All the major Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs accusations explained as highly anticipated trial begins
Warning: This article contains discussion of sexual assault allegations which some readers may find distressing.
The trial for Sean 'Diddy' Combs begins today (5 May), and many people have struggled to keep up with the horrifying number of allegations which have surfaced about the rapper, with an indictment that's 17 pages long.
The case about Combs is starting at a New York courthouse today, with the jury selection expected to take several days to complete.
The start of testimony and opening statements are predicted to take place early next week.
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He is facing trial for claims he used his success and status to sexually abuse women, with the allegation leading to his arrest in September last year.
He has recently been given permission to wear 'non-prison clothing' in court.
Diddy denies all wrongdoing.
What are the charges against him?
The huge indictment accuses the rapper of sex trafficking and overseeing a racketeering conspiracy, with claims that are said to date back over a period of two decades.
It is alleged that he used a combination of his success and influence along with violence to bribe women into performing sexual acts at his now infamous 'freak offs'.
One allegation in the indictment claims he even dangled somebody over a balcony.
Cassie Ventura lawsuit
In 2016, he was caught on camera attacking his girlfriend Cassie in the hallway of a hotel, with the footage leaked last year.
Cassie filed a lawsuit in late 2023, alleging that she had been the victim of abuse, beatings and rape over 10 years at the hands of Combs.
She came forward and gave up her right to anonymity in order to be named along with the claim. The suit was settled out of court after just one day.
Joseph Manzaro lawsuit
In April, another man filed a claim that Combs had trafficked him, 'forcibly paraded' him through the house in front of onlookers, and then arranged his sexual assault.
The plaintiff, Joseph Manzaro, alleged multiple celebrities witnessed what happened to him.
Lawsuits against Diddy in 2025
It is also claimed that Combs forced employees to 'work long hours with little sleep'.
It is said he threatened them with or used 'physical force, psychological harm, financial harm, and reputational harm',
In February, an unnamed woman claimed Combs abused and penetrated her at a club back in 2016.
A male-model alleged when he was 21 he responded to a casting call, where it is claimed Combs ordered him to remove his clothes and groped him.
Another unnamed musician claims in 2022, a man claiming to work for Combs approached him where he was performing in the street to scout him and invited to an 'A-List birthday party.'
He later said he felt the effects of a 'spiked drink' and alleges he was raped by Combs, before a driver dropped him off at a nightclub where he was found.
Another unnamed plaintiff has said he was 17 years old and plied with multiple shots of vodka before an alleged rape.
Two unnamed women lodged several lawsuits in Manhattan alleging they were raped by multiple men 'under Combs' direction'.
The second woman claimed she was subjected to 'sexual assault, coercion, abuse and violence' by Combs.
LaTroya Grayson lawsuit
A woman named LaTroya Grayson said she won a radio station contest to attend one of Combs' parties in 2006.
She claims she later woke up at Saint Vincent's Medical Center of New York, unable to remember anything.
Her underwear was allegedly missing and she was in pain, and she says she received a threatening phone call the next day telling her not to pursue charges.
What is Diddy's defence?
His lawyers are insisting that Combs is innocent, saying all group sex was consensual.
They acknowledge he was 'not a perfect person' and that he had used drugs and had also been in 'toxic relationships' but insisted that any and all sexual activity between Combs, Cassie and others was consensual and legal.
Combs’ attorney told the BBC he’s 'never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone - man or woman, adult or minor'.
They also called many of the claims 'pure fiction' to USA Today.
They also said a damning 90-minute documentary called Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy was full of 'unchecked claims and provide platforms for baseless conspiracy theories without accountability or evidence'.
If found guilty, Diddy is facing a potential life sentence.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivors Trust for free on 08088 010 818, available 10am-12.30pm, 1.30pm-3pm and 6pm-8pm Monday to Thursday, 10am-12.30pm and 1.30pm-3pm on Fridays, 10am-12.30pm on Saturdays and 6pm-8pm on Sundays.
Topics: Celebrity, Crime, True Crime, Diddy
Jen Thomas