'He thought of himself as a king': The parties that led to Diddy's downfall

There was a clip erstwhile an invitation to a enactment hosted by Sean “Diddy” Combs was 1 of the astir sought-after tickets successful the amusement industry.

With impermanent lists that included Justin Bieber, Mariah Carey, Paris Hilton and Jennifer Lopez, it was a accidental to hitch shoulders with immoderate of the biggest celebrities. Jay-Z and Beyoncé adjacent released caller euphony astatine his events.

“When Diddy winked astatine you and said travel into the VIP section, you knew you were going to person a truly bully night,” Rob Shuter, who worked arsenic a publicist for the rapper astatine the tallness of his fame, told BBC News successful an exclusive interview.

Now Mr Shuter’s erstwhile prima lawsuit is sitting successful a Brooklyn jailhouse cell, a abbreviated thrust distant from the Hamptons, wherever helium erstwhile presided implicit decadent personage bashes.

Mr Combs’s autumn from grace has been swift, with an extensive national transgression case charging him successful a enactment trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. More than a twelve civilian lawsuits person besides been filed, accusing the euphony mogul of assaults, rape and intersexual extortion. One lawyer said helium represents much than 100 alleged victims who assertion they were sexually abused.

The Harlem-born rapper has repeatedly denied immoderate wrongdoing, whether successful narration to the transgression oregon civilian allegations. A spokesperson for the rapper denied the allegations against him and told BBC News for this communicative that, "Mr. Combs remains strong, healthy, and disciplined, afloat committed to his defence with the unwavering enactment of his family, ineligible team, and the truth".

He is acceptable to spell connected proceedings successful May 2025.

Mr Shuter, who worked for Diddy from 2002-04, said Mr Combs was astatine a pivotal infinitesimal successful his vocation erstwhile helium started moving for the rapper.

Mr Combs had founded Bad Boy Records successful 1993, a statement that represented immoderate of the biggest names successful hep hop - including artists similar Notorious B.I.G. and Usher. In 1998, helium created the Sean John covering enactment that aboriginal became a taste phenomenon. From there, helium dipped into fragrances, intoxicant and adjacent acceptable up a media company, becoming the big of aggregate world shows wherever helium would observe caller endowment and marque radical stars.

Mr Shuter said that erstwhile helium archetypal joined the rapper’s world, Mr Combs wanted to alteration his persona and elevate his career, looking to usage his parties to support himself astatine the centre of the amusement industry.

“He was conscionable figuring retired that however helium could get the astir attraction was to go the enactment king of New York.”

Mr Shuter said Mr Combs was obsessed with powerfulness and a heavy tendency to stay famous, explaining the prima loved to person his photograph taken and wanted to amusement disconnected his lifestyle. It was Mr Shuter’s occupation to assistance support “Diddy” astatine the top. Being portion of his entourage, helium said, was similar being portion of a circus - the rapper was the “ringmaster”.

He said helium ne'er witnessed immoderate intersexual misconduct. "I've seen the imbalance of power," helium said. "What I haven't seen is what is present alleged, which is conscionable horrific."

“The crushed helium was specified a superstar is due to the fact that each helium thinks astir is Diddy. From the infinitesimal helium wakes up until the infinitesimal helium goes to bed,” Mr Shuter told BBC News. “Diddy’s hobby is Diddy.”

He besides claims Mr Combs besides held a heavy fascination with the British royal family. Mr Shuter said helium remembers being asked much than 10 times to telephone Prince Harry and Prince William with invites to parties, offering to screen their travel, lodging and adjacent wage for their security.

In his lavish New York apartment, the rapper kept framed pictures of the princes, Mr Shuter said, explaining: “He thought of himself arsenic a king truthful it makes cleanable consciousness that helium would similar to person 2 princes successful his entourage.”

Both Harry and William ne'er accepted an invitation from Mr Combs, helium added.

But saying “no” to the euphony mogul wasn’t thing galore others did.

“There were ever guns astir Diddy,” Mr Shuter said, describing metallic detectors successful his flat that resembled those astatine an airport. “It was strange.”

Mr Shuter described firearms each implicit the rapper’s home. In his backstage surviving quarters, information guards had guns strapped to their ankles. Mr Combs held a adjacent ellipse and was superior astir some his information and his image.

“You don’t get to beryllium Diddy... unless the radical astir you were buttoned up. There was cipher astir him sloppy.”

In the Los Angeles area, the rapper lived connected what has go known arsenic Beverly Hills’s astir costly street.

The precocious fences let celebrities to fell from prying eyes. Hugh Hefner’s Playboy mansion sits a fewer doors down.

The towering gates of Mr Combs' property person flaming torches burning time and night.

Neighbours told the BBC they often called constabulary implicit his parties.

A state of accusation petition by the BBC has revealed that officers were dispatched to parties astatine the P Diddy mansion 14 times implicit 7 years.

On a thoroughfare wherever discretion and privateness are of the utmost importance, no-one wished to beryllium named, but neighbours described privately to the BBC what they witnessed, saying they were fed up and disturbed by what they saw.

“For six oregon 7 years it was conscionable parties, parties, parties,” 1 neighbour said, adding she saw females astatine each hours “coming retired and sitting down connected the street, they didn’t cognize wherever they were”.

She said they appeared "lost" and "their underwear was showing".

Mr Combs’s mansion successful Beverely Hills was 1 of respective venues helium utilized to big his yearly “White Party”, a flagship lawsuit which helium held from 1998 to 2009.

He began the parties successful New York’s exclusive Hamptons country with a strict all-white formal code, bringing unneurotic East Hampton's old-money elite and the rising stars of hep hop.

Mr Combs erstwhile described the parties arsenic a mode to interruption down radical and generational barriers.

But the hottest enactment of the twelvemonth was a "facade" that allowed "sinister" conduct, a caller suit alleges.

In a suit filed this week, a antheral - who was 16 years aged astatine the clip - described the thrill of getting to be Mr Combs’s archetypal “White Party” successful 1998. Walking into the Hamptons mansion, helium saw celebrities and amusement executives near and right. In the lawsuit, helium said helium believed the enactment could unfastened doors to a euphony career.

He said helium was connected his mode to the bath erstwhile helium ran into the rapper. They started talking and past moved to another, much backstage area. That’s erstwhile Mr Combs said the teen had the close “look” and helium could crook anyone into a star, the suit states.

Then things took a turn. Mr Combs abruptly ordered the then-teenage lad to driblet his pants truthful that Mr Combs could analyse and interaction him, the suit alleges.

According to the lawsuit, Mr Combs said it was “a rite of passage” and “the way to becoming a star”. It besides claims that helium said it was a mode for him to beryllium himself, asking the teen: “Don’t you privation to interruption into the business?”

At slightest two different lawsuits centre connected the parties.

Former big movie prima Adria English claimed she was "groomed into enactment trafficking implicit time" aft moving astatine aggregate White Party events, wherever she alleges the intoxicant was laced with drugs. Another lawsuit, filed anonymously this week by a man, makes allegations astir a 2006 White Party. He said successful the suit that helium was moving information astatine the event, wherever drinks were allegedly laced with drugs, and said helium was raped by Mr Combs.

More than a twelve civilian lawsuits successful full person been filed accusing the euphony mogul of assaults, rape and intersexual extortion. In these lawsuits, some men and women accidental they were coerced oregon forced into sex, either by Mr Combs oregon those successful his entourage. Others accidental they obliged due to the fact that they were intimidated by Mr Combs and the powerfulness helium held successful the amusement industry. Some described having their careers derailed oregon opportunities taken from them erstwhile they did not cave to Mr Combs’s whims.

Mr Combs' ineligible squad has dismissed the lawsuits arsenic "clear attempts to garner publicity". In effect to this story, a spokesperson for the rapper told BBC News allegations of wrongdoing astatine his notorious parties was unfounded.

"Sean Combs’ achromatic parties and different events were iconic, a existent convergence of hip-hop, Hollywood, and Black excellence," the connection reads. "It’s disappointing to spot the media and societal commentators twist these taste moments into thing they were not. Shaming celebrities who attended, taking video clips and photos retired of context, and trying to nexus these events to mendacious allegations is simply untrue."

Singer Cassie, who dated the rapper off-and-on for astir a decennary starting successful 2007, accused the mogul successful a suit of controlling each facet of her life, forcing her to instrumentality excessive amounts of drugs, person enactment with different men, beating her for years and threatening her - and those successful her ellipse - erstwhile she tried to permission the relationship.

In a suit - which started an avalanche of accusations against the rapper - the vocalist said portion dating Mr Combs she realised helium had a “tremendously loyal network” that would bash thing helium asked.

“She recognized that she was powerless, and that reporting Mr Combs to the authorities would not change Mr Combs’s presumption oregon power but would simply springiness Mr Combs different excuse to wounded her,” the suit stated.

Cassie, whose afloat sanction is Casandra Ventura, said astatine 1 constituent aft she attempted to permission Mr Combs, his grounds statement threatened “her azygous would not beryllium released if she did not reply Mr Combs’s telephone calls", the suit states.

Lawyers for Mr Combs person again denied the allegations, saying successful a connection to the BBC earlier this week that helium "has ne'er sexually assaulted anyone - big oregon minor, antheral oregon woman".

While assorted lawsuits item alleged intersexual assaults astatine parties held astatine Mr Combs's properties, alleged "Freak-off" parties astatine edifice rooms look to beryllium a absorption for national authorities. The Department of Justice charged him with racketeering conspiracy, enactment trafficking and proscription to prosecute successful prostitution successful a 14-page indictment past month.

Prosecutors person accused Mr Combs of signaling enactment acts during “Freak Offs”, which national authorities picture arsenic days-long enactment parties involving aggregate enactment workers.

The indictment alleged that Mr Combs and his associates booked edifice rooms and stocked them with narcotics similar ketamine, lubricant, other linens and lighting truthful that they could grounds the orgies.

During the “Freak Offs,” Mr Combs allegedly “hit, kicked, threw objects astatine victims”, which led to injuries that would sometimes instrumentality weeks to heal, the tribunal documents state.

According to the indictment, participants were allegedly coerced with drugs and threats to stay “obedient and compliant”. Afterwards, those progressive would instrumentality IV fluids to recover, prosecutors allege.

Ms Ventura’s lawsuit, filed successful November 2023 - astir a twelvemonth earlier his indictment successful New York - includes graphic details of these alleged “Freak-Off” parties. The suit states Mr Combs would big these events play successful hotels successful New York and Los Angeles, flying successful enactment workers, supplying drugs that included ecstasy, cocaine and ketamine and forcing the vocalist to execute enactment acts.

During a raid connected Mr Combs's Los Angeles and Miami mansions, instrumentality enforcement officers seized AR-15-style guns, large-capacity magazines, thousands of bottles of lube and babe oil.

Mr Combs’s apprehension and the fallout surrounding his vocation has sparked anticipation among activists and survivors of intersexual unit that his lawsuit could thrust meaningful alteration wrong the euphony industry.

Gloria Allred, a salient women’s rights lawyer who has defended a fig of women passim the #MeToo movement, believes the satellite is yet seeing a “reckoning” successful the euphony industry.

She’s representing Thalia Graves, who alleges she was drugged and violently raped by the rapper successful 2001. She said she was threatened by Mr Combs and did not talk out, fearing helium would “ruin her life”, Allred said.

But Ms Allred told the BBC she thinks the fallout from Diddy’s apprehension is acold from over.

“Courage is contagious," she said.

And prosecutors and lawyers for the increasing database of Mr Combs’s accusers person hinted determination is much to come.

“Combs did not bash this each connected his own,” Damian Williams, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said. “He utilized his concern and employees of that concern and different adjacent associates to get his way.”

The probe into the lawsuit is inactive open, authorities say.

As Mr Combs near his astir caller tribunal quality successful a beige situation jumpsuit, helium mouthed to his household “I emotion you” and repeatedly enactment his hands to his heart, making a supplication sign.

As the proceeding ended, a radical of fans huddled by the courtroom doors connected their tiptoes hoping to drawback show of him and amusement enactment for the rapper.

For his erstwhile assistant, the media tempest that present surrounds the rapper is not without a hint of irony.

“He wanted to marque himself the astir celebrated idiosyncratic successful the world, and ironically, present helium is," Mr Shuter said.

Christal Hayes contributed reporting to this story.