September 25, 2024 • 19 mins
Earlier this month, Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs was denied bail after he was charged with sex trafficking and a slew of other crimes. Investigators accused Combs of using his “business empire” to cover up decades of abuse against women “to fulfil his sexual desires” and “protect his reputation”. In today’s podcast, we explain the timeline leading up to these charges and what it could mean for the rapper.
Hosts: Zara Seidler and Emma Gillespie
Producer: Orla Maher
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Before we jump into today's deep dive, just a quick
heads up that this episode deals with fairly distressing content,
things like sexual assault and sex trafficking. If you do
choose to listen to this episode, please listen with care.
Help is always available at one eight hundred.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Respect already. And this is the Daily OS.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
This is the Daily ohs oh, now it makes sense.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Good morning, and welcome to the Daily OS. It's Thursday,
the twenty sixth of September.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
I'm zara, I'm emma.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Earlier this month, rapper Sean Diddy Combs was denied bail
after he was charged with sex trafficking and a slew
of other crimes. Investigators accused Combs of using his business
empire to cover up decades of abuse against women to quote.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Fulfill his sexual desires and protect his reputation.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Now, in today's deep dive, we're going to explain the
timeline leading up to those child and what it could
mean for the Rappernecks. But first, m what's making headlines.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows inflation
dropped to its lowest rate in three years in August,
down to two point seven percent for the twelve months
to August. That's down from three point five percent the
month before. The category with the greatest drop was electricity,
which fell by almost eighteen percent. The ABS attributed this
(01:29):
to the government's three hundred dollars energy rebates, which came
into effect in July. Inflation is a measure of the
rate at which prices rise, so lower inflation means prices
arising at a slower rate than before, not that they
are falling. Treasurer Jim Charmers said the figures were welcoming
and encouraging, while Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor said the price
(01:52):
of services remains high.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
PM Anthony Albanezi has refused to rule out chain just
to tax concessions for Australians who own multiple properties. Negative gearing,
as it's known, allows poemowners to claim losses on their properties,
meaning they end up paying a lower rate of tax.
Nine newspapers reported the government asked the Treasury Department to
run a cost analysis for a negative gearing policy. Albernizi
(02:19):
said the Treasury was considering a range of proposals, but
didn't confirm any further details. Labour promised to scrap negative
gearing ahead of the twenty nineteen election, which it lost
to the Coalition. The party has refused to commit to
the policy ever since.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
Australia's Foreign Minister, Penny Wong has met with her Chinese
counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the UN General
Assemblies annual meeting in New York. It comes amid continuing
efforts by the government to have China removed tariffs on
Australian exports. China started imposing high input taxes on Australian
goods like wine, barley and beef when tensions increased during
(02:58):
the pandemic under the previous government. Talks between high level
Chinese and Australian officials have resulted in the tariffs mostly
being dropped in recent years, although the taxes remain for
rock lobster. Minister Wong said she and wog Ye discussed
ways to quote progress, our interests and manage our differences.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
And In today's good news, several native marsupials, including the Bilbi,
have been reintroduced to a national park in northern New
South Wales where they went extinct a century ago. Unsw
researchers and conservation experts released a group of quoals, betongs
and Bilbi's to a fenced off section of the Sturt
National Park. The animals disappeared from the wild in New
(03:42):
South Wales, mostly due to changes in the ecosystem and
the prevalence of predators like feral cats and foxes. Now
a group of over one hundred individual marsupials have been
released in a ten thousand hecta semi bounded area where
they be protected from predators, followed successful repopulation efforts from
a similar trial in South Australia.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
Okay, Zara, So today we are talking about Sean Diddy
Comb's akap Diddy aka paf Daddy, a string of allegations
that he is currently facing. Now, this is a story
that's completely rocked the music industry, the entertainment industry more broadly,
and it has really far reaching implications. But let's start
(04:28):
from the beginning. There are a lot of layers to this,
as we'll get to for anyone who isn't familiar with
this story, with this man who is Diddy.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
Okay, So Sean Diddy Combs and you referred there to
his many names. He's known as Puff Daddy, p Diddy,
Puffy and Diddy. He's a rapper and a producer, and
just I think for clarity, we'll just call him Diddy
throughout this podcast, because I think that's how most people
our age would know him and would certainly be familiar
with him through that name.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
So did. He founded bad.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Boy Records back in nineteen ninety three, and that was
a really big music label that represented some of the
world's biggest and most famous rappers, including the notorious Big.
He's a three time Grammy Award winner. He's worked with
people like Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Usher, and Faith Evans.
He's also done a bit of acting. He starred in
(05:21):
Monster's Ball, Get Him to the Greek and Draft Day.
And I do really just want to say here, I'm not,
you know, running through his resume for any reason but
to show the extent of Ditty's power. He kind of
had this power that wasn't just contained, as you said,
to the music industry, but more broadly, he had really
shaped the foundations of the entertainment industry.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
And even as a businessman.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
You might know him from Sarok Vodka, like, he is
an entrepreneur in many different industries.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Yes, So he was until very recently one of the
most powerful figures in the entertainment industry.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
So you've mentioned there very poignantly until recently. So when
did we first learn of the allegations against Didty?
Speaker 1 (06:05):
Yeah, So I think that it is important to go
through this timeline because the news of this month didn't
happen in a vacuum. There were previous allegations that kind
of led to what happened earlier this month, And I'll
get to that in a second, but we'll start with
the first allegations that were leveled at Ditty, and they
were in twenty twenty three, and they were made by
(06:25):
former partner Cassandra Ventura.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
She's known as Cassie. She is a singer.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
So Cassie accused Ditty of sexual assault back then in
twenty twenty three. At the time, her lawyers described him
as vicious, cruel and a controlling man. Did He denied
all of the allegations, and just one day after Cassie
filed that lawsuit, the matter was settled out of court. Then,
in May of this year, see Inn published I think
(06:52):
what can only be labeled as very disturbing footage that
appeared to show Didty kicking and dragging Cassie in a
Hope Hallway that dated back to twenty sixteen. In a
video to Instagram, did he apologize for what he called
his quote inexcusable behavior, but he didn't name Cassie in
that statement. Cassie wasn't the only person to file legal
(07:15):
action against Didty in recent years. Earlier this year, music
producer Rodney Jones, who goes by Lil Rod, filed a
lawsuit against him. Jones alleged that did He spiked the
drinks of miners and sex workers at his homes in California,
New York, Florida, and the US Virgin Islands. When those
allegations were made public, did he denied all of them.
(07:36):
And then, if we're to follow this timeline, in March
of this year, US authorities raided Diddy's properties in both
LA and Miami. Those were part of ongoing investigations bi
federal authorities that culminated in a lawsuit very recently. But
what we've since found out is that at his homes,
authorities uncovered things like firearms, ammunition, and also more than
(07:58):
one thousand bottles of life.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
Okay, so that was in March. We knew that those
police raids were going on, but we didn't really hear
anything in the immediate aftermath of what was found. So
since then we can assume investigators have been working on
this case against him, looking at the evidence recovered from
those homes. And earlier this month did he was arrested
and charged in New York?
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Correct?
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Can you talk me through the charges that are now
being leveled against him?
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Yeah, So, as you said, earlier this month did he
was arrested. It was then a day later that the
charges that had been leveled at.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Him were made public.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
So Damian Williams, who's the US Attorney for the Southern
District of New York, announced the charges against Ditty in
a public press conference. We found out that Diddy was
being charged with racketeering, conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud
or coercion, and transportation to engage with prostitution. Here's a
little bit of that press conference when Williams announced those charges.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
The indicatement alleges that between at least two thousand and
eight and the present Comb's abused, threatened and coerce victims
to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal
his conduct as a legend. The indicatement to carry out
this conduct. Shaan Colms led and participated in a racketeering
conspiracy that use the business empire he controlled to carry
(09:23):
out criminal activity.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
Now, I know that there is a fair bit of
legal jargon in those charges, so I think it's important
to just explain what's being alleged here. Ultimately, what they're
saying is that Diddy used his business empire to carry
out this alleged criminal activity, things including sex, trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery,
and the obstruction of justice.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
Now, one of those charges, as you mentioned, uses the
word racketeering. I think that's a word that kind of
gets thrown around a lot. People don't really know what
it means. But in this case, it just means making
money from illegal activity. So the allegations are that did
he has used his business empire for illegal activity and
he makes money through that empire and through that illegal activity.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Exactly, And as you said, that's one of the charges,
but one of many charges. Authorities alleged that did he
use the pretense of a romantic relationship to intimidate, threaten,
and law female victims into his orbit. They alleged he
would eventually force victims to engage in extended and elaborate
sex acts with male commercial sex workers. And that really
(10:34):
goes to the heart of you know, what is being
alleged here, which is that did he would host I
don't want to use the word events, but that's really
what is used here.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
He would call them freak offs.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
And according to the indictment, they were these highly orchestrated
performances of sexual activity that took place in hotels and
other places, and they were fueled by drugs and could
go on for days. And those freak offs are really
at the center of these.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Allegations, and that's what's really captured the media's attention and
public interest. It's also mentioned in the indictment that many
of those quote unquote free COFs were filmed, and that
Diddy would allegedly often film them himself. So he's observing
woman that he's allegedly lew it in under false pretenses
(11:21):
into these sexual situations, that he films them for whatever purpose.
That's also a really interesting part of this.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
It is and I think it's important to note that
this isn't the first time that the public had learned of.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
These free coffs. It was actually also.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
Included in Cassie's original case that we spoke about earlier.
In her civil lawsuit, she mentioned these free COFs. She
alleged that during these incidents the free coffs, she was
forced to have sex with male sex workers while as
you said, did he watched, masturbated and took photos and videos.
She claimed the drug were supplied at these events and
(12:01):
that she took them so that she could quote disassociate
during these horrific encounters. And so in this latest indictment,
we have once again heard of these same events that
were echoed by Diddy's ex Cassie.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
And also the indictment mentions or allegers that these freak
offs date back several decades. It's alleged that there is
decades of abuse at the hands of Didy or organized
by Diddy.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
And according to the prosecutors, this is really where the
racketeering allegation comes in, because Williams, who I said led
that press conference earlier this month, said did he used
his business and employees of that business and other close
associates to get his way. They booked the hotel rooms
and stocked to them with supplies, and when those hotel
rooms got damaged, they helped to clean it up.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
There.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
They're referring to those freakoff events, but also to the
alleged role that his business associates played in those events.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
So several really serious allegations in this federal indictment from
these recent charges, some that have been alluded to before
in other legal proceedings. Did he deny the allegations made
by Cassie Ventura? How has he responded to these new charges?
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Yeah, look, in much the same way he's denied these
allegations too. I mentioned that earlier he was arrested, and
after he was arrested, he pleaded not guilty to the chargers.
That's then, you know, exposing the difference between this latest
indictment and what Cassie's suit was, which was a civil
suit not a criminal suit. So he was arrested in
(13:37):
this instance. His lawyer has said that did he is
innocent and that he will fight this until the end.
His legal team had a really interesting line in their statement.
They said, he is an imperfect person, but he's not
a criminal, right, But they have said that he's looking
forward to clearing his name. Did he is currently in jail?
(13:58):
He was denied because they believed he was too much
of a flight risk and that it could happen that
he could intimidate witnesses. So he is currently sitting in
jail and just an interesting, I think thing to notice
that People magazine actually reported that he's in the same
jail space as Sam Bankman Freed, who we've spoken about
on this pod before, who was the ftx.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
Founder who was convicted of fraud crimes, the crypto king. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
He's currently serving a very long sentence for the crimes
that he was convicted of. But did he certainly hasn't
been convicted of anything yet. It's this pre trial. He's
been denied bail and he will await, you know, that
next court date to see what happens next.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
The bail angle of this story is really interesting because
it's pretty unusual for someone so high profile, who is
so wealthy on paper, we know that, to not be
given an opportunity to post that bail and to go
and live their life while they await a court appearance.
His lawyers have alleged that did he come to New
(15:01):
York from his home in Miami in good faith as
a measure to present himself to police to be arrested
to hear these charges. Now, if that had happened, did
his lawyers say that it would have been nearly impossible
for a judge to deny him bail. But before did
he had a chance to hand himself in again, reportedly
(15:21):
he was arrested. He was intercepted by authorities unexpectedly or
a surprise arrest. Now that apparently makes it easier for
a judge to deny him bail. So his lawyers are
sort of suggesting some kind of conspiracy against their client,
which I think is really interesting.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
And his lawyers were pushing for that bail to be
at around the fifty million dollar mark, but prosecutors pushed back,
and it turns out that he has been denied bail
and is currently in jail.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Now.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
In that press conference where we heard from Williams, who's
with the US Attorney, he said specifically about the influence
and the power of someone like Diddy, that prosecutors wanted
to very publicly show the community that it doesn't.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Matter what comes above the rule of law.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
Exactly rands above the law, no matter how wealthy or
powerful you may be. Okay, So some extremely serious charges
if Ditty is found guilty, what sort of sentence is
he looking at?
Speaker 1 (16:18):
Yeah, well, I think because there are so many charges,
it can vary quite dramatically. But it's been reported that
what he's looking at if he is convicted, is anywhere
from fifteen years to life in prison. And you know,
for someone, as we started this podcast, to go full
circle as someone who was at the top of an industry,
you know, across the globe, to be possibly facing life
(16:42):
in prison, I mean, it's just it's a remarkable story.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
What a lot of people are waiting to see next
in this case is if there will be other celebrity
names that fall with Ditty.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:56):
So there are these rumors of these really parties that
Diddy was famous for hosting, these white parties where everyone
all dressed in white. You might have seen some photos
doing the rounds from the nineties and the early noughties.
You know, people like j Lo, jay Z, Beyonce, Kim Kardashian,
other really high profile names who have been closely associated
(17:19):
with Diddy for decades and who are yet to say anything. So,
you know, what does that silence say in and of itself?
Usha really interestingly, a close friend of Ditty has wiped
all of his ex history, so all of his previous
Twitter posts have disappeared. Now that move from Ussia might
(17:39):
have meant absolutely nothing. It might be about something completely different,
but there are certainly corners of the Internet really waiting
with baited breath to see what comes next.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Yeah, so interesting.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
It's also worth mentioning Zara that separately, another lawsuit against
Ditty was launched this week by a woman who claims
she was raped by the and producer and one of
his security guards in the early two thousands. Her name
is Tarlia Graves. She's suing Ditty for sexual assault and
alleges that incident happened at the Rappers Music studios. As
(18:13):
with Cassandra Ventura, this is a civil suit. Her lawyers
said that holding those to account who had caused Graves
to suffer was long overdue. She is the eleventh person
to sue Ditty for sexual abuse, and prosecutors have really
reiterated calls in line with kind of the scale of
these allegations. They've urged victims of Ditty's alleged abuse or
(18:36):
anyone who knows anything about his alleged crimes to come
forward and said quote this investigation is far from.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
Over again some pretty distressing allegations that are being leveled
against Ditty and if you do need help, it is
available at one eight hundred respect You can call any time.
But thank you for listening to today's episode of The
Daily os. We will be back again tomorrow, but until then,
take care of yourself. My name is Lily Maddon and
(19:05):
I'm a proud Arunda Bunjelung Kalkudin woman from Gadighl country.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
The Daily oz acknowledges that this podcast is recorded on
the lands of the Gadighl people and pays respect to
all Aboriginal and torrest Rate island and nations. We pay
our respects to the first peoples of these countries, both
past and present,
Before we jump into today's deep dive, just a quick
heads up that this episode deals with fairly distressing content,
things like sexual assault and sex trafficking. If you do
choose to listen to this episode, please listen with care.
Help is always available at one eight hundred.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Respect already. And this is the Daily OS.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
This is the Daily ohs oh, now it makes sense.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Good morning, and welcome to the Daily OS. It's Thursday,
the twenty sixth of September.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
I'm zara, I'm emma.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Earlier this month, rapper Sean Diddy Combs was denied bail
after he was charged with sex trafficking and a slew
of other crimes. Investigators accused Combs of using his business
empire to cover up decades of abuse against women to quote.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Fulfill his sexual desires and protect his reputation.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Now, in today's deep dive, we're going to explain the
timeline leading up to those child and what it could
mean for the Rappernecks. But first, m what's making headlines.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows inflation
dropped to its lowest rate in three years in August,
down to two point seven percent for the twelve months
to August. That's down from three point five percent the
month before. The category with the greatest drop was electricity,
which fell by almost eighteen percent. The ABS attributed this
(01:29):
to the government's three hundred dollars energy rebates, which came
into effect in July. Inflation is a measure of the
rate at which prices rise, so lower inflation means prices
arising at a slower rate than before, not that they
are falling. Treasurer Jim Charmers said the figures were welcoming
and encouraging, while Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor said the price
(01:52):
of services remains high.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
PM Anthony Albanezi has refused to rule out chain just
to tax concessions for Australians who own multiple properties. Negative gearing,
as it's known, allows poemowners to claim losses on their properties,
meaning they end up paying a lower rate of tax.
Nine newspapers reported the government asked the Treasury Department to
run a cost analysis for a negative gearing policy. Albernizi
(02:19):
said the Treasury was considering a range of proposals, but
didn't confirm any further details. Labour promised to scrap negative
gearing ahead of the twenty nineteen election, which it lost
to the Coalition. The party has refused to commit to
the policy ever since.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
Australia's Foreign Minister, Penny Wong has met with her Chinese
counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the UN General
Assemblies annual meeting in New York. It comes amid continuing
efforts by the government to have China removed tariffs on
Australian exports. China started imposing high input taxes on Australian
goods like wine, barley and beef when tensions increased during
(02:58):
the pandemic under the previous government. Talks between high level
Chinese and Australian officials have resulted in the tariffs mostly
being dropped in recent years, although the taxes remain for
rock lobster. Minister Wong said she and wog Ye discussed
ways to quote progress, our interests and manage our differences.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
And In today's good news, several native marsupials, including the Bilbi,
have been reintroduced to a national park in northern New
South Wales where they went extinct a century ago. Unsw
researchers and conservation experts released a group of quoals, betongs
and Bilbi's to a fenced off section of the Sturt
National Park. The animals disappeared from the wild in New
(03:42):
South Wales, mostly due to changes in the ecosystem and
the prevalence of predators like feral cats and foxes. Now
a group of over one hundred individual marsupials have been
released in a ten thousand hecta semi bounded area where
they be protected from predators, followed successful repopulation efforts from
a similar trial in South Australia.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
Okay, Zara, So today we are talking about Sean Diddy
Comb's akap Diddy aka paf Daddy, a string of allegations
that he is currently facing. Now, this is a story
that's completely rocked the music industry, the entertainment industry more broadly,
and it has really far reaching implications. But let's start
(04:28):
from the beginning. There are a lot of layers to this,
as we'll get to for anyone who isn't familiar with
this story, with this man who is Diddy.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
Okay, So Sean Diddy Combs and you referred there to
his many names. He's known as Puff Daddy, p Diddy,
Puffy and Diddy. He's a rapper and a producer, and
just I think for clarity, we'll just call him Diddy
throughout this podcast, because I think that's how most people
our age would know him and would certainly be familiar
with him through that name.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
So did. He founded bad.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Boy Records back in nineteen ninety three, and that was
a really big music label that represented some of the
world's biggest and most famous rappers, including the notorious Big.
He's a three time Grammy Award winner. He's worked with
people like Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Usher, and Faith Evans.
He's also done a bit of acting. He starred in
(05:21):
Monster's Ball, Get Him to the Greek and Draft Day.
And I do really just want to say here, I'm not,
you know, running through his resume for any reason but
to show the extent of Ditty's power. He kind of
had this power that wasn't just contained, as you said,
to the music industry, but more broadly, he had really
shaped the foundations of the entertainment industry.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
And even as a businessman.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
You might know him from Sarok Vodka, like, he is
an entrepreneur in many different industries.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Yes, So he was until very recently one of the
most powerful figures in the entertainment industry.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
So you've mentioned there very poignantly until recently. So when
did we first learn of the allegations against Didty?
Speaker 1 (06:05):
Yeah, So I think that it is important to go
through this timeline because the news of this month didn't
happen in a vacuum. There were previous allegations that kind
of led to what happened earlier this month, And I'll
get to that in a second, but we'll start with
the first allegations that were leveled at Ditty, and they
were in twenty twenty three, and they were made by
(06:25):
former partner Cassandra Ventura.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
She's known as Cassie. She is a singer.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
So Cassie accused Ditty of sexual assault back then in
twenty twenty three. At the time, her lawyers described him
as vicious, cruel and a controlling man. Did He denied
all of the allegations, and just one day after Cassie
filed that lawsuit, the matter was settled out of court. Then,
in May of this year, see Inn published I think
(06:52):
what can only be labeled as very disturbing footage that
appeared to show Didty kicking and dragging Cassie in a
Hope Hallway that dated back to twenty sixteen. In a
video to Instagram, did he apologize for what he called
his quote inexcusable behavior, but he didn't name Cassie in
that statement. Cassie wasn't the only person to file legal
(07:15):
action against Didty in recent years. Earlier this year, music
producer Rodney Jones, who goes by Lil Rod, filed a
lawsuit against him. Jones alleged that did He spiked the
drinks of miners and sex workers at his homes in California,
New York, Florida, and the US Virgin Islands. When those
allegations were made public, did he denied all of them.
(07:36):
And then, if we're to follow this timeline, in March
of this year, US authorities raided Diddy's properties in both
LA and Miami. Those were part of ongoing investigations bi
federal authorities that culminated in a lawsuit very recently. But
what we've since found out is that at his homes,
authorities uncovered things like firearms, ammunition, and also more than
(07:58):
one thousand bottles of life.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
Okay, so that was in March. We knew that those
police raids were going on, but we didn't really hear
anything in the immediate aftermath of what was found. So
since then we can assume investigators have been working on
this case against him, looking at the evidence recovered from
those homes. And earlier this month did he was arrested
and charged in New York?
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Correct?
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Can you talk me through the charges that are now
being leveled against him?
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Yeah, So, as you said, earlier this month did he
was arrested. It was then a day later that the
charges that had been leveled at.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Him were made public.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
So Damian Williams, who's the US Attorney for the Southern
District of New York, announced the charges against Ditty in
a public press conference. We found out that Diddy was
being charged with racketeering, conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud
or coercion, and transportation to engage with prostitution. Here's a
little bit of that press conference when Williams announced those charges.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
The indicatement alleges that between at least two thousand and
eight and the present Comb's abused, threatened and coerce victims
to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal
his conduct as a legend. The indicatement to carry out
this conduct. Shaan Colms led and participated in a racketeering
conspiracy that use the business empire he controlled to carry
(09:23):
out criminal activity.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
Now, I know that there is a fair bit of
legal jargon in those charges, so I think it's important
to just explain what's being alleged here. Ultimately, what they're
saying is that Diddy used his business empire to carry
out this alleged criminal activity, things including sex, trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery,
and the obstruction of justice.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
Now, one of those charges, as you mentioned, uses the
word racketeering. I think that's a word that kind of
gets thrown around a lot. People don't really know what
it means. But in this case, it just means making
money from illegal activity. So the allegations are that did
he has used his business empire for illegal activity and
he makes money through that empire and through that illegal activity.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Exactly, And as you said, that's one of the charges,
but one of many charges. Authorities alleged that did he
use the pretense of a romantic relationship to intimidate, threaten,
and law female victims into his orbit. They alleged he
would eventually force victims to engage in extended and elaborate
sex acts with male commercial sex workers. And that really
(10:34):
goes to the heart of you know, what is being
alleged here, which is that did he would host I
don't want to use the word events, but that's really
what is used here.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
He would call them freak offs.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
And according to the indictment, they were these highly orchestrated
performances of sexual activity that took place in hotels and
other places, and they were fueled by drugs and could
go on for days. And those freak offs are really
at the center of these.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Allegations, and that's what's really captured the media's attention and
public interest. It's also mentioned in the indictment that many
of those quote unquote free COFs were filmed, and that
Diddy would allegedly often film them himself. So he's observing
woman that he's allegedly lew it in under false pretenses
(11:21):
into these sexual situations, that he films them for whatever purpose.
That's also a really interesting part of this.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
It is and I think it's important to note that
this isn't the first time that the public had learned of.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
These free coffs. It was actually also.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
Included in Cassie's original case that we spoke about earlier.
In her civil lawsuit, she mentioned these free COFs. She
alleged that during these incidents the free coffs, she was
forced to have sex with male sex workers while as
you said, did he watched, masturbated and took photos and videos.
She claimed the drug were supplied at these events and
(12:01):
that she took them so that she could quote disassociate
during these horrific encounters. And so in this latest indictment,
we have once again heard of these same events that
were echoed by Diddy's ex Cassie.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
And also the indictment mentions or allegers that these freak
offs date back several decades. It's alleged that there is
decades of abuse at the hands of Didy or organized
by Diddy.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
And according to the prosecutors, this is really where the
racketeering allegation comes in, because Williams, who I said led
that press conference earlier this month, said did he used
his business and employees of that business and other close
associates to get his way. They booked the hotel rooms
and stocked to them with supplies, and when those hotel
rooms got damaged, they helped to clean it up.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
There.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
They're referring to those freakoff events, but also to the
alleged role that his business associates played in those events.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
So several really serious allegations in this federal indictment from
these recent charges, some that have been alluded to before
in other legal proceedings. Did he deny the allegations made
by Cassie Ventura? How has he responded to these new charges?
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Yeah, look, in much the same way he's denied these
allegations too. I mentioned that earlier he was arrested, and
after he was arrested, he pleaded not guilty to the chargers.
That's then, you know, exposing the difference between this latest
indictment and what Cassie's suit was, which was a civil
suit not a criminal suit. So he was arrested in
(13:37):
this instance. His lawyer has said that did he is
innocent and that he will fight this until the end.
His legal team had a really interesting line in their statement.
They said, he is an imperfect person, but he's not
a criminal, right, But they have said that he's looking
forward to clearing his name. Did he is currently in jail?
(13:58):
He was denied because they believed he was too much
of a flight risk and that it could happen that
he could intimidate witnesses. So he is currently sitting in
jail and just an interesting, I think thing to notice
that People magazine actually reported that he's in the same
jail space as Sam Bankman Freed, who we've spoken about
on this pod before, who was the ftx.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
Founder who was convicted of fraud crimes, the crypto king. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
He's currently serving a very long sentence for the crimes
that he was convicted of. But did he certainly hasn't
been convicted of anything yet. It's this pre trial. He's
been denied bail and he will await, you know, that
next court date to see what happens next.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
The bail angle of this story is really interesting because
it's pretty unusual for someone so high profile, who is
so wealthy on paper, we know that, to not be
given an opportunity to post that bail and to go
and live their life while they await a court appearance.
His lawyers have alleged that did he come to New
(15:01):
York from his home in Miami in good faith as
a measure to present himself to police to be arrested
to hear these charges. Now, if that had happened, did
his lawyers say that it would have been nearly impossible
for a judge to deny him bail. But before did
he had a chance to hand himself in again, reportedly
(15:21):
he was arrested. He was intercepted by authorities unexpectedly or
a surprise arrest. Now that apparently makes it easier for
a judge to deny him bail. So his lawyers are
sort of suggesting some kind of conspiracy against their client,
which I think is really interesting.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
And his lawyers were pushing for that bail to be
at around the fifty million dollar mark, but prosecutors pushed back,
and it turns out that he has been denied bail
and is currently in jail.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Now.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
In that press conference where we heard from Williams, who's
with the US Attorney, he said specifically about the influence
and the power of someone like Diddy, that prosecutors wanted
to very publicly show the community that it doesn't.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Matter what comes above the rule of law.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
Exactly rands above the law, no matter how wealthy or
powerful you may be. Okay, So some extremely serious charges
if Ditty is found guilty, what sort of sentence is
he looking at?
Speaker 1 (16:18):
Yeah, well, I think because there are so many charges,
it can vary quite dramatically. But it's been reported that
what he's looking at if he is convicted, is anywhere
from fifteen years to life in prison. And you know,
for someone, as we started this podcast, to go full
circle as someone who was at the top of an industry,
you know, across the globe, to be possibly facing life
(16:42):
in prison, I mean, it's just it's a remarkable story.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
What a lot of people are waiting to see next
in this case is if there will be other celebrity
names that fall with Ditty.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:56):
So there are these rumors of these really parties that
Diddy was famous for hosting, these white parties where everyone
all dressed in white. You might have seen some photos
doing the rounds from the nineties and the early noughties.
You know, people like j Lo, jay Z, Beyonce, Kim Kardashian,
other really high profile names who have been closely associated
(17:19):
with Diddy for decades and who are yet to say anything. So,
you know, what does that silence say in and of itself?
Usha really interestingly, a close friend of Ditty has wiped
all of his ex history, so all of his previous
Twitter posts have disappeared. Now that move from Ussia might
(17:39):
have meant absolutely nothing. It might be about something completely different,
but there are certainly corners of the Internet really waiting
with baited breath to see what comes next.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Yeah, so interesting.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
It's also worth mentioning Zara that separately, another lawsuit against
Ditty was launched this week by a woman who claims
she was raped by the and producer and one of
his security guards in the early two thousands. Her name
is Tarlia Graves. She's suing Ditty for sexual assault and
alleges that incident happened at the Rappers Music studios. As
(18:13):
with Cassandra Ventura, this is a civil suit. Her lawyers
said that holding those to account who had caused Graves
to suffer was long overdue. She is the eleventh person
to sue Ditty for sexual abuse, and prosecutors have really
reiterated calls in line with kind of the scale of
these allegations. They've urged victims of Ditty's alleged abuse or
(18:36):
anyone who knows anything about his alleged crimes to come
forward and said quote this investigation is far from.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
Over again some pretty distressing allegations that are being leveled
against Ditty and if you do need help, it is
available at one eight hundred respect You can call any time.
But thank you for listening to today's episode of The
Daily os. We will be back again tomorrow, but until then,
take care of yourself. My name is Lily Maddon and
(19:05):
I'm a proud Arunda Bunjelung Kalkudin woman from Gadighl country.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
The Daily oz acknowledges that this podcast is recorded on
the lands of the Gadighl people and pays respect to
all Aboriginal and torrest Rate island and nations. We pay
our respects to the first peoples of these countries, both
past and present,
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