As jury choice received underway on Monday for Sean “Diddy” Combs’ intercourse trafficking trial, potential jurors stated that they had heard news about allegations in opposition to the hip-hop mogul, seen a video of him allegedly assaulting a lady, and even heard a comic joke concerning the child oil authorities say they present in his residences.
But merely having adopted prior media protection concerning the case was not sufficient for them to be excused from probably serving on the jury for the two-month trial of Combs, 55, on fees of racketeering conspiracy, intercourse trafficking, and transportation to have interaction in prostitution. He has pleaded not responsible.
This week, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian in Manhattan is questioning potential jurors one-by-one, a course of often called voir dire, in a bid to seat a panel of 12 jurors and 6 alternates who could be honest and neutral to either side regardless of heavy media protection of the case thus far.
With Combs trying on carrying darkish glasses and sporting a salt-and-pepper goatee, one juror stated that they had seen a video on the news that confirmed Combs allegedly assaulting somebody in a resort. Subramanian determined that juror, known as Juror No. 5, was certified for the panel after they assured the choose they might be a “blank slate entering this courtroom.”
A potential juror was dismissed after writing in a screening questionnaire final week {that a} nonetheless picture that they had seen under a news headline of a lady on the ground in a resort hallway and Combs standing close to her “could be damning evidence.”
Last 12 months, CNN broadcast surveillance footage of what it stated was a 2016 incident by which Combs attacked his former girlfriend, the R&B singer Casandra Ventura, within the hallway of a Los Angeles resort. Combs apologized after the footage aired.
The jury might be nameless, which is often the case in high-profile trials by which jurors may face threats or harassment if their identities are recognized. Subramanian’s objective in voir dire is to decide on 45 potential jurors who’re certified to serve, and attorneys for either side will then have the chance to dismiss jurors with out stating a purpose.
Prosecutors have stated the incident depicted within the resort surveillance video was proof of how Combs used pressure and threats over a two-decade interval to coerce ladies to participate in days-long, drug-fueled sexual performances with male intercourse employees, which the mogul referred to as “Freak Offs.”
Prosecutors say workers of Combs’ enterprise empire helped the “Freak Offs,” together with by reserving resort rooms, shopping for managed substances and different gadgets used throughout intercourse, and serving to him cowl up the exercise. During raids of Combs’ houses, authorities discovered medicine and 1,000 bottles of child oil and lubricant, prosecutors stated.
One potential juror stated that they had “liked” a video on social media by which a comic joked about Combs and child oil.
“I remember liking it because I thought it was funny,” stated the juror, who Subramanian determined was certified after they stated they might be capable of put the video apart and be neutral.
Combs’ attorneys say the resort surveillance video depicted a home dispute over infidelity and was not proof of intercourse trafficking. They are anticipated to argue that the sexual exercise described by prosecutors was consensual.
Opening statements in Combs trial are scheduled for May 12.
Once recognized for elevating hip-hop in American tradition and internet hosting lavish events for the cultural elite within the Hamptons and Saint-Tropez, Combs is the newest highly effective man within the leisure trade to be accused of sexual misconduct because the #MeToo motion inspired ladies to talk up about abuse.
His rags-to-riches life story noticed the New York City native transfer from an upbringing by a single mom to residing in mansions in Los Angeles and Miami. Since September he has been held at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, about an hour by subway from the Harlem neighborhood the place he was born.
If convicted on all counts, Combs faces a compulsory minimal of 15 years in jail and will face life in jail.
© Thomson Reuters 2025.