P. Diddy Trial: Behind the Glamour, the Seamy Side of a Music Superstar

He is accused of running a decades-long trafficking ring involving drugs, pimping, and violence. The sex trafficking trial of rapper Sean Combs, better known as Puff Daddy or P. Diddy, begins this Monday, May 5th in the United States, and is likely to shake up the world of American show business.

A key figure in global hip-hop, Sean Combs co-founded the Bad Boy Records label in 1993, which produced several major rap stars, including The Notorious B.I.G. He also achieved global solo success with I'll Be Missing You , but his career was quickly marred by violent incidents. In 1999, he was involved in a shooting at a New York nightclub. Charged with gun possession and attempted bribery, he was eventually acquitted.

A savvy entrepreneur, Sean Combs bounced back and expanded his influence beyond music in the 2000s with a clothing brand, a TV network, and a vodka brand. He performed at the Super Bowl in 2004, won three Grammy Awards , received a star on the Walk of Fame in 2008, and in 2017, became the highest-paid celebrity according to Forbes .

In 2023, everything fell apart. On November 16, singer Cassie Ventura, his ex-partner, filed a complaint against him for rape, battery, and prolonged abuse. A few months later, CNN broadcast a 2016 surveillance video in which Sean Combs is seen violently beating the young woman in a hotel hallway.

Although the case was quickly settled with a confidential agreement, it opened the way to a wave of complaints: dozens of men and women, some of whom were minors at the time of the alleged events, accused Sean Combs of rape, violence, and abuse while under the influence of drugs. Two New York laws, the Adult Survivors Act and the Victims of Gender Motivated Violence Protection Law, enacted in 2022 and 2023 and allowing alleged victims of statute-barred sexual violence to come forward, facilitated the liberation of speech.

In March 2024, a search of Sean Combs's home revealed 96 electronic devices containing video evidence filmed by the rapper himself of an organized sexual exploitation scheme. On September 16, 2024, he was arrested in a Manhattan hotel. The following day, an indictment for sex trafficking and conspiracy was unsealed. The prosecution described a veritable "grinding machine," claiming that the rapper used his network of businesses—including Bad Boy Records—to keep his alleged victims under control through intimidation, surveillance, and addiction. His lawyers denounced an "unfair prosecution of an imperfect man," emphasizing their client's "libertine" lifestyle.

This trial could last at least ten weeks. "Influential people will be exposed and horrible secrets will be revealed," said Tony Buzbee, the lawyer for the alleged victims. Before finding himself behind bars, Sean Combs was known for his famous "White Parties," legendary white parties, where the cream of the American film and music industry jostled. It was behind this glamorous screen that the rapper allegedly organized "Freak offs" for certain "hand-picked " guests , which allegedly involved drugs, prostitution, the presence of minors , gang rapes and chemical submission.

On social media, content creators, conspiracy theorists, and 2.0 investigators are scrutinizing the photos of these high-society parties. From singer Jennifer Lopez to actor Leonardo DiCaprio , attendees are being singled out, suspected of being either witnesses or guilty parties. Sean Combs has also developed close ties over the years with American political and philanthropic circles, particularly Democratic ones. These positions, fueled by numerous fraudulent photomontages, have led to the case being exploited by the pro-Trump camp. Even though the 47th President of the United States himself spent a long time with the rapper before entering politics.