Sean 'Diddy' Combs defence lawyers face uphill battle

Sean "Diddy" Combs will argue at his sex trafficking trial beginning next week that women who took part in his elaborate sex parties did so willingly, but his lawyers will face an uphill battle trying to undermine the credibility of accusers who say the hip-hop mogul forced them to participate.

Combs, a onetime billionaire known for elevating hip-hop in American culture in the 1990s and early 2000s, has pleaded not guilty to five felony counts including racketeering and sex trafficking, Reuters reports.

Prosecutors with the Manhattan US Attorney's office say that for two decades, he used his business empire to lure women into his orbit with promises of romantic relationships or financial support, and then used violence and threats to obligate them to take part in days-long, drug-fueled sexual performances known as "Freak Offs" with male sex workers.

"The defense has quite the uphill battle ahead," said Heather Cucolo, a New York Law School professor. "There was a clear power dynamic, and that power dynamic is going to be a main focus and a main issue here."

Lawyers for Combs, 55, have said prosecutors are improperly trying to criminalise a consensual "swingers" lifestyle in which he and his longtime girlfriends sometimes brought a third person into their relationships.

Jury selection for his trial got under way on Monday, with opening statements scheduled for May 12.

To persuade the jury, his lawyers will have to undermine the accounts of at least four women expected to testify that he coerced them into taking part in unwanted sex acts. Combs' lawyers have signaled they intend to argue the women had financial incentives to falsely accuse Combs of abuse.

Other high-profile criminal defendants in sex abuse trials have deployed similar strategies in a #MeToo era that has encouraged victims to come forward. Many of these defendants, such as R&B singer R Kelly and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, have been convicted anyway.

Combs' defence says it has evidence the accusers are not being candid. Defence lawyer Teny Geragos said at an April 14 court hearing that one accuser, referred to in court papers as Victim-4, had "cherry-picked" material she chose to hand over to prosecutors, leaving out important context.

At a November 22, 2024, court hearing, defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo said another woman, referred to in the indictment as Victim-1, had her lawyer ask another one of Combs' lawyers for $30 million in exchange for not publishing a memoir. When the money did not materialize, she sued Combs in November 2023 and settled the case for an undisclosed amount, Agnifilo said, without naming the accuser.

R&B vocalist Casandra Ventura, Combs' longtime former girlfriend who performs under the stage name Cassie, accused Combs of sex trafficking in a November 16, 2023, lawsuit. The case swiftly settled and terms were not disclosed. Combs denied the allegations.

"It's our defence to these charges that this was a toxic, loving, 11-year relationship," Agnifilo said at the hearing last November.