Brian Buckmeyer
Appearances
20/20
Bad Rap: Party's Over
In Diddy's old life, he could choose which of his many homes he wanted to spend time in. A three-story mansion overlooking the Pacific Ocean and downtown LA, a compound in Miami including a nine-bedroom mansion, a New York City apartment with views of Central Park, homes in New Jersey and Atlanta, and a waterfront mansion in the Hamptons.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
Now, Diddy's in the Metropolitan Detention Center, or MDC, in Brooklyn. This bland behemoth is where he'll stay as he awaits trial. So we're pulling up to MDC now. It's got like this... uncapped, unwashed, grunginess of it. There's a tall metal fence around the MDC complex, so the parking lot's as far as most reporters get.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
By the summer of 2009, Diddy had won three Grammys. He had five songs hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and three of his albums had gone platinum. He was successful and rich. Four months from turning 40, Forbes magazine put Diddy's net worth at $30 million. He'd presented himself for a long time as a champion and model of Black excellence. and he was feeling patriotic after the U.S.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
But as a defense attorney, I'm here almost every week, and I can get further than most. I walk through the gate, up the steps, and through the doors to security. I get escorted into the visitor's area, and I meet my client for about an hour or two. For the parts of the jail I can't see, my clients fill me in about how boiling hot it is in the summer, how cold it is in the winter.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
An inmate told me that at one point, when there was no heat or hot water, he couldn't go to the showers and instead was dumping hot water onto his body from the sink, washing himself and catching the water in the toilet. I had to come to MDC on that cold, gray day in January to meet with a client who was awaiting sentencing.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
Getting out of my Uber, I looked up at this complex of tall, concrete buildings. And the gate before you come in, you can actually hear people. It almost sounds like they're, like, rec hour. Yeah, it sounds like they're playing a sport.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
Each of MDC's buildings are 10 or more stories tall, and where the windows in a typical apartment would be, you have red brick slabs with narrow slats and big sections of metal grating that give you the impression of a locked jail cell, even from the outside.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
MDC is right on the Brooklyn waterfront, just a few blocks from a bougie converted warehouse space full of artisanal shops and upscale restaurants. But if you're part of the legal system in New York, you know that MDC is not a nice place to be. In fact, it's been described as hell on earth, known for its violence, corruption, and miserable conditions.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
It's a federal building, so you can see Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons. You see the American flag. And the building has watermarks and rust on the metal parts and things of that way. Over the years, it's housed some people you've probably heard of, like R. Kelly, Michael Cohen, Ghislaine Maxwell, Sam Bankman Freed, Luigi Mangione, and Sean Diddy Combs.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
Combs has been at MDC since he was arrested last September. According to his attorney, Mark Agnifilo, Diddy had flown to New York to cooperate with authorities.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
Paparazzi and onlookers caught snippets of Diddy's visit to New York last September, and from those photos and videos, it looked like he was enjoying his time, talking and smiling with fans, playing hacky sack in Central Park, strolling through the city with his family. If Diddy had plans to turn himself in, he didn't do it for the first 12 days he was in New York.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
But on the night of September 16th at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, Homeland Security Investigations agents caught Diddy by surprise. You could see on the hotel security footage that Diddy walked into the front door and the agents approached him. They separated him from the group he was with, put handcuffs on him, and took him away.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
The day after Combs' arrest, the prosecutor at the time held a news conference to announce the charges.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
Because of how serious and violent the alleged crimes are, Combs was ordered held without bail. ABC News Chief Investigative Correspondent Aaron Katursky was in the courtroom.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
It didn't surprise me that things didn't go Diddy's way with bail. The allegations and trafficking charges are very serious. And if Diddy were out on bail, the fear was he'd have the ability to reach witnesses and possibly intimidate them. I didn't think there was a chance he was getting out. But that didn't stop Diddy or his attorneys from trying.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
Diddy's attorney told reporters before the start of the bail hearings, MDC was no place for his client.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
elected its first Black president. So he decided this year's white party would be held on Independence Day. He gave Marie Claire magazine a sneak peek before the party started. The pool draped in gauzy white curtains and chandeliers. Platters of shrimp, crab cakes, and barbecue were served.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
Over and over again, Diddy tried to get released. He tried offering a $50 million bond. He tried offering home confinement. He tried to prove he wasn't a flight risk, attempting to sell his private plane and saying he'd surrender his passport to his attorney. He was trying to be a cooperative defendant. But no, Sean Combs was denied bail four times.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
In one of his first bail hearings, prosecutors presented calls Diddy made and texts he sent before his arrest. They said Diddy reached out to potential witnesses, telling them that he'd be taken care of financially if they stuck by his side.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
And then in November, after he'd been at MDC for about two months and was up for a third chance at bail, prosecutors alleged Combs had been paying other inmates to access their phone accounts and, according to the government, avoid law enforcement monitoring.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
And prosecutors said they caught Combs on recorded calls from jail, asking family members to reach out to potential victims and witnesses and urged them to come up with narratives to sway the jury in his favor.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
Prosecutors wrote in their court filing, "...the defendant has shown repeatedly, even while in custody, that he will flagrantly and repeatedly flout rules in order to improperly impact the outcome of his case." The defendant has shown, in other words, that he cannot be trusted to abide by rules or conditions.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
Diddy's attorneys responded to prosecutors' arguments by saying the nonstop drumbeat of negative publicity has destroyed Combs' reputation and will make it virtually impossible for him to receive a fair trial. So Combs isn't back in his $48 million mansion on an island in Miami Beach, where at one point he'd asked to await trial.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
Instead, he's being detained far from the pools, hot tubs, cabanas, and ocean views he's used to. So what's it like being an inmate at MDC? What's it like being a celebrity and a lead sex offender in MDC, a notoriously dangerous and neglected jail? After the break, we meet someone who gives us an inside view of MDC most people don't get to see, and a window into Comza's life behind bars.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
A sommelier explained that all the wine served would be, of course, white.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
Just a few weeks ago, I talked to someone who's been past the visitation area at MDC, who's really been on the inside. And I will try my best to make this not feel like a cross-examination, even though that is my typical practice. Oh, that's okay. You can ask me anything. That's Cameron Lindsay. He's worked in corrections for 25 years.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
He was a warden of five different correctional facilities, including MDC Brooklyn. And since retiring in 2014, he's continued to work in jails and prisons around the country as a consultant and also serves as an expert witness, often testifying on behalf of a plaintiff who was hurt or even killed while incarcerated. So he's seen some stuff in this country's correction system.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
And he says for anyone, going into detention is a shock to the system, but especially for someone like Sean Combs.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
It's small things, like having to wear the same beige prison-issued jumpsuit as everyone else. And it's big things, too, like where and how he's housed. Diddy's lawyer has said he's in what's called the special housing unit, which means he's separated from the general population. If it were up to retired Warden Lindsey, he'd go even further, putting Diddy in almost complete isolation.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
But that doesn't seem to be MDC's approach. Diddy reportedly has access to at least some other inmates. Convicted crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried said in an interview with Tucker Carlson that Diddy has been kind to people in the unit, and he's been, quote, kind to me. We also know Diddy's cell is small, not what he's used to.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
Two of the biggest songs of 2009 were Lady Gaga's Poker Face and I Got a Feeling by the Black Eyed Peas. None of Diddy's music was at the top of the charts, but this was the year he rapped Making the Band, the show that made him a reality star. And reality shows were hot.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
They keep Diddy separated from the jail's general population to keep him safe. His wealth and notoriety could make him a target.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
It's right for MDC officials to take Diddy's safety seriously. The facility is infamously dangerous. The Associated Press reported that just in the last three years, there has been a stabbing death, a death after a brawl, and at least four deaths by suicide. And in the time Diddy's been at MDC, an inmate was charged with orchestrating a murder for hire plot from inside.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
A Southern District of New York judge said in a 2024 opinion that defendants at MDC Brooklyn complain of, quote, near perpetual lockdowns, dreadful conditions and lengthy delays in getting medical care. He and other federal judges have refused to send defendants to MDC on the grounds that conditions are so bad.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
Conditions at MDC sank to their lowest in 2019 with what Lindsay calls the freeze-out, when nearly 1,700 inmates had to live in below-freezing temperatures for a week.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
There was a heat and power outage at the same time. Cells were dark. Toilets wouldn't flush. And access to food, medical care, and phone calls were cut off. Inmates sued, the Department of Justice investigated, and a settlement was reached for about $10 million. When you're incarcerated, sometimes getting the bare necessities can be a struggle.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
But what happens when your clientele includes people with means, people who are used to buying whatever they want? Lindsay doesn't know anything about Diddy specifically, but I asked him about corruption in general. So if I tell you that I've heard stories like,
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
well, people are buying cell phones inside of MDC and people are having sometimes lobster dinners or dinners brought to them that you're wondering, how are you eating like this in MDC? Are those shocking to you at all that I'm talking to you about lobster dinners and cell phones in MDC?
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
Diddy's hit show was the perfect blend of American Idol, the number one TV show in America that year, and another popular show at the time, The Celebrity Apprentice. On making the ban, Diddy presented himself as a kind of Trump-like figure of the music industry, who would crown the next big pop group. Diddy had been throwing these Gatsby-esque white parties for almost a decade.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
It's hard to know the precise impact Diddy's presence has had on MDC, but retired warden Cameron Lindsay says it's reasonable to think there's been increased scrutiny on the facility from higher-ups. We do know since he's been in, there have been lockdowns and contraband sweeps involving other inmates, in which investigators have seized drugs, homemade weapons, and electronic devices.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
So we started with Diddy at his peak, the host of the party that everyone wanted to go to, the center of an industry that so many wanted to be part of, the key that could unlock success and fame for those around him. But now he's locked up and can't even control the most basic things, like when he eats or bathes. How did Diddy go from mogul to inmate?
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
How did he build not just a career, but an empire? And if the allegations against him are true, how did he get away with the violence, abuse, and manipulation for so long? Coming up on Bad Rap, the case against Diddy.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
Diddy's success comes at a price. But time and time again, he doesn't seem to be the one paying.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
In our next episode, we'll trace the path of Diddy's rising star from college dropout to the cover of Rolling Stone. And later in our series, the early signs of Diddy's alleged dark side start to emerge.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
Stay with us as new episodes drop every week in the lead-up to Diddy's trial. Once it starts, we'll keep you posted with updates throughout. If you enjoyed this episode, we'd love if you'd share it and give us a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Bad Rap, The Case Against Diddy is a production of ABC Audio. I'm Brian Buckmeyer.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
This podcast was written and produced by Vika Aronson, Camille Peterson, and Nancy Rosenbaum. Tracy Samuelson is our story editor. Associate producer, Amira Williams. Production help from Shane McKeon. Fact checker, Audrey Mostek. Story consultant, Sweeney St. Phil. Supervising producer, Sasha Aslanian. Original music by Eben Viola. Mixing by Rick Kwan.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
Arielle Chester is our social media producer. This podcast was powered by the journalists at Impact by Nightline, 2020, GMA, and the ABC News investigative unit. Thanks to those teams. And special thanks to Stephanie Maurice, Liz Alessi, and Katie Dendas. Josh Cohan is ABC Audio's director of podcast programming. Laura Mayer is our executive producer.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
The first was on Labor Day in 1998, when he had just bought a home in the Hamptons. He hosted a bunch of them there and then in Saint-Tropez on the French Riviera. One year, he took a helicopter to the party and landed holding an original copy of the Declaration of Independence. The famous writer Norman Lear loaned it to him. All of the big celebrities appeared at Diddy's white parties.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
Beyonce, Jay-Z, Jonah Hill, Martha Stewart, Paris Hilton, Aretha Franklin, Al Sharpton, and Donald Trump. They all orbited the Diddy white party sphere. As a record exec, Diddy helped launch the careers of artists who would become legends. The Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans, Usher, and many others. So it's no surprise people wanted the invite to Diddy's parties.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
In the summer of 2009, everyone was paying attention to Sean Diddy Combs. He wasn't on the top of the Billboard charts anymore, but he had become a fixture of American pop culture. The flashiest example was his annual star-studded white party. It was an exclusive event, and everything had to be white, from the decor to the dress code. This was the early days of smartphones.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
If they had got one, then they belonged in the list of celebrities, politicians, and cultural icons who had proximity to a mogul, who knew everyone and could make things happen. You could hang out in the backyard with hundreds of guests who made it through the gates to the main party, but it still had a VIP section, an inner circle.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
Reality TV personality and podcaster Jason Lee was at the 2009 Independence Day white party. He remembers it as a good time and says it helped his career. Lee claims he never saw any darkness or any hints of the crimes Diddy would be accused of years later.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
Lots of people who attended Diddy's parties never saw his alleged dark side. For decades, A-listers were eager to pose next to the mogul at a Hamptons bash. Today, many of those celebrities are actively distancing themselves from Diddy, not wanting to share that toxic spotlight. At the height of his power and influence, Diddy had complete control over his world.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
He decided who got to be an insider, controlled what happened when the lights went out, and he'd tell his guests as much.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
The curfew announcement, when kids had to disappear and lots of adults left too. It hints at a turn. Diddy foreshadows an adult world, a late-night world of secrets. And some of those secrets, they've come pouring out. Diddy's rise and fall. It's the story we'll tell you in the first six episodes of this podcast.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
How a man who was on top of the music industry and on top of the world is now confined to a cell that couldn't be less luxurious, awaiting trial. And once the trial begins, we'll take you there with twice weekly updates as the case unfolds. Two very different versions of Diddy have emerged over the years.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
The charmer that he showed the world and the predator that onlookers and alleged victims are now claiming he was all along. Which version of Diddy will win out in court? I'm Brian Buckmeyer, an attorney and an ABC News legal contributor. From ABC Audio, this is Bad Rap, the case against Diddy. Episode one, party's over. Diddy's white parties were glittering displays of wealth and social capital.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
But to some, they were clues, even early on, that Diddy's world had shadows. Justin Tinsley is a culture reporter for ESPN's Anscape, which focuses on Black culture. He says there'd always been rumors about what Diddy was like behind the scenes, at parties, and in his personal and professional life.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
In November of 2023, someone did come forward. Diddy's ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, filed a civil lawsuit against him, alleging that for over a decade he trapped her in a cycle of abuse, violence, and sex trafficking. The lawsuit was a bombshell. It alleged Cassie was forced to participate in orchestrated, elaborate sex parties Diddy called freak-offs that he would film and keep recordings of.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
Imagine every celebrity worth an Us Weekly headline with a bedazzled smartphone in their hand. It was before TikTok and Instagram, when tabloid coverage claimed to break juicy celebrity stories. Compared to the prominence of video and social media today, private celebrity parties were much more private. But one bit of Diddy's 2009 white party was captured on video.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
A day after the lawsuit was filed, Diddy settled with Cassie for an undisclosed amount and no admission of guilt. But Cassie opened the floodgates. Over the next 12 months, others who had spent time with Diddy, from a music producer to a former model to a yacht stewardess, filed lawsuits too. These lawsuits alleged rape, sexual assault, and human trafficking.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
Many also alleged Diddy would spike drinks and lace marijuana with narcotics to knock people out or make it harder for them to resist assault. Some mentioned Diddy videotaping assaults to further control and humiliate his victims. Those lawsuits went from a steady drip to a rapid current. There are now dozens of them.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
In December of 2023, Diddy said in a statement that he did not do any of the, quote, awful things being alleged. He called them sickening allegations by people looking for a quick payday.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
His attorney told ABC News Combs couldn't comment on settled litigation, wouldn't comment on pending litigation, and, quote, cannot address every allegation picked up by the press from any source, no matter how unreliable, end quote. But in the fall of 2024, criminal charges were filed against Diddy by the feds.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
Mansions where he'd once hosted lavish parties were raided by federal agents. In L.A., more than a dozen officers pulled up in armored vehicles, wearing fatigues, guns drawn, pointing them at Diddy's sons, who happened to be at home. In Miami, it was police officers in T-shirts driving up to Diddy's compound in vans.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
Combs is now facing federal criminal charges that read a lot like those earlier civil lawsuits. Sex trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution, and racketeering conspiracy. The charges accuse Diddy of decades of criminal behavior. And unlike the civil lawsuits that he faced from Cassie and now from others, these criminal charges could land him in prison for the rest of his life.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
Combs has pled not guilty to all charges. His attorney, Mark Ignifilo, called it an unjust prosecution. He said Combs was a, quote, 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 called Combs an imperfect person, but not a criminal.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
Once these lawsuits and charges were filed, reporters and fans started looking at Diddy's past with more scrutiny. And up close, knowing the allegations against him, even his famed summer parties started to look very different. Like this clip from an appearance on Conan O'Brien's show in 2002.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
Conan compliments Diddy on being a legendary party host and asks him for tips on throwing a quote, killer party.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
A joke about locking doors so women can't leave lands a little differently now. I've been captivated by Diddy's rise and fall for two reasons. The first one is pretty straightforward. When I was growing up in the 90s and 2000s, Diddy was everywhere. It's hard to be a millennial and not know his music or his impact on the music industry.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
One of his most popular songs I remember playing on the radio in elementary school was his All About the Benjamins.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
Rapper and record producer Jay Blaze caught it on camera and posted it to YouTube for the world to see. Actor Ashton Kutcher grabs onto a swing strung over the pool and tarzans across it. Diddy is emceeing in a sea of white suits, dresses, linen, and sunglasses.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
And can't nobody hold me down. he marketed himself as a kingmaker in the world of hip-hop, and everything he touched seemed to turn to gold. He turned hip-hop from being a thing my mom probably didn't want me to listen to, to something that could make him into a billionaire businessman, something my mom wouldn't approve of.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
Back then, before the lawsuits, before the allegations and scrutiny, Diddy was someone you could look up to. But I'm not a culture reporter or a music journalist. I'm an attorney. I spent almost 10 years as a public defender in New York City, the last few of those in the homicide unit. Now, I litigate federal civil and criminal cases.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
And to be clear, I am not an attorney on Diddy's case, but I have represented people who have been accused of the kind of crimes he's being accused of, and people who were victims of those types of crimes. And even with all of my experience, when I read through some of the lawsuits from the people who had sued Diddy, I had to stop myself sometimes. The photos and details were jaw-dropping.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
They were a shock to my system. And the federal indictment is sweeping and disturbing. Diddy is accused of running a vast criminal enterprise that abused, threatened, and coerced his alleged victims and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and cover up his conduct for decades. Diddy maintains his innocence. His trial is set to start in May.
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Bad Rap: Party's Over
Until then, he's locked up, stuck in a place that couldn't be more different from the luxury he's used to. A place he doesn't want to be. A place that no amount of money can get him out of. A place I know well. More after the break.
20/20
Unholy Matrimony
I'm Brian Buckmeyer, an ABC News legal contributor. As Diddy heads to trial, we trace his remarkable rise and fall, and what could be next. Listen to Bad Rap, The Case Against Diddy, a new series from ABC Audio. Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts.
20/20
The After Show: Family Lies?
Rapper Sean Diddy Combs was a kingmaker. He had wealth, fame, and power.
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The After Show: Family Lies?
I'm Brian Buckmeyer, an ABC News legal contributor. As Diddy heads to trial, we trace his remarkable rise and fall, and what could be next. Listen to Bad Rap, The Case Against Diddy, a new series from ABC Audio. Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts.
20/20
The Crime Scene: New Details in Idaho Murders Case
Rapper Sean Diddy Combs was a kingmaker. He had wealth, fame, and power.
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The Crime Scene: New Details in Idaho Murders Case
I'm Brian Buckmeyer, an ABC News legal contributor. As Diddy heads to trial, we trace his remarkable rise and fall, and what could be next. Listen to Bad Rap, The Case Against Diddy, a new series from ABC Audio. Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts.
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The Crime Scene: Tupac Murder Suspect Speaks Out
Rapper Sean Diddy Combs was a kingmaker. He had wealth, fame, and power.
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The Crime Scene: Tupac Murder Suspect Speaks Out
I'm Brian Buckmeyer, an ABC News legal contributor. As Diddy heads to trial, we trace his remarkable rise and fall, and what could be next. Listen to Bad Rap, The Case Against Diddy, a new series from ABC Audio coming March 25th, wherever you get your podcasts.
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The Crime Scene: Tupac Murder Suspect Speaks Out
We're interviewing the new housekeeper. It's been a minute since we've been out in the wild. It might take some time. We have all weekend to find... See you back at the house.
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The Crime Scene: Tupac Murder Suspect Speaks Out
All episodes streaming March 28th. And for a limited time, get Disney Plus and Hulu for just $2.99 a month.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Party's Over
Now, Diddy's in the Metropolitan Detention Center, or MDC, in Brooklyn. This bland behemoth is where he'll stay as he awaits trial. So we're pulling up to MDC now. It's got like this... uncapped, unwashed, grungy-ness of it. There's a tall metal fence around the MDC complex, so the parking lot's as far as most reporters get.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Party's Over
But as a defense attorney, I'm here almost every week, and I can get further than most. I walk through the gate, up the steps, and through the doors to security. I get escorted into the visitor's area, and I meet my client for about an hour or two. For the parts of the jail I can't see, my clients fill me in about how boiling hot it is in the summer, how cold it is in the winter.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Party's Over
An inmate told me that at one point, when there was no heat or hot water, he couldn't go to the showers and instead was dumping hot water onto his body from the sink, washing himself and catching the water in the toilet. I had to come to MDC on that cold, gray day in January to meet with a client who was awaiting sentencing.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Party's Over
Getting out of my Uber, I looked up at this complex of tall, concrete buildings. And the gate before you come in, you can actually hear people. It almost sounds like they're, like, rec hour. Yeah, it sounds like they're playing a sport.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Party's Over
Each of MDC's buildings are 10 or more stories tall, and where the windows in a typical apartment would be, you have red brick slabs with narrow slats and big sections of metal grating that give you the impression of a locked jail cell, even from the outside.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Party's Over
MDC is right on the Brooklyn waterfront, just a few blocks from a bougie converted warehouse space full of artisanal shops and upscale restaurants. But if you're part of the legal system in New York, you know that MDC is not a nice place to be. In fact, it's been described as hell on earth, known for its violence, corruption, and miserable conditions.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Party's Over
So he decided this year's white party would be held on Independence Day. He gave Marie Claire magazine a sneak peek before the party started. The pool, draped in gauzy white curtains and chandeliers, platters of shrimp, crab cakes, and barbecue were served.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Party's Over
It's a federal building, so you can see Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons. You see the American flag. And the building has watermarks and rust on the metal parts and things of that way. Over the years, it's housed some people you've probably heard of, like R. Kelly, Michael Cohen, Ghislaine Maxwell, Sam Bankman Freed, Luigi Mangione, and Sean Diddy Combs.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Party's Over
Combs has been at MDC since he was arrested last September. According to his attorney, Mark Agnifilo, Diddy had flown to New York to cooperate with authorities.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Party's Over
Paparazzi and onlookers caught snippets of Diddy's visit to New York last September, and from those photos and videos, it looked like he was enjoying his time, talking and smiling with fans, playing hacky sack in Central Park, strolling through the city with his family. If Diddy had plans to turn himself in, he didn't do it for the first 12 days he was in New York.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Party's Over
But on the night of September 16th at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, Homeland Security Investigations agents caught Diddy by surprise. You could see on the hotel security footage that Diddy walked into the front door and the agents approached him. They separated him from the group he was with, put handcuffs on him, and took him away.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Party's Over
The day after Combs' arrest, the prosecutor at the time held a news conference to announce the charges.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Party's Over
Because of how serious and violent the alleged crimes are, Combs was ordered held without bail. ABC News Chief Investigative Correspondent Aaron Katursky was in the courtroom.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Party's Over
It didn't surprise me that things didn't go Diddy's way with bail. The allegations and trafficking charges are very serious. And if Diddy were out on bail, the fear was he'd have the ability to reach witnesses and possibly intimidate them. I didn't think there was a chance he was getting out. But that didn't stop Diddy or his attorneys from trying.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Party's Over
Diddy's attorney told reporters before the start of the bail hearings, MDC was no place for his client.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Party's Over
Over and over again, Diddy tried to get released. He tried offering a $50 million bond. He tried offering home confinement. He tried to prove he wasn't a flight risk, attempting to sell his private plane and saying he'd surrender his passport to his attorney. He was trying to be a cooperative defendant. But no, Sean Combs was denied bail four times.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Party's Over
A sommelier explained that all the wine served would be, of course, white.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
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That last part, witness intimidation, has become a big issue in Combs' case in recent months. In one of his first bail hearings, prosecutors presented calls Diddy made and texts he sent before his arrest. They said Diddy reached out to potential witnesses, telling them they'd be taken care of financially if they stuck by his side.
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And then in November, after he'd been at MDC for about two months and was up for a third chance at bail, prosecutors alleged Combs had been paying other inmates to access their phone accounts and, according to the government, avoid law enforcement monitoring.
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And prosecutors said they caught Combs on recorded calls from jail, asking family members to reach out to potential victims and witnesses and urged them to come up with narratives to sway the jury in his favor.
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Prosecutors wrote in their court filing, the defendant has shown repeatedly, even while in custody, that he will flagrantly and repeatedly flout rules in order to improperly impact the outcome of his case. The defendant has shown, in other words, that he cannot be trusted to abide by rules or conditions.
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Diddy's attorneys responded to prosecutors' arguments by saying the nonstop drumbeat of negative publicity has destroyed Combs' reputation and will make it virtually impossible for him to receive a fair trial. So Combs isn't back in his $48 million mansion on an island in Miami Beach, where at one point he'd asked to await trial.
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Instead, he's being detained far from the pools, hot tubs, cabanas, and ocean views he's used to. So what's it like being an inmate at MDC? What's it like being a celebrity and a lead sex offender in MDC, a notoriously dangerous and neglected jail? After the break, we meet someone who gives us an inside view of MDC most people don't get to see, and a window into Combs' life behind bars.
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Two of the biggest songs of 2009 were Lady Gaga's Poker Face and I Got a Feeling by the Black Eyed Peas. None of Diddy's music was at the top of the charts, but this was the year he rapped Making the Band, the show that made him a reality star. And reality shows were hot.
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Just a few weeks ago, I talked to someone who's been past the visitation area at MDC, who's really been on the inside. And I will try my best to make this not feel like a cross-examination, even though that is my typical practice. Oh, that's okay. You can ask me anything. That's Cameron Lindsay. He's worked in corrections for 25 years.
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He was a warden of five different correctional facilities, including MDC Brooklyn. And since retiring in 2014, he's continued to work in jails and prisons around the country as a consultant and also serves as an expert witness, often testifying on behalf of a plaintiff who was hurt or even killed while incarcerated. So he's seen some stuff in this country's correction system.
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And he says for anyone, going into detention is a shock to the system, but especially for someone like Sean Combs.
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It's small things, like having to wear the same beige prison-issued jumpsuit as everyone else. And it's big things, too, like where and how he's housed. Diddy's lawyer has said he's in what's called the special housing unit, which means he's separated from the general population. If it were up to retired Warden Lindsey, he'd go even further, putting Diddy in almost complete isolation.
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But that doesn't seem to be MDC's approach. Diddy reportedly has access to at least some other inmates. Convicted crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried said in an interview with Tucker Carlson that Diddy has been kind to people in the unit, and he's been, quote, kind to me. We also know Diddy's cell is small, not what he's used to.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
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Diddy's hit show was the perfect blend of American Idol, the number one TV show in America that year, and another popular show at the time, The Celebrity Apprentice. On making the ban, Diddy presented himself as a kind of Trump-like figure of the music industry, who would crown the next big pop group. Diddy had been throwing these Gatsby-esque white parties for almost a decade.
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They keep Diddy separated from the jail's general population to keep him safe. His wealth and notoriety could make him a target.
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It's right for MDC officials to take Diddy's safety seriously. The facility is infamously dangerous. The Associated Press reported that just in the last three years, there has been a stabbing death, a death after a brawl, and at least four deaths by suicide. And in the time Diddy's been at MDC, an inmate was charged with orchestrating a murder for hire plot from inside.
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A Southern District of New York judge said in a 2024 opinion that defendants at MDC Brooklyn complain of, quote, near perpetual lockdowns, dreadful conditions and lengthy delays in getting medical care. He and other federal judges have refused to send defendants to MDC on the grounds that conditions are so bad.
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Conditions at MDC sank to their lowest in 2019 with what Lindsay calls the freeze-out, when nearly 1,700 inmates had to live in below-freezing temperatures for a week.
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There was a heat and power outage at the same time. Cells were dark. Toilets wouldn't flush. And access to food, medical care, and phone calls were cut off. Inmates sued, the Department of Justice investigated, and a settlement was reached for about $10 million. When you're incarcerated, sometimes getting the bare necessities can be a struggle.
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But what happens when your clientele includes people with means, people who are used to buying whatever they want? Lindsay doesn't know anything about Diddy specifically, but I asked him about corruption in general. So if I tell you that I've heard stories like,
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well, people are buying cell phones inside of MDC and people are having sometimes lobster dinners or dinners brought to them that you're wondering, how are you eating like this in MDC? Are those shocking to you at all that I'm talking to you about lobster dinners and cell phones in MDC?
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It's hard to know the precise impact Diddy's presence has had on MDC, but retired warden Cameron Lindsay says it's reasonable to think there's been increased scrutiny on the facility from higher-ups. We do know since he's been in, there have been lockdowns and contraband sweeps involving other inmates, in which investigators have seized drugs, homemade weapons, and electronic devices.
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The first was on Labor Day in 1998, when he had just bought a home in the Hamptons. He hosted a bunch of them there and then in Saint-Tropez on the French Riviera. One year, he took a helicopter to the party and landed holding an original copy of the Declaration of Independence. The famous writer Norman Lear loaned it to him. All of the big celebrities appeared at Diddy's white parties.
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So we started with Diddy at his peak, the host of the party that everyone wanted to go to, the center of an industry that so many wanted to be part of, the key that could unlock success and fame for those around him. But now he's locked up and can't even control the most basic things, like when he eats or bathes. How did Diddy go from mogul to inmate?
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How did he build not just a career, but an empire? And if the allegations against him are true, how did he get away with the violence, abuse, and manipulation for so long? Coming up on Bad Rap, the case against Diddy.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
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Diddy's success comes at a price. But time and time again, he doesn't seem to be the one paying.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
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In our next episode, we'll trace the path of Diddy's rising star from college dropout to the cover of Rolling Stone. And later in our series, the early signs of Diddy's alleged dark side start to emerge.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
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Stay with us as new episodes drop every week in the lead-up to Diddy's trial. Once it starts, we'll keep you posted with updates throughout. If you enjoyed this episode, we'd love if you'd share it and give us a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Bad Rap, The Case Against Diddy is a production of ABC Audio. I'm Brian Buckmeyer.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Party's Over
This podcast was written and produced by Vika Aronson, Camille Peterson, and Nancy Rosenbaum. Tracy Samuelson is our story editor. Associate producer, Amira Williams. Production help from Shane McKeon. Fact checker, Audrey Mostek. Story consultant, Sweeney St. Phil. Supervising producer, Sasha Aslanian. Original music by Eben Viola. Mixing by Rick Kwan.
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Arielle Chester is our social media producer. This podcast was powered by the journalists at Impact by Nightline, 2020, GMA, and the ABC News investigative unit. Thanks to those teams. And special thanks to Stephanie Maurice, Liz Alessi, and Katie Dendas. Josh Cohan is ABC Audio's director of podcast programming. Laura Mayer is our executive producer.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
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Beyonce, Jay-Z, Jonah Hill, Martha Stewart, Paris Hilton, Aretha Franklin, Al Sharpton, and Donald Trump. They all orbited the Diddy white party sphere. As a record exec, Diddy helped launch the careers of artists who would become legends. The Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans, Usher, and many others. So it's no surprise people wanted the invite to Diddy's parties.
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If they had got one, then they belonged in the list of celebrities, politicians, and cultural icons who had proximity to a mogul, who knew everyone and could make things happen. You could hang out in the backyard with hundreds of guests who made it through the gates to the main party, but it still had a VIP section, an inner circle.
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Imagine every celebrity worth an Us Weekly headline with a bedazzled smartphone in their hand. It was before TikTok and Instagram, when tabloid coverage claimed to break juicy celebrity stories. Compared to the prominence of video and social media today, private celebrity parties were much more private. But one bit of Diddy's 2009 white party was captured on video.
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Reality TV personality and podcaster Jason Lee was at the 2009 Independence Day white party. He remembers it as a good time and says it helped his career. Lee claims he never saw any darkness or any hints of the crimes Diddy would be accused of years later.
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In the summer of 2009, everyone was paying attention to Sean Diddy Combs. He wasn't on the top of the Billboard charts anymore, but he had become a fixture of American pop culture. The flashiest example was his annual star-studded white party. It was an exclusive event and everything had to be white, from the decor to the dress code. This was the early days of smartphones.
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Lots of people who attended Diddy's parties never saw his alleged dark side. For decades, A-listers were eager to pose next to the mogul at a Hamptons bash. Today, many of those celebrities are actively distancing themselves from Diddy, not wanting to share that toxic spotlight. At the height of his power and influence, Diddy had complete control over his world.
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He decided who got to be an insider, controlled what happened when the lights went out, and he'd tell his guests as much.
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The curfew announcement, when kids had to disappear and lots of adults left too. It hints at a turn. Diddy foreshadows an adult world, a late-night world of secrets. And some of those secrets, they've come pouring out. Diddy's Rise and Fall. It's the story we'll tell you in the first six episodes of this podcast.
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How a man who was on top of the music industry and on top of the world is now confined to a cell that couldn't be less luxurious, awaiting trial. And once the trial begins, we'll take you there with twice weekly updates as the case unfolds. Two very different versions of Diddy have emerged over the years.
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The charmer that he showed the world and the predator that onlookers and alleged victims are now claiming he was all along. Which version of Diddy will win out in court? I'm Brian Buckmeyer, an attorney and an ABC News legal contributor. From ABC Audio, this is Bad Rap, the case against Diddy. Episode one, party's over.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
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Diddy's white parties were glittering displays of wealth and social capital, but to some, they were clues, even early on, that Diddy's world had shadows. Justin Tinsley is a culture reporter for ESPN's Anscape, which focuses on Black culture. He says there'd always been rumors about what Diddy was like behind the scenes, at parties, and in his personal and professional life.
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In November of 2023, someone did come forward. Diddy's ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, filed a civil lawsuit against him, alleging that for over a decade he trapped her in a cycle of abuse, violence, and sex trafficking. The lawsuit was a bombshell. It alleged Cassie was forced to participate in orchestrated, elaborate sex parties Diddy called freak-offs that he would film and keep recordings of.
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A day after the lawsuit was filed, Diddy settled with Cassie for an undisclosed amount and no admission of guilt. But Cassie opened the floodgates. Over the next 12 months, others who had spent time with Diddy, from a music producer to a former model to a yacht stewardess, filed lawsuits too. These lawsuits alleged rape, sexual assault, and human trafficking.
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Many also alleged Diddy would spike drinks and lace marijuana with narcotics to knock people out or make it harder for them to resist assault. Some mentioned Diddy videotaping assaults to further control and humiliate his victims. Those lawsuits went from a steady drip to a rapid current. There are now dozens of them.
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Rapper and record producer Jay Blaze caught it on camera and posted it to YouTube for the world to see. Actor Ashton Kutcher grabs onto a swing strung over the pool and tarzans across it. Diddy is emceeing in a sea of white suits, dresses, linen, and sunglasses. By the summer of 2009, Diddy had won three Grammys.
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In December of 2023, Diddy said in a statement that he did not do any of the, quote, awful things being alleged. He called them sickening allegations by people looking for a quick payday.
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His attorney told ABC News Combs couldn't comment on settled litigation, wouldn't comment on pending litigation, and, quote, cannot address every allegation picked up by the press from any source, no matter how unreliable, end quote. But in the fall of 2024, criminal charges were filed against Diddy by the feds.
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Mansions where he'd once hosted lavish parties were raided by federal agents. In L.A., more than a dozen officers pulled up in armored vehicles, wearing fatigues, guns drawn, pointing them at Diddy's sons, who happened to be at home. In Miami, it was police officers in T-shirts driving up to Diddy's compound in vans.
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Combs is now facing federal criminal charges that read a lot like those earlier civil lawsuits. Sex trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution, and racketeering conspiracy. The charges accuse Diddy of decades of criminal behavior. And unlike the civil lawsuits that he faced from Cassie and now from others, these criminal charges could land him in prison for the rest of his life.
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Combs has pled not guilty to all charges. His attorney, Mark Ignifilo, called it an unjust prosecution. He said Combs was a, quote, 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 called Combs an imperfect person, but not a criminal.
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Once these lawsuits and charges were filed, reporters and fans started looking at Diddy's past with more scrutiny. And up close, knowing the allegations against him, even his famed summer parties started to look very different. Like this clip from an appearance on Conan O'Brien's show in 2002.
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Conan compliments Diddy on being a legendary party host and asks him for tips on throwing a quote, killer party.
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A joke about locking doors so women can't leave lands a little differently now. I've been captivated by Diddy's rise and fall for two reasons. The first one is pretty straightforward. When I was growing up in the 90s and 2000s, Diddy was everywhere. It's hard to be a millennial and not know his music or his impact on the music industry.
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One of his most popular songs I remember playing on the radio in elementary school was his All About the Benjamins. And Can't Nobody Hold Me Down. he marketed himself as a kingmaker in the world of hip-hop, and everything he touched seemed to turn to gold.
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He turned hip-hop from being a thing my mom probably didn't want me to listen to, to something that could make him into a billionaire businessman, something my mom wouldn't approve of. Back then, before the lawsuits, before the allegations and scrutiny, Diddy was someone you could look up to. But I'm not a culture reporter or a music journalist. I'm an attorney.
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I spent almost 10 years as a public defender in New York City, the last few of those in the homicide unit. Now, I litigate federal civil and criminal cases, And to be clear, I am not an attorney on Diddy's case, but I have represented people who have been accused of the kind of crimes he's being accused of, and people who were victims of those types of crimes.
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And even with all of my experience, when I read through some of the lawsuits from the people who had sued Diddy, I had to stop myself sometimes. The photos and details were jaw-dropping. They were a shock to my system. And the federal indictment is sweeping and disturbing.
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Diddy is accused of running a vast criminal enterprise that abused, threatened, and coerced his alleged victims and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and cover up his conduct for decades. Diddy maintains his innocence. His trial is set to start in May. Until then, he's locked up, stuck in a place that couldn't be more different from the luxury he's used to.
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He had five songs hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and three of his albums had gone platinum. He was successful and rich. Four months from turning 40, Forbes magazine put Diddy's net worth at $30 million. He'd presented himself for a long time as a champion and model of black excellence. and he was feeling patriotic after the U.S. elected its first Black president.
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A place he doesn't want to be. A place that no amount of money can get him out of. A place I know well. More after the break.
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In Diddy's old life, he could choose which of his many homes he wanted to spend time in. A three-story mansion overlooking the Pacific Ocean and downtown LA, a compound in Miami including a nine-bedroom mansion, a New York City apartment with views of Central Park, homes in New Jersey and Atlanta, and a waterfront mansion in the Hamptons.
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A warning, this episode includes discussion of sexual violence and abuse, so please take care when listening. In 2006, more than a dozen people sat around a long conference table scattered with water bottles and shiny folders emblazoned with a bad boy logo.
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In September of 2007, Cassie threw a party to celebrate her 21st birthday. The party was at a hotel in Las Vegas. In photos, you can see her wearing shimmery pants and a white tank top. She's smiling, holding a glass of bubbly. According to Cassie's lawsuit, Combs showed up to the party uninvited. He brought some of his celebrity friends along too, including Britney Spears.
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Combs and his longtime girlfriend, Kim Porter, had reportedly broken up. They were together on and off for about 13 years and raised four children together. In her lawsuit, Cassie alleged that Combs forcibly kissed her in a bathroom that night of her birthday party and that she did not consent to his unwanted contact.
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That fall, according to Cassie's lawsuit, Combs invited her to come to Miami by herself under the pretense of a work obligation. She says he hired a party promoter to make fake flyers for an event that she was supposed to host. But Cassie's lawsuit claims there was no party. It was all a sham.
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The suit says Cassie was, quote, stunned at how easily Mr. Combs was able to recruit others to lie for him. Alone with Combs at his Miami home, Cassie alleged he pressured her to take drugs. She felt she couldn't say no because it might hurt her career. And after she took the drugs, the lawsuit says, she became more intoxicated than she ever had been before.
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And that's when she alleges Combs had sex with her. Then, Cassie alleges, Combs used his wealth, power, and influence to take control of different parts of her life. First, renting her an apartment in New York within walking distance of his, then doing the same in LA. He paid for her car, and when she went to events, he paid for her clothes and makeup too.
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She alleged he used drugs to keep her complacent and compliant. Cassie alleges that she became increasingly isolated and frightened as her relationship with Combs escalated into sexual and physical violence. As the years ticked by, she says she was, quote, unable to see a pathway out of Mr. Combs' abusive hold on her life. Sean Combs categorically denies these allegations.
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In 2008, Cassie released a new single with Bad Boy called Official Girl, featuring Lil Wayne. As Cassie promoted the track on radio stations across the country, she kept getting asked, when are we going to see your next album?
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For me, this song brings back memories of being 18 years old and driving around with my friends in my mom's car. It was the kind of song where if you heard it on the radio, you'd tell your friends, yo, turn that up. It was this song that caught Diddy's attention.
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Now it's 2009. A few years have passed since Cassie's first album came out. That summer, Cassie does an interview on a hip-hop station near Albany, New York.
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Cassie says the album was pretty much done, that it was being mixed, and that she even had a title for it.
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But by the fall, Cassie's sophomore album was still M.I.A., About a month after that radio interview, Cassie made an appearance at Diddy's white party for the first time. It's the same party that we told you about in episode one, where Ashton Kutcher swung across the pool Tarzan style.
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Cassie wasn't officially Diddy's girlfriend at this point, but the young artist caught the attention of the cameras.
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Cassie looked radiant in a white mini dress and gold strappy heels. Her image had changed from the Me & You debut single days. Now, she was in her early 20s. She'd recently shaved one side of her head, giving her an edgy look that made her seem older and kind of punk rock. This was a daring hairstyle that got Cassie a lot of attention.
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But years later, stories start emerging to suggest that bold look wasn't Cassie's choice. In 2022, rapper Young Jock told YouTuber and music journalist DJ Vlad about the time he says he was hanging out with Cassie and Diddy in Miami. He says they were partying at a club when Diddy saw a woman with one side of her head shaved. The way Young Jock recalled it, Diddy rushed over to Cassie.
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We searched, but it doesn't appear Diddy or Cassie responded publicly to Young Jock's account. But back in 2009, Cassie said in interviews that she'd been thinking about shaving her head for a while. It would be several more years before Cassie and Combs hard launched their relationship in a public way. In 2012, they started appearing together at glitzy events like Paris Fashion Week.
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They were both always dressed to the nines, but it was clear who the bigger star was. At the 2017 Met Gala, the couple was photographed wearing couture. Diddy talked to Vogue's Andre Leon Talley about what he was wearing. Yeah, yeah, yeah, this is it. This is fearlessness. Cassie waited a few steps behind until Andre motioned her to come over.
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He told everyone gathered at the conference table that the song had been haunting him in nightclubs and that he thought Cassie had a personality that, quote, the whole world could fall in love with. Before Bad Boy released a remix, Me and You was already an underground hit, even without the backing of a big record label. Cassie Ventura had built up a fan base DIY style.
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Here's ABC News entertainment contributor Kelly Carter talking about Cassie's shift from musician to girlfriend.
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Cassie's new role as Combs' official girlfriend starts to redefine how she was treated and also perceived. And Combs had a hand in shaping that perception. Like in 2015, he came out with a new fragrance called 3AM. He produced a risque video starring him and Cassie to promote it. The scenes of them embracing and kissing are intercut with the suggestion of violence.
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Cassie slaps and shoves, combs his hands, and circle her neck. The minute-long ad was so explicit that some television networks reportedly refused to air it. This was the same year the movie version of Fifty Shades of Grey came out, and this ad was compared to that. Combs went on Andy Cohen's Bravo talk show, Watch What Happens Live, to show him the video. Now that's your real girlfriend.
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Oh, she is fully naked. In the video, Cassie is straddling Combs, her body naked and exposed. Combs doesn't say anything in this interview with Andy Cohen about Cassie being a recording artist on his label. For the purposes of this conversation, she's his girlfriend and a model. Remember, Cassie had been modeling on and off since she was 12.
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Side note, Cassie's not from Europe. She grew up in Connecticut. Anyways, what stands out to me here is that Cassie, the recording artist, she's no longer in the frame. It's like she's become more of an accessory, an extension of Combs and his brand. In 2015, Bad Boy Records celebrated its 20th anniversary. The next year, Diddy organized a 24-city family reunion tour to celebrate.
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He was the headliner, and he invited legacy bad boy artists like Lil' Kim, Mase, and Faith Evans to share the stage. Some of the shows included special guest appearances from artists like Jay-Z, Usher, Snoop Dogg, and Mary J. Blige. Cassie performed at some of these concerts, but she wasn't a headliner, and she doesn't show up in the press release. And if you look for her, you can find her.
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She's there, at least at some of the shows. But she's not out front and she's not being promoted. She's clearly part of the supporting cast. So maybe that makes sense. After all, she hasn't had another hit song in 10 years. She's sort of a one-hit wonder at this point. At least that's one interpretation. But maybe she's not out front because she's being stifled.
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The secret ingredient was early social media. Remember Myspace? Myspace was only about three years old at the time. It was the beginning of social media for millennials like me who grew up in the 90s and early 2000s. My profile had posts about soccer players I liked, like Ronaldinho, Zizou, and Henri, and some of my favorite music.
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People like DJ and culture critic Megan Wright began to wonder if Cassie's career was being held back intentionally.
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But she was still recording music. Back in 2012, an anonymous fan posted 66 unreleased Cassie tracks on a social media site called Tumblr that was popular at the time. It isn't clear how the fan got these songs or why some of them had never been released by Bad Boy. The collection was titled The Cassie Trilogy.
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And if you search around the internet, you can still find a link with all of the leaked recordings, including this track titled Sound of Love. We don't know if this collection of leaked songs put pressure on Bad Boy, but a year later, in 2013, the label released a Cassie mixtape called Rockabye Baby. A mixtape isn't the same as a commercial studio album.
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It might be less formally produced, with songs meant to please the fans or offer tracks that don't make the cut for an album. A lot of times you can download it for free, and that was the case for Cassie's mixtape. Even so, the online music magazine Pitchfork gave Cassie's mixtape a glowing review, saying that now Cassie is more than a singer. Now she's got flow and a remarkable range.
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Here's one of the singles from Cassie's mixtape. It's called Numb. When Cassie's mixtape dropped, she did interviews on television and local radio shows to promote it. And she was asked the same question people have been asking her for years. When is her actual album coming out? Here's Cassie in an interview with a radio host named DJ Ski in May of 2013. How long has it been since the last album?
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Cassie explains that over the years, she put out some songs here and there, but they didn't really take off. And the reason she never released a new album was because she needed to prove herself more. She needed to earn the respect of her label. Remember, this label she needed to prove herself to, it was controlled by her boyfriend, Sean Combs.
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Coming up, Cassie starts working with a new and talented producer who tells us what she glimpsed of Cassie's troubled relationship with Diddy.
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I probably posted a picture of me working my after-school retail job at Hollister. I hope to God that picture doesn't still exist. Today, it's pretty common for artists and influencers to get famous off of social media alone. But when Cassie was starting out, it was pretty new to release music without a label, to build connections directly with fans without going through a gatekeeper.
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In 2015, Cassie started working with a Grammy Award-winning producer and songwriter named Tiffany Redd. She and Cassie are around the same age. As they collaborated in the studio, they became friends. Tiffany was one of the first people with access to Cassie and Diddy's world who spoke out publicly about the alleged abuse after Cassie settled her lawsuit.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
Tiffany remembers this one night she was out with Cassie in Miami. They were celebrating Cassie's birthday at a club, and then they decided to go to McDonald's. As they were driving, she says Cassie's phone lit up. It was Diddy.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
This was the era of flip phones and DVDs, so people glanced at paper handouts inside their folders as they scribbled down notes in actual notebooks. Sean Diddy Combs had gathered everyone to tell them about a new artist he'd signed to his Bad Boy Records label.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
Tiffany says it was the first time she witnessed this kind of dynamic firsthand. she found it shocking and disturbing.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
When asked to comment on Tiffany Redd's account, Combs' attorney in a statement to ABC News said, Mr. Combs cannot comment on settled litigation, will not comment on pending litigation, and cannot address every allegation picked up by the press from any source, no matter how unreliable.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
Tiffany says there was one night, actually another of Cassie's birthdays, where she saw a particularly menacing and controlling side of Combs that alarmed her. Cassie also described this incident in her lawsuit. It was her 29th birthday, and Diddy was throwing her a surprise party. As the party was winding down, Cassie told Tiffany and some other friends that she wanted to leave to go do karaoke.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
Soon, Tiffany says, people from Diddy's team circled around them.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
Despite the pressure to stay, Cassie and Tiffany made their way to the karaoke club. Later, Diddy showed up with his security detail and Tiffany says they zeroed in on Cassie again. She says all of a sudden, things got really tense when Diddy showed up.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
Here's Cassie and the producer she'd been working with, named Ryan Leslie, talking about this in a video blog.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
At around three or four in the morning, Tiffany says Cassie and Diddy returned to Cassie's house. Tiffany was sleeping over that night, and she says Cassie seemed sluggish and sedated.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
Cassie's lawsuit includes allegations that Combs supplied her with excessive amounts of drugs and coerced her into sexual encounters that he orchestrated, directed, and also allegedly filmed. These encounters are described in the lawsuit as freak-offs or FOs, and they often involved one or more male sex workers. Sex workers he allegedly instructed Cassie to hire.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
The lawsuit describes how Combs treated these forced encounters as a kind of personal art project. He controlled the lighting and the camera shots in the videos he took. He allegedly told Cassie what to say and what to wear, even down to the shade of her nail polish. Sometimes, these events allegedly lasted for multiple days at a time.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
Cassie allegedly often got IV fluids afterwards so she could recover. Combs' defense attorneys claim in a court filing that videos depicting sexual activity between the rapper, Cassie, and male sex workers confirm Mr. Combs' innocence because they show sexual activity among consenting adults. To Cassie, the videos had another purpose.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
She alleges that Combs used them to remind her that he was the one in control. According to the lawsuit, there was one time when they were on a flight and he showed her a video of a freak-off she thought had been deleted. Seeing that video, it underscored how trapped she was. He had this collateral, something that he could use to enforce his power and keep her compliant. Here's Tiffany Redd again.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you for watching.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
And that's when the major labels came knocking, including Bad Boy Records, Sean Combs' company. As an attorney, I can tell you that the terms of any deal like this are usually private. We later find out Bad Boy reportedly offered Cassie a contract to make 10 albums. That was huge and also pretty unusual for a new artist without a proven track record.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
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Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
I could only find a couple of examples like this, including the 10-album deal a teenage LL Cool J reportedly got in the 1980s with Def Jam Records. Just think about it. Here's Cassie. She's at the very beginning of her career, only a couple years out of high school. And one of the biggest record labels in hip hop and R&B offers her a chance to make not just one, but 10 albums? That's crazy.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
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Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
Cassie was pumped and talked about it in an interview with Fun Radio France.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
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Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
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Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
But those 10 albums, they never happened. It's hard to watch some of these early videos of Cassie before everything changed, because now we know her dreams got derailed. And this legendary label she was so excited to join, she alleges the person who ran it became her tormentor and abuser. That's according to a lawsuit Cassie filed against Combs and his company in 2023.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
The lawsuit describes in excruciating detail how she allegedly got trapped in a toxic relationship with Combs that lasted for more than a decade.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
Cassie's allegations include disturbing accounts of abuse that lasted for years, that Combs forced her to use drugs and have sex with male sex workers, that he was controlling, even at times having her medical records sent directly to him, and that he was prone to rage and frequently beat her.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
When Cassie filed her lawsuit, Combs' attorneys issued a statement saying he vehemently denied these offensive and outrageous allegations and that Cassie's lawsuit was riddled with baseless and outrageous lies aiming to tarnish Mr. Combs' reputation and seeking a payday.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
Diddy was in the middle of a successful run with Danny Kane on his MTV show Making the Band, and he was getting ready to release the debut album of Atlanta rapper Young Jock. But Diddy wasn't happy with the label's recent performance. He said publicly that he was trying to get things back on track. So now he had another up-and-coming artist he wanted everyone in the room to meet. Cassie Ventura.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
But within a day of filing her suit, Cassie Ventura and Sean Combs reached an undisclosed settlement agreement with no admission of guilt. Combs issued a statement saying, we have decided to resolve this matter amicably. I wish Cassie and her family all the best.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
I think it's fair to say that Cassie's lawsuit was the first domino to fall in the complicated web of civil and criminal allegations that Combs is now facing. And if he's convicted, some of those charges could put him behind bars for the rest of his life. For his part, Combs denies all allegations and has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges he's about to be tried for.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
But if we go back 20 years to when Cassie and Combs first met, what can we learn about how we got here? In this episode, we're going to focus on Cassie. We'll retrace the steps of her relationship with Combs and how some people we spoke with say dating him seemed to hurt her career more than it helped him.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
We'll speak to a friend who claims she witnessed Combs abusing Cassie, and we'll ask, what are the mechanisms and forces that fuel the kind of abuse that's been alleged and allow it to stay hidden for so long? Because to be clear, the abuse Cassie alleged in her lawsuit, it's much bigger than one powerful person. I'm Brian Buckmeyer, and you're listening to Bad Rap, The Case Against Diddy.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
Episode 3, Me and You. Cassie Ventura grew up in a small city in Connecticut that sits about halfway between New York City and Boston. Her family is a mix of cultures. She's described her mom as having Mexican, Black, and West Indian roots. Her dad's side of the family is Filipino. Cassie started modeling when she was 12.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
As a teenager, she attended a performing arts school where she studied ballet and jazz. Cassie moved to New York City in the fall of 2004 with her best friend. At first, she found work as a model. But Cassie wanted to be something more. She looked up to artists like Sade, Janet Jackson, and Aaliyah. She wanted to be an artist too. And not just that, she wanted to be famous.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
She said as much in a 2006 documentary on YouTube called Cassie Ventura, The Beginning.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
Once her deal with Bad Boy was finalized in 2006, Cassie started working on her debut album. The album cover is a close-up of Cassie's face. She's staring straight at the camera with a serious and mysterious expression. Her hair is parted on the side and falls in loose waves over one eye.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
The day of the launch, Cassie and her producer, Ryan Leslie, drove to Virgin Records, a big music store in Times Square, to celebrate. They were greeted by a crowd of fans holding up CDs they had just bought.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
Now that she was a bad boy artist with a hit single, Cassie was becoming more visible on a national stage. She had a big moment in the spotlight in 2006 when she performed in front of a live audience for the popular TV show 106 and Park on Black Entertainment Television, or BET. Both the cable network and the show were a really big deal at the time. Here's DJ and ABC News contributor Megan Wright.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
That day, she wore her long, dark hair tucked behind her ears and big gold hoop earrings. She dressed casually, with little to no makeup. Combs was in his late 30s. He sat at the head of the conference table while 19-year-old Cassie was at the other end. She was there with a producer she'd been working with. They'd released a song you've probably heard of called Me and You.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
As a teenager in the late 90s and early 2000s, 106 & Park was the place to see my favorite performers and check out up-and-coming artists. The show brought hip-hop to the forefront in a way that was mainstream, big, and just cool. Everyone watched it. So if you missed it and showed up to school the next day, you'd be lost in the conversation.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
Cassie appearing on 106 & Park meant she had made it onto one of the biggest and coolest stages there was. The day of Cassie's big debut on 106 & Park, she looked nervous.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
Her voice sounded shaky, tentative. You could see her eyes dart across the audience.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
At one point, the camera pulls back to show the crowd, and there's only a few people dancing. The whole thing feels very low energy.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
Jamila Lemieux is a writer and cultural critic. She remembers Cassie's BET debut.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
Some fans didn't think Cassie met those high standards for Bad Boy. I found an online petition to get Cassie kicked off the label that referenced both this BET performance and another one on MTV. The petition got over 3,000 signatures, so not tons considering she had hundreds of thousands of followers on MySpace, but still, it was pretty vicious.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
The petition was titled, We Prefer Lassie Over Cassie, and whoever started it complained of Cassie's penguin-moaning vocals. But after the BET performance, Diddy seemed to stand by Cassie. He told MTV, It just made me appreciate that she got nervous, and it was kind of cute to me, to be honest. He said he told her, It's like riding a bike. You're gonna fall down. You gotta keep on getting on it.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
At the time, that might have seemed like a label exec defending his artist, standing by her. Maybe even a bit of fatherly advice. But those comments to MTV, where he described Cassie as cute, actually showed up in Cassie's 2023 lawsuit against Combs.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
The suit said that by pointing out how young and naive Cassie was, Combs was actually laying the groundwork for his, quote, manipulative and course of romantic relationship with a woman nearly two decades his junior. A lot of what we've learned about Cassie's experience of her relationship with Sean Combs comes from this lawsuit, allegations that he, again, vehemently denies.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
But because the lawsuit was settled quickly and the details of the settlement were sealed, all we have is her 35-page complaint to share her side of the story, her account of how their relationship started, what the alleged abuse was like for her, and how she says it impacted her life and her career. Cassie hasn't spoken about the alleged abuse since the settlement.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
It's common in settlements like this for the two sides to agree not to say bad things about each other. So all we've heard from Cassie is an Instagram post where she thanked fans for their support, but didn't mention Diddy by name.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
So what happens if we take the accounts of hidden abuse Cassie alleges in her lawsuit and compare them with the parts of her life that were visible to the public these last 20 years? what picture emerges? That's coming up after the break.
Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy
Me & U
To this day, Me and You is the track Cassie is best known for. A song that would go on to peak at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. A song that stayed on the charts for about six months. In other words, back in 2006, Cassie's song was one of the country's most popular singles.