Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

Sean Combs, also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, and Diddy, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and entrepreneur. Born on Nov. 4, 1969, Combs was raised in Mount Vernon, New York. He worked as a talent director at Uptown Records before founding his own record label, Bad Boy Entertainment, in 1993. Combs has produced and cultivated artists such as The Notorious B.I.G., and has won three Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards, and is the producer of MTV's Making the Band. He is also known for his business ventures in the spirits, clothing, and media industries.

Combs has attempted to rebrand himself as “Brother Love” in recent years, even changing his middle name to Love, but he has a prolonged history of violence, dating back to the Nineties.

In November 2023, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura kicked off what became a tsunami of accusations against Combs with a lawsuit against Combs in New York federal court that included graphic claims of sexual assault, physical abuse, and an allegation that Combs, her ex-boyfriend, would force her to have sex with male sex workers while he watched. The two reached an “amicable” settlement for an undisclosed amount on Nov. 17

Combs was arrested and indicted Sept. 17, 2024 on charges of sex trafficking by force, racketeering conspiracy, fraud or coercion and transporting for prostitution.  The indictment alleges that Combs “used force, threats of force and coercion, to cause victims to engage in extended sex acts with male commercial sex workers that Combs referred to as, among other things, ‘Freak Offs.’”

Following an eight-week trial in the Southern District of New York, Combs was acquitted on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy July 2. However, he was found guilty on the lesser prostitution charges. He is awaiting his Oct. 3 sentencing at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.