As Jury Selection Begins, Here’s What to Know About Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Sex Trafficking Case

Jury selection began Monday in the sex trafficking case against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, the musician facing charges related to his alleged “freak offs.”

Transcript

00:00Jury selections underway for Sean Diddy Combs in his sex trafficking trial in New York City.

00:05Now dozens of New Yorkers came to court in Manhattan.

00:08They previously felled out questionnaires and then lawyers and the judge questioned them individually

00:13about their understanding and awareness of the case and the evidence

00:16and also whether they were familiar with any of the many, many names that may come up during this trial.

00:22Some of those names include celebrities, musicians, and actors.

00:25Combs has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering charges.

00:29He's been in federal custody in jail in Brooklyn since September of 2024.

00:34In his previous appearances, he came to court in a jail jumpsuit.

00:39But for this trial, he's allowed to wear street clothes, a sweater, a button-down shirt.

00:44That said, he's not allowed to have hair dye in jail, and so in court, his hair and his goatee are almost fully gray.

00:53During the jury selection process, some prospective jurors said they had seen some of the key pieces of evidence

00:59that will be displayed at this trial.

01:03Several said they had watched the video, the now infamous video, of Combs assaulting his then-girlfriend Cassie

01:10at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016.

01:13One woman who said she saw a still image of that video called it damning evidence.

01:18That woman was not selected for the jury.

01:22The judge said she expects this trial to take eight weeks, and prosecutors say they expect

01:28to call four accusers to the witness stand.

01:31The crux of the case involves what prosecutors say were freak-offs, parties where Sean Combs

01:37allegedly engaged in misconduct with partners, other women, and sex workers.