Speaker 1: Already and this this is the daily This is the
Speaker 1: Daily os oh.
Speaker 2: Now it makes sense.
Speaker 1: Good morning and welcome to the Daly Ohs. I'm Zara,
Speaker 1: and over the next little while, we're going to be
Speaker 1: bringing you a bonus series featuring our favorite deep dives
Speaker 1: from twenty twenty four. We've put together the best deep
Speaker 1: dives to listen to on the beach, road, tripping when
Speaker 1: you don't want to talk to the person next to you,
Speaker 1: or just reflecting on the year that was. Welcome to
Speaker 1: tda's summer series. Earlier this year, I'd say the world
Speaker 1: was really rocked by really severe allegations that were made
Speaker 1: against a very prominent rapper, producer, and entrepreneur. His name
Speaker 1: is Sean Combs, but he goes by Diddy, and in
Speaker 1: today's deep Dive, we unpack all of the allegations that
Speaker 1: were leveled at diddy O for the past couple of months.
Speaker 1: Just a quick note, though, since we have recorded this episode,
Speaker 1: did he has been the subject of additional lawsuits. Those
Speaker 1: lawsuits are also accusing him of sexual assault. Those allegations
Speaker 1: are on top of the ones that we discuss in
Speaker 1: this episode. But Did He has similarly rejected these accusations too.
Speaker 1: This continues to be an evolving story, which we will
Speaker 1: of course keep you updated on next year.
Speaker 2: Okay, Zara, So today we are talking about Sean Diddy
Speaker 2: Comb's AKAP Diddy aka path Daddy, a string of allegations
Speaker 2: that he is currently facing. Now, this is a story
Speaker 2: that's completely rocked the music industry, the entertainment industry more broadly,
Speaker 2: and it has really far reaching implications. But let's start
Speaker 2: from the beginning. There are a lot of layers to this,
Speaker 2: as we'll get to for anyone who isn't familiar with
Speaker 2: this story with this man who is Diddy.
Speaker 1: Okay, So Sean Diddy Combs, and you referred there to
Speaker 1: his many names. He's known as Puff Daddy, p Diddy, Puffy,
Speaker 1: and Diddy. He's a rapper and a producer, and just
Speaker 1: I think for clarity, we'll just call him Diddy throughout
Speaker 1: this podcast because I think that's how most people our
Speaker 1: age would know him and would certainly be familiar with
Speaker 1: him through that name. So did He founded bad Boy
Speaker 1: Records back in nineteen ninety three, and that was a
Speaker 1: really big music label that represented some of the world's
Speaker 1: biggest and most famous rappers, including the Notorious Big. He's
Speaker 1: a three time Grammy Award winner. He's worked with people
Speaker 1: like Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Usher, and Faith Evans.
Speaker 1: He's also done a bit of acting. He starred in
Speaker 1: Monster's Ball, Get Him to the Greek and Draft Day.
Speaker 1: And I do really just want to say here, I'm not,
Speaker 1: you know, running through his resume for any reason, but
Speaker 1: to show the extent of Ditty's power. He kind of
Speaker 1: had this power that wasn't just contained, as you said,
Speaker 1: to the music industry, but more broadly, he had really
Speaker 1: shaped the foundations of the entertainment industry.
Speaker 2: And as a businessman, you might know him from Sarok vodka, like,
Speaker 2: he is an entrepreneur in many different industries.
Speaker 1: Yes, so he was until very recently, one of the
Speaker 1: most powerful figures in the entertainment industry.
Speaker 2: So you've mentioned there very poignantly until recently. So when
Speaker 2: did we first learn of the allegations against Diddy?
Speaker 1: Yeah, So I think that it is important to go
Speaker 1: through this timeline because the news of this month didn't
Speaker 1: happen in a vacuum. There were previous allegations that kind
Speaker 1: of led to what happened earlier this month, and I'll
Speaker 1: get to that in a second, but we'll start with
Speaker 1: the first allegations that were leveled at Ditty, and they
Speaker 1: were in twenty twenty three, and they were made by
Speaker 1: former partner Cassandra Ventura. She's known as Cassie. She is
Speaker 1: a singer. So Cassie accused Ditty of sexual assault back
Speaker 1: then in twenty twenty three. At the time, her lawyers
Speaker 1: described him as vicious, cruel and a controlling man. Did
Speaker 1: He denied all of the allegations, and just one day
Speaker 1: after Cassie filed that lawsuit, the matter was settled out
Speaker 1: of court. Then, in May of this year, CNN published
Speaker 1: I think what can only be labeled as very disturbing
Speaker 1: footage that appeared to show Diddy kicking and dragging Cassie
Speaker 1: in a hotel hallway that dated back to twenty sixteen.
Speaker 1: In a video to Instagram, did He apologized for what
Speaker 1: he called his quote inexcusable behavior, but he didn't name
Speaker 1: Cassie in that statement. Cassie wasn't the only person to
Speaker 1: file legal action against Didty in recent years. Earlier this year,
Speaker 1: music producer Rodney Jones, who goes by Lil Rod, filed
Speaker 1: a lawsuit against him. Jones alleged that did he spiked
Speaker 1: the drinks of miners and sex workers at his homes
Speaker 1: in California, New York, Florida, and the US Virgin Islands.
Speaker 1: When those allegations were made public, did he denied all
Speaker 1: of them. And then, if we're to follow this timeline,
Speaker 1: in March of this year, US authorities raided didt He's
Speaker 1: proper in both LA and Miami. Those were part of
Speaker 1: ongoing investigations by federal authorities that culminated in a lawsuit
Speaker 1: very recently. But what we've since found out is that
Speaker 1: at his homes, authorities uncovered things like firearms, ammunition, and
Speaker 1: also more than a thousand bottles of lubricant.
Speaker 2: Okay, so that was in March. We knew that those
Speaker 2: police raids were going on, but we didn't really hear
Speaker 2: anything in the immediate aftermath of what was found. So
Speaker 2: since then we can assume investigators have been working on
Speaker 2: this case against him, looking at the evidence recovered from
Speaker 2: those homes. And earlier this month, did he was arrested
Speaker 2: and charged in New York?
Speaker 1: Correct?
Speaker 2: Can you talk me through the charges that are now
Speaker 2: being leveled against him?
Speaker 1: Yeah, So, as you said, earlier this month, did He
Speaker 1: was arrested. It was then a day later that the
Speaker 1: charges that had been leveled at him were made public.
Speaker 1: So Damian Williams, who's the US Attorney for the Southern
Speaker 1: District of New York, announced the charges against did He
Speaker 1: in a public press conference. We found out that Didty
Speaker 1: was being charged with racketeering, conspiracy, sex trafficking by force,
Speaker 1: fraud or coercion, and transportation to engage with prostitution. Here's
Speaker 1: a bit of the press conference when Williams announced those charges.
Speaker 3: The indicatement alledges that between at least two thousand and
Speaker 3: eight and the present Comb's abused, threatened, and coerce victims
Speaker 3: to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal
Speaker 3: his conduct as a legend. The indictment to carry out
Speaker 3: this conduct Shaan colmbs led and participated in a racketeering
Speaker 3: conspiracy that used the business empire he controlled to carry
Speaker 3: out criminal activity.
Speaker 1: Now, I know that there is a fair bit of
Speaker 1: legal jargon in those charges, so I think it's important
Speaker 1: to just explain what's being alleged here. Ultimately, what they're
Speaker 1: saying is that Diddy used his business empire to carry
Speaker 1: out this alleged criminal activity things including sex trafficking, forced labor,
Speaker 1: kit napping, ars and bribery, and the obstruction of justice.
Speaker 2: Now, one of those charges, as you mentioned, uses the
Speaker 2: word racketeering. I think that's a word that kind of
Speaker 2: gets thrown around a lot. People don't really know what
Speaker 2: it means. But in this case, it just means making
Speaker 2: money from illegal activity. So the allegations are that Diddy
Speaker 2: has used his business empire for illegal activity, and he
Speaker 2: makes money through that empire and through that illegal activity exactly.
Speaker 1: And as you said, that's one of the charges, but
Speaker 1: one of many charges. Authorities alleged that did he use
Speaker 1: the pretense of a romantic relationship to intimidate, threaten, and
Speaker 1: law female victims into his orbit. They alleged he would
Speaker 1: eventually force victims to engage in extended and elaborate sex
Speaker 1: acts with male commercial sex workers. And that really goes
Speaker 1: to the heart of you know, what is being alleged here,
Speaker 1: which is that did he would host I don't want
Speaker 1: to use the word events, but that's really what is
Speaker 1: you here. He would call them freak offs, and according
Speaker 1: to the indictment, they were these highly orchestrated performances of
Speaker 1: sexual activity that took place in hotels and other places,
Speaker 1: and they were fueled by drugs and could go on
Speaker 1: for days. And those freak offs are really at the
Speaker 1: center of these.
Speaker 2: Allegations, and that's what's really captured the media's attention and
Speaker 2: public interest. It's also mentioned in the indictment that many
Speaker 2: of those quote unquote freak offs were filmed, and that
Speaker 2: Diddy would allegedly often film them himself. So he's observing
Speaker 2: women that he's allegedly lew it in under false pretenses
Speaker 2: into these sexual situations, that he films them for whatever purpose.
Speaker 2: That's also a really interesting part of this.
Speaker 1: It is and I think it's important to note that
Speaker 1: this isn't the first time that the public had learned
Speaker 1: of these freak offs. It was actually also included in
Speaker 1: Cassie's original case that we spoke about earlier. In her
Speaker 1: civil lawsuit, she mentioned these free COFs. She alleged that
Speaker 1: during these incidents the free COFs, she was forced to
Speaker 1: have sex with male sex workers, while, as you said,
Speaker 1: did he watched, masturbated and took photos and videos. She
Speaker 1: claimed that drugs were supplied at these events and that
Speaker 1: she took them so that she could quote disassociate during
Speaker 1: these horrific encounters. And so in this latest indictment we
Speaker 1: have once again heard of these same events that were
Speaker 1: echoed by Ditty's ex Cassie.
Speaker 2: And also the indictment mentions or allegers that these freak
Speaker 2: COFs date back several decades. It's alleged that there is
Speaker 2: decades of abuse at the hands of Didy or organized
Speaker 2: by Diddy.
Speaker 1: And according to the prosecutors, this is really where the
Speaker 1: racketeering allegation comes in. Because Williams, who I said, led
Speaker 1: that press conference earlier this month, said, did he used
Speaker 1: his business and employees of that business and other close
Speaker 1: associates to get his way. They booked the hotel rooms
Speaker 1: and stocked them with supplies, and when those hotel rooms
Speaker 1: got damaged, they helped to clean it up. There they're
Speaker 1: referring to those freak off events, but also to the
Speaker 1: alleged role that his business associates played in those events.
Speaker 2: So several really serious allegations in this federal indictment from
Speaker 2: these recent charges, some that have been alluded to before
Speaker 2: in other legal proceedings. Did he denied the allegations made
Speaker 2: by Cassie Ventura. How has he responded to these new charges.
Speaker 1: Yeah, look, in much the same way. He's denied these
Speaker 1: allegations too. I mentioned earlier he was arrested, and after
Speaker 1: he was arrested, he pleaded not guilty to the chargers.
Speaker 1: That's then, you know, exposing the difference between this latest
Speaker 1: indictment and what Cassie's suit was, which was a civil
Speaker 1: suit not a criminal suit. So he was arrested in
Speaker 1: this instance. His lawyer has said that did he is innocent,
Speaker 1: that he will fight this until the end. His legal
Speaker 1: team had a really interesting line in their statement. They
Speaker 1: said he is an imperfect person, but he's not a criminal, right,
Speaker 1: But they have said that he's looking forward to clearing
Speaker 1: his name. Did He is currently in jail. He was
Speaker 1: denied bail because they believed he was too much of
Speaker 1: a flight risk and that it could happen that he
Speaker 1: could intimidate witnesses. So he is currently sitting in jail.
Speaker 1: And just an interesting, I think thing to notice that
Speaker 1: People magazine actually reported that he's in the same jail
Speaker 1: space as Sam Bankman Freed, who we've spoken about on
Speaker 1: this pod before, who was the FTX founder who was
Speaker 1: convicted of fraud crimes, the crypto King. Yeah, exactly. He's
Speaker 1: currently serving a very long sentence for the crimes that
Speaker 1: he was convicted of. But did he certainly hasn't been
Speaker 1: convicted of anything yet. It's this pre trial. He's been
Speaker 1: denied bail and he will await, you know, that next
Speaker 1: court date to see what happens next.
Speaker 2: The bail angle of this story is really interesting because
Speaker 2: it's pretty unusual for someone so high profile, who is
Speaker 2: so wealthy on paper, we know that, to not be
Speaker 2: given an opportunity to post that bail and to go
Speaker 2: and live their life while they await a court appearance.
Speaker 2: His lawyers have alleged that did he come to New
Speaker 2: York from his home in Miami in good faith as
Speaker 2: a measure to present himself to police to be arrested
Speaker 2: to hear these charges. Now, if that had happened, did
Speaker 2: his lawyers say that it would have been nearly impossible
Speaker 2: for a judge to deny him bail. But before did
Speaker 2: he had a chance to hand himself in again, reportedly
Speaker 2: he was arrested. He was intercepted by authorities unexpectedly or
Speaker 2: a surprise arrest. Now that apparently makes it easier for
Speaker 2: a judge to deny him bail. So his lawyers are
Speaker 2: sort of suggesting some kind of conspiracy against their client,
Speaker 2: which I think is really interesting.
Speaker 1: And his lawyers were pushing for that bail to be
Speaker 1: at around the fifty million dollar mine, but prosecutors pushed back,
Speaker 1: and it turns out that he has been denied bail
Speaker 1: and is currently in jail now.
Speaker 2: In that press conference where we heard from Williams, who's
Speaker 2: with the US Attorney, he said specifically about the influence
Speaker 2: and the power of someone like Diddy that prosecutors wanted
Speaker 2: to very publicly show the community that it doesn't matter
Speaker 2: what kind of the rule of law exactly rounds above
Speaker 2: the law, no matter how wealthy or powerful you may be. Okay,
Speaker 2: so some extremely serious charges. If Ditty is found guilty,
Speaker 2: what sort of sentence is he looking at?
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, I think because there are so many charges,
Speaker 1: it can vary quite dramatically, but it's been reported that
Speaker 1: what he's looking at if he is convicted is anywhere
Speaker 1: from fifteen years to life in prison. And you know,
Speaker 1: for someone as we started this podcast to go full circle,
Speaker 1: as someone who was at the top of an industry,
Speaker 1: you know, across the globe to be possibly facing life
Speaker 1: in prison. I mean, it's just it's a remarkable story.
Speaker 2: What a lot of people are waiting to see next
Speaker 2: in this case is if there will be other celebrity
Speaker 2: names that fall with Ditty. So there are these rumors
Speaker 2: of these really lavish parties that Diddy was famous for hosting,
Speaker 2: these white parties where everyone all dressed in white. You
Speaker 2: might have seen some photos doing the rounds from the
Speaker 2: nineties and the early noughties. You know, people like j Lo,
Speaker 2: jay Z, Beyonce, Kim Kardashian, other really high profile names
Speaker 2: who have been closely associated with Diddy for decades and
Speaker 2: who are yet to say anything. So, you know, what
Speaker 2: does that silence say in and of itself? Usha really interestingly,
Speaker 2: a close friend of Ditty, has wiped all of his
Speaker 2: ex history, so all of his previous Twitter posts have disappeared.
Speaker 2: Now that move from Russia might have meant absolutely nothing,
Speaker 2: It might be about something completely different, But there are
Speaker 2: certainly corners of the Internet really waiting with bated breath
Speaker 2: to see what comes next.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so interesting.
Speaker 2: It's also worth mentioning Zara that separately, another lawsuit against
Speaker 2: Ditty was launched this week by a woman who claims
Speaker 2: she was raped by the rapper and producer and one
Speaker 2: of his security guards in the early two thousands. Her
Speaker 2: name is Tarlia Graves. She's suing Ditty for sexual assault
Speaker 2: and alleges that incident happened at the rappers music studios.
Speaker 2: As with Cassandra Ventura, this is a civil suit. Her
Speaker 2: lawyers said that holding those to account who had caused
Speaker 2: Graves to suffer was long overdue. She is the eleventh
Speaker 2: person to sue Ditty for sexual abuse, and prosecutors have
Speaker 2: really reiterated calls in line with kind of the scale
Speaker 2: of these allegations. They've urged victims of Ditty's alleged abuse
Speaker 2: or anyone who knows anything about his alleged crimes to
Speaker 2: come forward and said quote, this investigation is far from over.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to this episode of tda's summer series.
Speaker 1: Just a reminder that there is always help available, even
Speaker 1: over the holiday season. You can contact one eight hundred
Speaker 1: respect on one eight hundred seven three seven seven three
Speaker 1: to two.
Speaker 3: My name is Lily Madden and I'm a proud Arunda
Speaker 3: bungelung calcotton woman from Gadighl country. The Daily oz acknowledges
Speaker 3: that this podcast is recorded on the lands of the
Speaker 3: Gadighl people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and Torres
Speaker 3: Strait Island and nations. We pay our respects to the
Speaker 3: first peoples of these countries, both past and present.