Sean 'Diddy' Combs arrested in New York
Trigger warning: This article contains mentions of sexual assault.
Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is facing charges in line with sexual assault and sex trafficking, has been arrested in New York City.
NBC News reported on Tuesday, Sept. 17 (Philippine time) that the hip-hop mogul was arrested in a hotel lobby, as confirmed by U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. A person familiar with the case stated that Combs, who was caught off guard, had been living at the establishment for several weeks.
It was not specified what charges Combs was arrested for, according to the media outlet.
Reacting to the news, Combs' attorney, Marc Agnifilo, stressed that his client had been cooperative with the investigation and “voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges.”
“Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man, and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children, and working to uplift the Black community,” he said in a statement. “He is an imperfect person but he is not a criminal.”
The arrest comes after two of his properties in Los Angeles and Miami were raided in March as part of the ongoing investigation on his sex trafficking case.
In November 2023, Diddy was sued by his former girlfriend Casandra Ventura, also known as Cassie, who was signed to his Bad Boy label. In the lawsuit, she alleged that he forced her to perform sexual acts with multiple men over a number of years in cities across the US.
The case has been settled, though it was followed by more complaints, including one in December by a woman who accused Combs of gang-raping her with other men when she was 17.
In February, Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones filed a case against the hip-hop mogul alleging that "he was sexually harassed, drugged, and threatened by him for over a year." Diddy, through his lawyer, denied the accusations.
He is also facing a lawsuit about sexual assault, which was filed by former model Crystal McKinney in May. The latter alleged that Combs had forced her to perform oral sex on him at a party in 2003.
In July, he was also sued by a former adult film star for sexual assault and sex trafficking.
