What we know about the accusations against Sean 'Diddy' Combs

Sean "Diddy" Combs, 1 of the astir palmy euphony moguls successful the past of rap, has been arrested and charged with enactment trafficking and racketeering.

Prosecutors allege helium "abused, threatened, and coerced women", and said helium "creating a transgression enterprise" besides progressive successful forced labour, kidnapping, arson and bribery.

The prima has pleaded not blameworthy and his lawyer said helium "didn't bash these things". A justice denied him bail aft prosecutors argued helium was a menace to the community.

The tribunal lawsuit comes aft a twelvemonth successful which the instrumentalist has faced lawsuits from respective women, including his long-time spouse Casandra "Cassie" Ventura, accusing him of intersexual and carnal abuse.

In a connection past December, Mr Combs defended himself against what helium described arsenic "sickening allegations" made by "individuals looking for a speedy payday".

"Let maine beryllium perfectly clear: I did not bash immoderate of the atrocious things being alleged," helium said.

Mr Combs - who has besides gone by the names Puffy, Puff Daddy, P Diddy, Love, and Brother Love - fundamentally rewrote the rules of hip-hop successful the 1990s, but his vocation has been punctuated by controversies.

Here is simply a timeline of his vocation and the accusations against him.

Sean John Combs was calved successful Harlem and raised successful Mount Vernon, New York.

His mother, Janice, was a teacher's assistant, portion his begetter Melvin was a erstwhile subordinate of the US Air Force who became an subordinate of the drug-trafficker Frank Lucas, who aboriginal inspired the Ridley Scott movie American Gangster.

In 1972, Melvin was fatally changeable successful his car during a cause transaction aft being misidentified arsenic an informant. Combs was conscionable two, though helium didn't larn the circumstances of his father's decease until overmuch later.

Raised by his mother, helium was a flashy kid who loved rap euphony and played shot for the schoolhouse team.

As a teenager, helium danced successful euphony videos for artists specified arsenic Diana Ross and the Fine Young Cannibals.

Taking a cue from his mother, who worked aggregate jobs to enactment Sean and his sister Keisha, helium besides worked six abstracted paper transportation routes, earlier enrolling to survey concern medication astatine Howard University.

At university, Mr Combs gained a estimation for throwing lavish parties, immoderate of which attracted much than a 1000 guests.

After booking musicians specified arsenic Heavy D and Terry Riley to play astatine these gigs, helium came to the attraction of Uptown Records' laminitis Andre Harrell, who gave him an internship successful New York.

Mr Combs yet dropped retired of assemblage to enactment determination full-time, guiding the aboriginal careers of artists including Mary J Blige and Jodeci.

However, calamity struck successful 1991, erstwhile Mr Combs co-promoted a personage hoops crippled and performance astatine City College of New York. Nearly 5,000 radical showed up to the gymnasium, which could lone acceptable 2,730 people. In the ensuing crush, 9 radical died and 29 radical were injured.

An enquiry by the New York Mayor's Office cited Mr Combs for hiring inexperienced information guards. However, the prima and his lawyers maintained helium was not liable for information astatine the event.

"City College is thing I woody with each time of my life," the instrumentalist said successful 1998. "But the things that I woody with tin successful nary mode measurement up to the symptom that the families woody with. I conscionable commune for the families and commune for the children who mislaid their lives each day."

No transgression charges were filed implicit the tragedy, but household members of the radical who died sued the promoters, the assemblage and the city, accusing them of negligence.

The lawsuit was settled for $3.8m (£3m), of which Mr Combs paid $750,000.

While astatine Uptown, Mr Combs signed a young Brooklyn rapper called Christopher Wallace - aka Biggie Smalls, oregon the Notorious B.I.G. - and started enactment connected his debut album.

But his narration with Harrell broke down and Mr Combs was fired. He retaliated by mounting up his ain label, Bad Boy Records, and taking Biggie with him.

The star's debut album, Ready To Die, was hailed arsenic an all-time rap classic, selling millions of copies and generating the multi-platinum singles Juicy and Big Poppa.

Mr Combs rapidly expanded the Bad Boy roster, releasing deed albums by Faith Evans, Ma$e, 112 and Total.

The label's dependable was slick and polished. Its biggest singles lifted chunky samples from well-known hits. The signifier was frowned upon by hip-hop purists, but it was catnip to vigor programmers.

In March 1997, Biggie Smalls was gunned down successful a drive-by shooting astatine the property of 24.

The execution has ne'er been solved, but it has consistently been linked to the East-Coast-West-Coast rivalry that consumed rap euphony successful the 1990s and which had antecedently claimed the beingness of Tupac Shakur.

Mr Combs, who had been travelling successful the car down his friend, poured his grief into a song, I'll Be Missing You, which became 1 of the biggest songs of 1997.

The song, based astir The Police's Every Breath You Take, besides featured connected Mr Combs' debut album, No Way Out, which sold 7 cardinal copies worldwide.

By this stage, Bad Boy had go 1 of the astir important labels successful rap. Aside from its ain releases, artists including Mariah Carey and Jennifer Lopez were asking Mr Combs to remix their songs, hoping for a dash of hip-hop credibility.

But determination was trouble, too. In May 1999, Mr Combs was arrested connected suspicion of assaulting Interscope Records enforcement Steve Stoute, aft a disagreement implicit a euphony video. He pleaded blameworthy to harassment and was sentenced to a one-day choler absorption class, external.

Later that year, helium was charged with transgression possession of a limb erstwhile constabulary recovered 2 nine-millimetre guns successful his car, aft an statement successful a nine turned violent.

Mr Combs and his past woman Jennifer Lopez were some arrested. Mr Combs was aboriginal acquitted of each charges, external. Lopez was not charged.

A erstwhile president of Bad Boy Entertainment sued Mr Combs successful 2003, alleging that his erstwhile concern spouse threatened him with a shot bat, external and forced him into signing implicit his shares successful the company.

In his lawsuit, Kirk Burrowes besides says that Mr Combs intimidated Mary J Blige into dropping him arsenic her manager successful 2001.

Mr Combs denied the allegations, calling them "complete fantasy".

An appeals tribunal dismissed the lawsuit successful 2006, ruling that the statute of limitations has expired.

In 2005, 20-year-old vocalist Casandra Elizabeth Ventura scored a insignificant nine deed successful Germany with her debut single, Me & U.

After proceeding it connected a nighttime out, Mr Combs convinces Cassie (as she is known professionally) to articulation Bad Boy Records for a 10-album deal.

Her self-titled debut was released successful 2008 and its futuristic, space-age R&B proved to beryllium a deed with critics.

By that stage, Mr Combs and Ventura were successful a relationship. But successful a civil suit filed successful December 2023, she said the mogul had utilized his presumption of powerfulness to "set the groundwork" for a "manipulative and coercive romanticist and intersexual relationship".

Her suit included aggregate graphic descriptions of convulsive abuse, alleging that Mr Combs "regularly bushed and kicked Ms Ventura, leaving achromatic eyes, bruises, and blood".

Ventura besides alleged intersexual maltreatment and rape, and claimed that galore of these incidents were witnessed by Mr Combs' "tremendously loyal network" who "were not consenting to bash thing meaningful" to halt the violence.

Mr Combs strenuously denied the allegations and accused Ventura of trying to extort him. They settled the case a time aft it was filed successful New York, with Mr Combs' lawyer saying the colony was "in nary mode an admittance of wrongdoing".

Music took a backmost spot aft 2007, erstwhile Mr Combs signed a woody with British drinks institution Diageo to beforehand the French vodka brand, Cîroc, successful the US for a 50-50 nett split.

His endorsement saw the marque placed successful dozens of euphony videos - including Diddy's ain azygous "Ciroc Star" - and helped summation income from 40,000 to 2,000,000 cases per twelvemonth by 2014.

Around the aforesaid time, helium co-founded the media institution Revolt, whose TV channels and websites are described arsenic "the unapologetic, authoritative dependable of hip-hop culture".

Mr Combs' engagement with some companies came to an extremity successful 2023-24. He had previously sued Diageo, accusing it of neglecting his marque due to the fact that of race.

In 2015, Mr Combs got into a scuffle with his son's shot manager prompted by an statement during training.

As the enactment escalated, Mr Combs allegedly threatened an intern with a kettle bell. He was aboriginal arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon.

The charges were subsequently dropped. A typical for Mr Combs said property accounts of the incidental were "wholly inaccurate".

The archetypal allegations of maltreatment to aboveground against Mr Combs came from his exemplary ex-girlfriend Gina Huynh.

Although mostly unreported astatine the time, Huynh gave an interrogation to YouTube property Tasha K, wherever she said Mr Combs had been physically abusive and offered her wealth to get an termination during their on-off, five-year relationship.

On 1 occasion, she alleged that Mr Combs had erstwhile "stomped connected my tummy truly hard - like, took the upwind retired of my breath".

He did not respond to the accusations.

Mr Combs ended an eight-year philharmonic hiatus with the merchandise of his 5th record. Titled The Love Album: Off The Grid, it featured collaborations with The Weeknd, Justin Bieber, 21 Savage and Mary J Blige.

The merchandise coincided with Mr Combs being named a Global Icon astatine the MTV Awards.

In November, The Love Album earned the prima his archetypal solo information astatine the Grammys, successful the champion progressive R&B medium category.

However, helium pulled retired of the ceremonial arsenic his ineligible troubles mounted.

In the aforesaid week arsenic Cassie filed (and settled) her suit against Mr Combs, 2 much women came guardant with claims of maltreatment and assault.

In a ailment filed successful Manhattan, Joi Dickerson-Neal accused the prima of drugging and sexually assaulting her erstwhile she was a assemblage pupil successful 1991. She besides claimed helium recorded the onslaught and distributed the footage without her consent.

A 3rd woman, Liza Gardner, besides filed tribunal papers accusing Mr Combs of coercing her into sex successful the aboriginal 1990s and then, a mates of days later, choking her truthful hard that she passed out.

The lawsuits each came soon earlier the expiration of the New York Adult Survivors Act, which temporarily allowed radical who said they were sexually abused to record claims, adjacent aft the statute of limitations had expired.

Mr Combs denied each the allegations against him, portion his spokesperson called the lawsuits a "money grab".

"The claims involving alleged misconduct against Mr Combs from implicit 30 years agone and filed astatine the past infinitesimal are each wholly denied and rejected by him," they said successful a statement.

"The New York Legislature surely did not mean oregon expect the Adult Survivors Act to beryllium exploited for improper purposes. The nationalist should beryllium sceptical and not unreserved to judge these unsubstantiated allegations."

A 4th pistillate sued successful December, claiming she was "sex trafficked" and "gang raped" by Mr Combs, erstwhile Bad Boy Records president Harve Pierre and different antheral successful 2003, erstwhile she was 17 years old.

In tribunal papers, the pistillate alleged she was fixed "copious amounts of drugs and alcohol" earlier the onslaught and was near successful truthful overmuch symptom that she could hardly basal oregon retrieve however she got home.

In response, Mr Combs said helium "did not bash immoderate of the atrocious things being alleged", portion Pierre said the "disgusting allegations" were "false and a hopeless effort for fiscal gain".

The justice successful the lawsuit aboriginal ruled that the woman, who filed her lawsuit anonymously, would person to usage her existent sanction if she wanted to proceed.

On 6 December, Mr Combs responded to the flurry of lawsuits with a statement connected his Instagram page, external.

"ENOUGH IS ENOUGH," helium wrote. "For the past mates of weeks, I person sat silently and watched radical effort to assassinate my character, destruct my estimation and my legacy.

"Sickening allegations person been made against maine by individuals looking for a speedy payday. Let maine beryllium perfectly clear: I did not bash immoderate of the atrocious things being alleged. I volition combat for my name, my household and for the truth."

Music shaper Rodney Jones Jr, who produced 9 tracks connected The Love Album, sued Mr Combs successful February 2024, accusing the prima of making unwanted intersexual interaction and forcing him to prosecute prostitutes and enactment successful enactment acts with them.

In tribunal papers filed successful New York, Jones besides claimed that Mr Combs tried to "groom" him into having enactment with different man, telling him it was "a mean signifier successful the euphony industry".

Mr Combs' lawyer, Shawn Holley, called the shaper "nothing much than a liar" and described his claims arsenic "pure fiction" that tin beryllium discredited by "overwhelming, indisputable proof".

One period later, national agents raided 2 properties owned by Mr Combs successful Los Angeles and Miami. Computers and different devices were confiscated portion officers searched his Californian mansion.

Mr Combs was besides stopped astatine an airdrome successful Miami arsenic helium prepared to permission for the Bahamas, according to the New York Times, external. He is said to person handed implicit a fig of physics devices and was not detained.

The Department of Homeland Security said the searches formed "part of an ongoing investigation", but it was not wide however their inquiries were related to the civilian cases against Mr Combs.

His lawyer called the raids a "witch-hunt based connected meritless accusations made successful civilian lawsuits" and said his lawsuit was innocent.

Mr Combs was arrested successful a New York edifice connected Monday 16 September, facing 3 charges: racketeering; enactment trafficking by force, fraud oregon coercion; and proscription to prosecute successful prostitution.

In an unsealed indictment, prosecutors said helium organised events dubbed "Freak Offs" successful which helium forced women to prosecute with commercialized enactment workers and filmed them.

The 14-page papers besides accused Mr Combs of turning his elephantine concern empire into a transgression endeavor that threatened and abused women.

It described a longstanding signifier of violently assaulting and coercing women to "fulfil his intersexual desires".

Appearing successful tribunal the pursuing day, Mr Combs pleaded not guilty. A justice denied him bail aft prosecutors argued helium was a menace to the community.

"Mr Combs is simply a fighter. He's going to combat this to the end. He's innocent," said his lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, who pledged to entreaty against the bail decision.