Everything we know about the growing case against the music mogul.

by Lavanya Ramanathan and Anna North

Sean “Diddy” Combs attends the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Conference National Town Hall on September 21, 2023, in Washington, DC.
Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Congressional Black Caucus Foundation

It’s been more than a week since the arrest of music mogul and rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs on a litany of federal charges including sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy, but the questions surrounding the allegations have only grown in recent days.

Which of Combs’s many celebrity friends heard about the alleged “freak-offs”? What, if anything, did his former romantic partners, including Jennifer Lopez, know? If there are tapes, what’s on them? Why do people keep talking about Justin Bieber?

It’s not a stretch to draw parallels between Combs’s case and that of notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Copious amounts of money, a long list of powerful friends, and a culture of celebrity silence make for a potent combination that, as Anna has written, is “tailor-made to produce conspiracy theories.” In the wake of the arrest, amateur internet sleuths have surfaced numerous videos and photos and pored over interviews with Diddy and his celebrity associates in search of answers.

Meanwhile, the allegations against Combs continue to pile up. After several civil lawsuits were filed against Combs late last year, another woman came forward in late September to allege in a 26-page civil suit that Combs and his bodyguard took her to the recording studio for his record label, Bad Boy, in 2001, raped her repeatedly, and recorded the assault. After putting out a call for additional victims — and netting more than 3,000 responses — lawyers announced on October 1 that they would be filing 120 additional civil lawsuits against Combs and several codefendants in New York, Los Angeles, and Miami in the following weeks.

As court filings become public, they promise to unfurl a whole new set of allegations against Combs and offer new details on previously unknown accusations going back decades. The sheer scope of the cases and inclusion of codefendants, plus allegations that Combs used his entertainment business to lure victims, could turn Combs’s case into one of the biggest Me Too reckonings the music industry has seen.

Through his lawyers, Diddy has repeatedly asserted that the civil claims against him are baseless, calling several of them “sickening allegations” made “by individuals looking for a quick payday.”

He has pleaded not guilty in the criminal case, too, and is currently being held in a Brooklyn jail after twice being denied bail. His lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, has said the rapper is “going to fight this with all of his energy and all of his might,” and during a court hearing argued that the so-called freak-offs — marathon sexual productions that prosecutors say involved hired sex workers and women coerced to perform sexual acts for the gratification of Combs and others — were consensual, if unconventional. “Is it sex trafficking?” he asked in court last week. “No, not if everybody wants to be there.”

With so many players, civil and criminal cases, and plenty of misinformation floating around, we’re pulling together some of the most frequently asked questions about Diddy and trying to answer them — as best we can, of course, given what we know.

For a more detailed history of all the allegations against Diddy, check out Anna’s full explainer here.

What is Combs accused of?

Combs is facing two kinds of cases: one criminal case brought by the federal government and several civil cases brought by individuals, each involving different accusations.

Combs was arrested on criminal charges; the government alleges that he used his business enterprise to conduct criminal activity, including sex trafficking and kidnapping, and then used his power to intimidate victims and cover up the crimes.

The case centers on the alleged performances with women and sex workers. The indictment alleges that Diddy often transported sex workers to perform in the sessions and taped the encounters to coerce silence from participants, using an array of employees and his business organization to facilitate the criminal activity. For all of this, they’ve charged Combs with racketeering conspiracy: a powerful charge that was originally used largely to prosecute organized crime leaders and can result in a hefty sentence.

It was the civil cases, however, that opened the floodgates that ultimately led to the indictment.

In November 2023, Combs’s ex-girlfriend, Casandra Ventura, also known as the singer Cassie, filed the first explosive lawsuit that exposed several allegations against Combs to the public, including that the rapper orchestrated the performances with sex workers and forced her to participate. Though she filed a civil case (which was settled by Combs within one day), Ventura’s allegations appear to be the central foundation of the federal criminal case against Combs.

Four other cases were filed shortly thereafter, three by women who alleged that he raped them (in some cases drugging them), and one by a male music producer who accused Diddy of grooming him and coercing him to hire sex workers for sex.

After Combs’s arrest, a team of lawyers led by the law firms of Tony Buzbee and Andrew Van Arsdale put out a call looking for other potential victims, and announced that they would be proceeding with 120 additional civil lawsuits that would be filed in the weeks to come.

If so many people were involved, why did it take so long for the allegations to come out?

Combs was incredibly powerful in the music industry and in American culture more generally. ​​ He was one of the first people to blend the worlds of hip-hop, business, and luxury. His fashion label, Sean John, founded in 1998, became known for high-end menswear. He promoted brands of vodka and tequila and hosted exclusive white parties in the Hamptons with guests like Martha Stewart, Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick, and Jay Z.

It’s difficult for people to speak out about sexual assault under any circumstances, and doubly difficult when the alleged perpetrator is someone wealthy and well-connected who may have influence over their careers. Combs is also accused of running an enormous criminal “enterprise” that threatened women with blackmail and violence — including using firearms to threaten victims — all of which would have made it even more difficult for anyone to come forward.

What’s on the tapes mentioned in the indictment? Will they ever come out?

Several of the accusers, and the criminal indictment, allege that Diddy videotaped sexual assaults and the performances with sex workers. The accuser this week alleges that a tape made of her sexual assault was sold and viewed by several other men.

Generally, accusers have said any tapes served as a way to ensure their silence. In court, the New York Times reported, prosecutors presented a statement from one who said, “He just threatened me about my sex tapes that he has of me on two phones. He said he would expose me, mind you these sex tapes where I am heavily drugged.”

Why is everyone talking about baby oil? Is this real?

One of the odder details in the Combs indictment is that authorities say they seized “more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant” in searches of the mogul’s residences in Miami and Los Angeles earlier this year. Prosecutors say the oil was meant for the performances, and Ventura also said in her lawsuit that she was told to pour “excessive” amounts of oil on herself at these events.

Possessing baby oil is not a crime, and the whole oil issue doesn’t matter very much in the context of the violent and disturbing conduct of which Combs has been accused. But a federal indictment of a public figure like Combs is meant to be read, and it’s not unusual for prosecutors to include details they know will shock people and make headlines. Baby oil did the trick.

Are other celebrities connected to the case?

It’s important to note that no other person, celebrity or not, has been indicted alongside Combs in the criminal case. The civil cases filed so far do not mention any other celebrities either, accusing only Combs and occasionally those employed by him.

But with the announcement on October 1 of the additional 120 civil lawsuits, lawyers told the media that the cases would include a number of codefendants. According to the Washington Post, they claimed that those codefendants would include “members of Combs’s family, record labels, event venues and Combs’s associates,” and that the list would include “household names.”

That said, this is an incredibly tough question, tending to spark more rumor and innuendo than uncover any truths, as onlookers try to determine who knew what when. Indeed, Combs had many friends in high places. But pursuing the question tends to spawn misinformation, like a viral song about “a Diddy party” attributed to Justin Bieber that experts now say was likely created by AI.

So far, a few bold-faced names who were on the guest lists at Combs’s celeb-packed “white parties” have come forward to say they were in no way connected to any of the crimes Combs is accused of. But it’s best if we all give the conspiracy theories a rest, wait for legal filings to learn more, and let the case be handled in court. Wild speculation is only liable to exacerbate the victims’ pain.

What will happen to Combs’s businesses and brands now?

In the weeks before Ventura’s lawsuit went public last November, Diddy made several media-grabbing moves, including donating $1 million to Howard University, performing and collecting a Global Icon Award at the VMAs, and throwing a high-profile birthday party for himself in London with Naomi Campbell and Idris Elba among the guests.

So much has since crumbled, not the least of which is his business empire. Diageo, the beverage brand with which Combs once partnered on vodka and tequila, quickly removed his image from its website, and the partnership broke ties after settling a lawsuit over another matter this January. Capital Preparatory Schools, a New York charter school network Combs helped expand, posted a statement on the school’s website last fall saying it was cutting ties with him (though the statement was later removed). Combs also stepped aside as chair of Revolt, a TV network he helped start in 2013, and then officially sold his stake this summer. And Sean John’s website, according to the Daily Beast, was taken down.

According to New York magazine, he also no longer has a dedicated “Sean Diddy Combs Day” in Miami, returned his key to New York City, and had his planned Hulu show iced.

As for Howard, his alma mater? It returned the million-dollar gift.

If Diddy is convicted, how long could he be in prison?

There’s no guarantee that Combs’s case will go to trial or that he’ll be convicted if he does, so at this point it’s impossible to guess the outcome. But the Department of Justice has issued a list of the charges against Combs and what each could mean if he’s convicted. Unsurprisingly, the maximum sentences range, with a transportation for purposes of prostitution charge bringing a potential 10-year sentence, and that racketeering conspiracy charge meaning Combs could face life in prison.

Update, October 1, 4:30 pm: This piece was originally published on September 26 and has been updated to include an additional 120 civil lawsuits filed against Combs and various codefendants.