Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs pleaded not guilty on Friday to a new indictment, which added accusations that the hip-hop mogul forced employees to work long hours and threatened to punish those who did not assist in his two-decade sex trafficking scheme.
Combs (55) entered his plea to the new indictment before US district judge Arun Subramanian at a hearing in Manhattan federal court. A trial remains scheduled for May 5th.
With several of his family members looking on from the courtroom audience, Combs was led into the courtroom sporting grey hair, a grey beard and a baggy, tan jail outfit.
Combs previously pleaded not guilty to charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. While the new indictment added no new charges, it described what prosecutors called the “forced labour” that Combs demanded in connection with the 20-year alleged racketeering conspiracy.
It said Combs and his associates “maintained control” over some employees by forcing them to work long hours with little sleep, through the use of, or threats to use, physical force, financial harm, psychological harm and reputational harm.
Combs’s defence lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, has said his client never forced anyone to engage in sexual acts.
Prosecutors with the Manhattan US attorney’s office said Combs used his business empire, including his record label Bad Boy Entertainment, to sexually abuse women between 2004 and 2024.
Combs’s alleged abuse included having women take part in recorded sexual performances called “freak offs” with male sex workers, who were sometimes transported across state lines.
Agnifilo has said the freak offs were consensual sexual activity.
Combs also faces dozens of civil lawsuits by women and men who accused him of sexual assault and other misconduct. He has denied all wrongdoing.
At Friday’s hearing, Subarmanian said prospective jurors would begin filling out questionnaires on April 28th. In-person questioning of jurors will start on May 5th, with opening statements on May 12th, the judge said. Combs has been held in a Brooklyn jail awaiting trial since his September 2024 arrest.
Also known during his career as Puff Daddy and P Diddy, Combs founded Bad Boy Records and is credited with helping turn rappers and R&B singers such as Mary J Blige, Faith Evans, Notorious B.I.G. and Usher into stars in the 1990s and 2000s.
His career has been derailed since federal agents raided his Los Angeles and Miami Beach, Florida, homes in early 2024 as part of the sex trafficking investigation that led to his indictment. – Reuters
