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  • 7/3/2025
Lisa Bloom says the jury verdict in the Diddy sex trafficking trial is a gut punch she hasn't felt since O.J. Simpson was acquitted in his murder trial.

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00:00In my opinion, this is one of the most disappointing verdicts for sexual assault victims
00:06since OJ. It's really hard to see a man who was caught on video beating, kicking, dragging
00:14his girlfriend, essentially only be convicted of relatively minor prostitution charges. But
00:20the jury just didn't feel that the prosecution had it beyond a reasonable doubt on the top
00:24charges. And we'll just have to respect that decision. On the celebrity thing, I would say
00:28that, you know, I've been suing celebrities for many, many years, billionaire bullies. I've
00:34been following high profile cases for many years, and it's definitely an advantage in
00:38the system. And in this case, particularly, I was in the courtroom in Manhattan for jury
00:42selection. And what was highly unusual about this case was how many jurors wanted to be
00:48on the jury. Usually jurors are doing everything possible to get out of jury duty. I have a
00:54doctor's appointment, I have kids at home and no childcare, or I have a job and I won't
00:59get paid. Some of these jurors said that, but then they went on to say, but I can still
01:03do it, right? So this is a case where they really wanted to be on the jury, I'm sure because
01:07of the celebrity nature of it. And was that a factor? I mean, I have to be suspicious.
01:13What arguments or tactics did you think they use that were surprisingly effective, if any?
01:19Well, listen, they had text messages from the victims indicating that they wanted the
01:27relationship with Sean Combs. They even wanted some of the hotel nights or freak offs. You
01:33know, having represented victims for 40 years, I know that it's very common for victims to
01:38say what the bully or the abuser wants to hear. We also know that Cassie, when she tried to leave
01:45the relationship, she said that she was threatened. And that's typically the most dangerous time for a
01:50victim is trying to leave our relationship. So there's a lot of understanding that people have
01:55to have about trauma and domestic violence. And, you know, it'll be interesting to hear from the jury
02:01what sunk in for them, what they found to be important and what they put aside. So I never think
02:07that one case really means very much for an entire movement. And while it's a disappointing day for
02:12victims, I want to say to everyone that the Me Too movement is not about one case. It's about
02:18millions of women and men all over the world who are standing up, who are speaking truth to power
02:24about their experiences, who are going forward, who are getting accountability. This is not a
02:29bellwether for an entire movement. It's one case decided on its own facts, decided on the specific law
02:34that the government chose to bring against Mr. Combs. We have to just keep pushing on. We have to keep
02:39trying to get accountability. We're not going to always win in the justice system. But overall,
02:44we are moving forward in terms of our understanding of sexual abuse and getting accountability against
02:50bullies and abusers.

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