cassie wasn't the only person to file legal action against Didty in recent years. Earlier this year, music producer Rodney Jones, who goes by Lil Rod, filed a lawsuit against him. Jones alleged that did he spiked the drinks of miners and sex workers at his homes in California, New York, Florida, and the US Virgin Islands.
When those allegations were made public, did he denied all of them. And then, if we're to follow this timeline, in March of this year, US authorities raided didt He's proper in both LA and Miami. Those were part of ongoing investigations by federal authorities that culminated in a lawsuit very recently. But what we've since found out is that at his homes, authorities uncovered things like firearms, ammunition, and also more than a thousand bottles of lubricant.
Okay, so that was in March. We knew that those police raids were going on, but we didn't really hear anything in the immediate aftermath of what was found. So since then we can assume investigators have been working on this case against him, looking at the evidence recovered from those homes. And earlier this month, did he was arrested and charged in New York?
Correct?
Can you talk me through the charges that are now being leveled against him?
Yeah, So, as you said, earlier this month, did He was arrested. It was then a day later that the charges that had been leveled at him were made public. So Damian Williams, who's the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the charges against did He in a public press conference. We found out that Didty was being charged with racketeering, conspiracy, sex trafficking by force,
fraud or coercion, and transportation to engage with prostitution. Here's a bit of the press conference when Williams announced those charges.
The indicatement alledges that between at least two thousand and eight and the present Comb's abused, threatened, and coerce victims to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct as a legend. The indictment to carry out this conduct Shaan colmbs led and participated in a racketeering conspiracy that used the business empire he controlled to carry out criminal activity.
Now, I know that there is a fair bit of legal jargon in those charges, so I think it's important to just explain what's being alleged here. Ultimately, what they're saying is that Diddy used his business empire to carry out this alleged criminal activity things including sex trafficking, forced labor, kit napping, ars and bribery, and the obstruction of justice.
Now, one of those charges, as you mentioned, uses the word racketeering. I think that's a word that kind of gets thrown around a lot. People don't really know what it means. But in this case, it just means making money from illegal activity. So the allegations are that Diddy has used his business empire for illegal activity, and he makes money through that empire and through that illegal activity exactly.
And as you said, that's one of the charges, but one of many charges. Authorities alleged that did he use the pretense of a romantic relationship to intimidate, threaten, and law female victims into his orbit. They alleged he would eventually force victims to engage in extended and elaborate sex
acts with male commercial sex workers. And that really goes to the heart of you know, what is being alleged here, which is that did he would host I don't want to use the word events, but that's really what is you here. He would call them freak offs, and according to the indictment, they were these highly orchestrated performances of sexual activity that took place in hotels and other places, and they were fueled by drugs and could go on
for days. And those freak offs are really at the center of these.
Allegations, and that's what's really captured the media's attention and public interest. It's also mentioned in the indictment that many of those quote unquote freak offs were filmed, and that Diddy would allegedly often film them himself. So he's observing women that he's allegedly lew it in under false pretenses into these sexual situations, that he films them for whatever purpose. That's also a really interesting part of this.
It is and I think it's important to note that this isn't the first time that the public had learned of these freak offs. It was actually also included in Cassie's original case that we spoke about earlier. In her civil lawsuit, she mentioned these free COFs. She alleged that during these incidents the free COFs, she was forced to have sex with male sex workers, while, as you said,
did he watched, masturbated and took photos and videos. She claimed that drugs were supplied at these events and that she took them so that she could quote disassociate during these horrific encounters. And so in this latest indictment we have once again heard of these same events that were echoed by Ditty's ex Cassie.
And also the indictment mentions or allegers that these freak COFs date back several decades. It's alleged that there is decades of abuse at the hands of Didy or organized by Diddy.
And according to the prosecutors, this is really where the racketeering allegation comes in. Because Williams, who I said, led that press conference earlier this month, said, did he used his business and employees of that business and other close associates to get his way. They booked the hotel rooms and stocked them with supplies, and when those hotel rooms
got damaged, they helped to clean it up. There they're referring to those freak off events, but also to the alleged role that his business associates played in those events.
So several really serious allegations in this federal indictment from these recent charges, some that have been alluded to before in other legal proceedings. Did he denied the allegations made by Cassie Ventura. How has he responded to these new charges.
Yeah, look, in much the same way. He's denied these allegations too. I mentioned earlier he was arrested, and after he was arrested, he pleaded not guilty to the chargers. That's then, you know, exposing the difference between this latest indictment and what Cassie's suit was, which was a civil suit not a criminal suit. So he was arrested in this instance. His lawyer has said that did he is innocent, that he will fight this until the end. His legal
team had a really interesting line in their statement. They said he is an imperfect person, but he's not a criminal, right, But they have said that he's looking forward to clearing his name. Did He is currently in jail. He was denied bail because they believed he was too much of a flight risk and that it could happen that he could intimidate witnesses. So he is currently sitting in jail.
And just an interesting, I think thing to notice that People magazine actually reported that he's in the same jail space as Sam Bankman Freed, who we've spoken about on this pod before, who was the FTX founder who was convicted of fraud crimes, the crypto King. Yeah, exactly. He's currently serving a very long sentence for the crimes that he was convicted of. But did he certainly hasn't been
convicted of anything yet. It's this pre trial. He's been denied bail and he will await, you know, that next court date to see what happens next.
The bail angle of this story is really interesting because it's pretty unusual for someone so high profile, who is so wealthy on paper, we know that, to not be given an opportunity to post that bail and to go and live their life while they await a court appearance. His lawyers have alleged that did he come to New York from his home in Miami in good faith as a measure to present himself to police to be arrested
to hear these charges. Now, if that had happened, did his lawyers say that it would have been nearly impossible for a judge to deny him bail. But before did he had a chance to hand himself in again, reportedly he was arrested. He was intercepted by authorities unexpectedly or a surprise arrest. Now that apparently makes it easier for a judge to deny him bail. So his lawyers are sort of suggesting some kind of conspiracy against their client, which I think is really interesting.
And his lawyers were pushing for that bail to be at around the fifty million dollar mine, but prosecutors pushed back, and it turns out that he has been denied bail and is currently in jail now.
In that press conference where we heard from Williams, who's with the US Attorney, he said specifically about the influence and the power of someone like Diddy that prosecutors wanted to very publicly show the community that it doesn't matter what kind of the rule of law exactly rounds above the law, no matter how wealthy or powerful you may be. Okay, so some extremely serious charges. If Ditty is found guilty, what sort of sentence is he looking at?
Yeah, well, I think because there are so many charges, it can vary quite dramatically, but it's been reported that what he's looking at if he is convicted is anywhere from fifteen years to life in prison. And you know, for someone as we started this podcast to go full circle, as someone who was at the top of an industry, you know, across the globe to be possibly facing life in prison. I mean, it's just it's a remarkable story.
What a lot of people are waiting to see next in this case is if there will be other celebrity names that fall with Ditty. So there are these rumors of these really lavish parties that Diddy was famous for hosting, these white parties where everyone all dressed in white. You might have seen some photos doing the rounds from the
nineties and the early noughties. You know, people like j Lo, jay Z, Beyonce, Kim Kardashian, other really high profile names who have been closely associated with Diddy for decades and who are yet to say anything. So, you know, what does that silence say in and of itself? Usha really interestingly, a close friend of Ditty, has wiped all of his ex history, so all of his previous Twitter posts have disappeared.
Now that move from Russia might have meant absolutely nothing, It might be about something completely different, But there are certainly corners of the Internet really waiting with bated breath to see what comes next.
Yeah, so interesting.
It's also worth mentioning Zara that separately, another lawsuit against Ditty was launched this week by a woman who claims she was raped by the rapper and producer and one of his security guards in the early two thousands. Her name is Tarlia Graves. She's suing Ditty for sexual assault and alleges that incident happened at the rappers music studios. As with Cassandra Ventura, this is a civil suit. Her lawyers said that holding those to account who had caused
Graves to suffer was long overdue. She is the eleventh person to sue Ditty for sexual abuse, and prosecutors have really reiterated calls in line with kind of the scale of these allegations. They've urged victims of Ditty's alleged abuse or anyone who knows anything about his alleged crimes to come forward and said quote, this investigation is far from over.
Thanks for listening to this episode of tda's summer series. Just a reminder that there is always help available, even over the holiday season. You can contact one eight hundred respect on one eight hundred seven three seven seven three to two.
My name is Lily Madden and I'm a proud Arunda bungelung calcotton woman from Gadighl country. The Daily oz acknowledges that this podcast is recorded on the lands of the Gadighl people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island and nations. We pay our respects to the first peoples of these countries, both past and present.