Tipping Point: 2

Summary

The Rise and Fall of Diddy: Episode 2 - Tipping Point

Release Date: March 4, 2025
Host: Jesse Weber
Produced By: Law&Crime
Available Exclusively on Wondery+

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1. Introduction and Context

In the second episode of The Rise and Fall of Diddy, host Jesse Weber delves deeper into the unraveling of Sean "Diddy" Combs' empire. Once hailed as hip-hop’s premier mogul, Combs' legacy faced severe challenges as a series of lawsuits and criminal investigations shed light on alleged misconduct spanning decades.

2. The Catalyst: Cassie Ventura's Lawsuit

The episode opens with the pivotal moment in 2023 when Cassandra "Cassie" Ventura filed a civil lawsuit against Diddy under the New York Survivors Act. Legal Analyst states at [01:09] that Cassie "said that she was the victim of abuse, sexual assault and rape at the hands of Diddy." This lawsuit ignited further scrutiny, revealing a pattern of alleged abuses and setting off a chain reaction of additional legal actions.

Legal Analyst [00:38]: "Cassie's allegations were explosive."

3. Revisiting Previous Allegations: Jonathan Odie's Claims

Prior to Cassie's lawsuit, in 2018, Jonathan Odie, a sex worker and former porn star, made startling allegations during an interrogation following his arrest for targeting Donald Trump's Miami golf course. Odie claimed he was a "sex slave" to Diddy and implicated other celebrities, including Rick Ross and DJ Khaled, in questionable activities.

Witness/Commentator [02:01]: "I had sex with Cassie and Sean."

Initially dismissed as outlandish, Odie's claims gained credibility in light of subsequent lawsuits, suggesting a more extensive network of alleged misconduct.

4. Escalation of Lawsuits: Rodney "Little Rod" Jones and Others

Following Cassie's lawsuit, Rodney "Little Rod" Jones, a music producer, filed a suit in February 2024 alleging severe misconduct from September 2022 to November 2023. Jones accused Diddy of sexual harassment, drugging, and coercion during the production of Diddy's album, Love Off the Grid. He detailed involvement in procuring sex workers and distributing drugs, including "pink cocaine."

Expert Contributor [04:42]: "Rodney Jones had beef with Trump, with Obama, and he went to one of Trump's properties and got in a shootout with police."

Rodney's lawsuit acted as a catalyst, encouraging others to come forward with similar allegations, thereby amplifying the legal and public scrutiny on Combs.

5. The Tipping Point: Federal Investigations and Raids

Rodney Jones' assertion of possessing incriminating videos led federal investigators to pursue concrete evidence. By March 25, 2024, Homeland Security executed search warrants at Diddy's residences in Los Angeles and Miami, targeting allegations of human trafficking, sexual assault, and illegal narcotics distribution.

Jesse Weber [07:12]: "By September 16, Diddy's decades above the law were finally up."

The raids were meticulously planned over weeks, considering tactical precision to avoid violent confrontations. During the operations, agents discovered firearms, narcotics, personal lubricants, over a thousand bottles of baby oil, and numerous electronic devices, including computers and smartphones.

Industry Insider [17:03]: "They were absolutely looking for weapons. They were looking for digital evidence..."

6. Compelling Evidence: Surveillance Footage and Digital Records

One of the most damning pieces of evidence surfaced in May 2024 with a surveillance video from 2016. The footage depicted Diddy physically assaulting Cassie Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel, providing visual confirmation of her long-standing allegations.

Jesse Weber [24:12]: "The footage obtained and released by CNN shows Combs clad only in a towel, chasing Cassie down the hallway as she attempts to enter an elevator. He grabs her, throws her to the ground, kicks her and drags her across the floor."

This video was pivotal in shifting public perception and corroborating multiple lawsuits, effectively eroding Combs' standing in both the legal and public arenas.

7. Public and Industry Reaction

As evidence mounted, public figures and industry peers began to distance themselves from Diddy. Celebrities like Usher Raymond and 50 Cent expressed their disapproval and shock, with 50 Cent notably stating, "This is who I told you he was."

Legal Analyst [20:58]: "People knew they saw things, but because of this culture of silence, when it comes to people with power and money, they're not speaking out as loud as they should be."

The revelation of Diddy's misconduct sparked widespread condemnation and ignited broader conversations about accountability and abuse within the entertainment industry.

8. Diddy's Arrest and Legal Fallout

By September 16, 2024, the mounting evidence and public pressure culminated in Diddy's arrest in New York City on federal charges related to human trafficking, illegal arms possession, and narcotics distribution.

Legal Analyst [27:17]: "Sean Combs, also known as P. Diddy, has been arrested by authorities in New York City on federal charges."

This arrest marked a significant downfall for Diddy, transitioning him from an untouchable mogul to a figure facing serious legal repercussions.

9. Conclusion and Forward Look

The episode concludes with a preview of the next installment, promising an in-depth exploration of the indictment that led to Diddy's arrest. Joelmatic contributions from legal analysts and industry insiders underscore the complexity and gravity of the charges against Combs.

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Key Takeaways

• Catalyst Lawsuit: Cassie Ventura's 2023 lawsuit under the New York Survivors Act exposed allegations of abuse, sparking further lawsuits and investigations.

• Pattern of Abuse: Subsequent lawsuits from individuals like Rodney Jones and Dawn Richard revealed a consistent pattern of sexual misconduct, drugging, and coercion associated with Diddy.

• Federal Intervention: The revelation of hidden surveillance footage and extensive digital evidence led to Homeland Security raids and Diddy's eventual arrest.

• Public and Industry Backlash: As evidence surfaced, public figures and industry peers distanced themselves, reflecting a broader move towards accountability in the entertainment sector.

• Legal Consequences: Diddy's arrest on multiple federal charges signifies a dramatic fall from grace, highlighting the impact of persistent legal pressure and public scrutiny.

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Notable Quotes

• Legal Analyst [01:09]: "Cassie said that she was the victim of abuse, sexual assault and rape at the hands of Diddy."

• Witness/Commentator [02:01]: "I had sex with Cassie and Sean."

• Legal Analyst [20:58]: "People knew they saw things, but because of this culture of silence, when it comes to people with power and money, they're not speaking out as loud as they should be."

• Legal Analyst [27:17]: "Sean Combs, also known as P. Diddy, has been arrested by authorities in New York City on federal charges."

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Production Credits

• Host: Jesse Weber
• Executive Producer: Jessica Lowther
• Writer and Producer: Cooper Maul
• Editor: Anna McClain
• Additional Writing and Guest Booking: Lisa Feit & Julie Wheeler
• Legal Review and Fact-Checking: Elizabeth Vouli
• Key Art Design: Shawn Panzera
• Contributors: Dave Aronberg, Brian Buckmire, Mina Lona, Dante Mills, Tracy Walder, Bernarda Villona

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The Rise and Fall of Diddy continues to provide a compelling narrative on the intersection of fame, power, and accountability, offering listeners an in-depth exploration of one of hip-hop's most influential figures and his dramatic downfall.

Transcript

[Jesse Weber]

You're listening to a law and crime series available exclusively on Wondery. To listen to the remaining episodes, join Wonder plus and enjoy Ad Free. Listening to over 50,000 episodes, including more thrilling law and crime series like Karen and Sidebar with Jesse Weber, Join Wondery plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

[Legal Analyst]

This is a lawn crime presentation. This podcast contains references to sex, abuse, violence and crime and may contain harsh language. All individuals mentioned are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Please listen with care.

[Jesse Weber]

Sean Diddy Combs has always been a larger than life personality, hip hop's wealthiest mogul and a cultural icon. But in 2023, the empire he built began to crumble. Lawsuits and criminal investigations unearthed a dark side of the man once celebrated for his golden touch. The unraveling began with a single lawsuit filed by Cassandra Cassie Ventura under the New York Survivors Act. The allegations were explosive.

[Legal Analyst]

In her civil lawsuit, Cassie said that she was the victim of abuse, sexual assault and rape at the hands of Diddy.

[Expert Contributor]

She's alleging essentially that this was one big ongoing criminal enterprise once she filed her lawsuit.

[Legal Analyst]

That was the catalyst to this entire investigation and opened up the floodgates of other people actually filing lawsuits having to deal with Sean Combs.

[Jesse Weber]

I'm Jesse Weber and this is the Rise and Fall of Diddy. Turns out Cassie's allegations weren't the first time Diddy's name was associated with scandal. In 2018, during an unrelated interrogation in Miami, a man named Jonathan Odie made claims that seemed unbelievable at the time.

[Witness/Commentator]

Do you know Sean Combs?

[Legal Analyst]

Puff Daddy, yeah, P. Diddy, whatever you call himself.

[Witness/Commentator]

So Jonathan Odie, for those who don't know, the person, is a sex worker, stripper, porn star. And in 2018, he was arrested for shooting, basically shooting up Donald Trump's Miami golf course. And you see video of it. It's crazy. He gets arrested and interrogated and during the interrogation he says at the time, which sounds completely outlandish, that he was, and he does like the kind of air quotes, a sex slave to Diddy and his girlfriend Cassie, that Sean Combs would masturbate to him having sex with his girlfriend Cassie. He also then goes on to say that Rick Ross as well as DJ Khaled and Sean Combs would, are all gay. And so you've gotta remember this in the context of 2018, the person who just shot up Donald Trump's golf course is saying that all these major celebrities are gay and that he, some kind of just like low profile stripper porn star is a Sex slave Sean Combs at the time, it sounds absolutely ridiculous.

[Jesse Weber]

I had sex with Cassie and Sean.

[Legal Analyst]

I had like 15 encounters and I.

[Jesse Weber]

Heard lots about business. I was like a sex slave, okay?

[Expert Contributor]

For them.

[Jesse Weber]

That's what I was.

[Witness/Commentator]

That's all.

[Jesse Weber]

But in the wake of Cassie's claims, Odie's allegations, previously deemed ludicrous, were revisited in a new light.

[Expert Contributor]

Jonathan Odie had beef with Trump, with Obama, and he went to one of Trump's properties and got in a shootout with police. So he's facing many years in prison and he said a lot of crazy things. So people didn't believe him when he said that he was involved with drug fueled sex parties with Diddy. But now his words are being revisited because it looks like he may have been telling the truth.

[Jesse Weber]

Cassie's lawsuit was settled within 24 hours, but it set off a chain reaction.

[Industry Insider]

And by Saturday, everybody knew that he paid money for that lawsuit to go away. And that was followed with tens of other people saying, all I have to do is file a lawsuit and he will give me a check. So they filed lawsuits and a bunch of lawsuits, including Rodney Jones.

[Jesse Weber]

In February 2024, music producer Rodney Little Rod Jones filed a lawsuit against Sean Diddy Combs alleging a series of serious offenses during their professional relationship. From September 2022 to November 2023, Jones claimed that while working on Diddy's album, the Love album Off the Grid, he was subjected to sexual harassment, drugging and threats.

[Expert Contributor]

He was courageous enough to try to take advantage of the new law to file his lawsuit within the new statute of limitations and try to get some justice for himself. Now he says he is destitute. He is fearful for his life. He can't travel without a mask on, without security. He's been blackballed, according to him, within the music industry, all because of Diddy. If any part of these allegations are true, then this is really serious.

[Jesse Weber]

The lawsuit detailed that Jones was coerced into procuring sex workers for Diddy's events. He also accused Diddy of forcing him to carry and distribute drugs, including pink cocaine, a combination of ecstasy and cocaine. Jones further alleged that Diddy boasted about past violent incidents, such as the 1999 nightclub shooting involving Jennifer Lopez, and claimed to have bribed jurors during that trial. And that's not all.

[Expert Contributor]

He goes into a lot of detail about the sex trafficking, the violence, the threats, stealing money from Little Rod, and he was just thrown aside by Diddy as just a kook, as someone who's a hanger on, someone trying to get money. But he provides corroboration to Cassie and others.

[Jesse Weber]

But just what were those others alleging?

[Industry Insider]

Those lawsuits were saying I was a part of this process where he recruited people to come to parties. And at those parties there were illicit things happening and things that I did not want to happen to me happened. I was drugged and I would wake up in the morning and things would be done to me or I would be naked in a bed with other people. And I never gave consent because I was drugged and wasn't aware.

[Witness/Commentator]

Don't miss the Hulu original docu series Devil in the Family the Fall of.

[Jesse Weber]

Ruby Frankie My wife created a YouTube channel. Thumbs up, subscribe, but only what we wanted to show. I'm still recording a three part series of that. She said the children were demonically possessed.

[Legal Analyst]

Get out.

[Jesse Weber]

That blew the powder keg.

[Legal Analyst]

Ruby crossed a line to psychotic 9 online emergency.

[Industry Insider]

Open the door.

[Witness/Commentator]

Hulu's Devil in the Family the Fall of Ruby Frankie. All episodes now streaming on Hulu.

[Jesse Weber]

The claims were nothing short of horrific, and they were piling up not just against Diddy, but one of his sons too.

[Legal Analyst]

A young woman filed a lawsuit against Christian Combs.

[Jesse Weber]

In April 2024, Christian King Combs, Diddy's third son, faced his own serious legal allegations. A lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior court by Grace O'Marki accused Christian of sexual assault, sexual harassment and infliction of emotional distress. The incident allegedly occurred in late December 2022 aboard a yacht chartered by Sean Combs. Omarki, employed as a stewardess, claimed that Christian, then 24, boarded the yacht in a heavily intoxicated state and pressured her into consuming tequila, which she suspected was laced with drugs. She further alleged that he groped her and attempted to force her into non consensual sexual acts.

[Industry Insider]

That's very similar to the situation that's going on with Sean Combs, and it really points to the lifestyle that they were living and the expectations they had for anyone that was in their space. She was someone who was hired to be a worker on that boat, so it's not like she volunteered to participate in a certain lifestyle or was someone coming to a party that she knew what would happen at the party. She thought she was doing a job.

[Jesse Weber]

The lawsuit also laid allegations against Diddy, asserting that he created an environment that enabled the alleged assault and subsequently attempted to cover it up. Omarky claimed that after reporting the incident to the yacht's captain, no meaningful action was taken and she was eventually terminated from her position. In response, Aaron Dyer, attorney for both Sean And Christian Combs dismissed the allegations as lewd and meritless, stating plans to file a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. And this dismissive attitude extended beyond their legal representation. As more civil lawsuits were filed among Diddy's peers, silence spoke louder than words.

[Legal Analyst]

In terms of the reaction to some of these civil suits. Members of the music community, people in the recording industry as a whole, just not even addressing it, ignoring it, pretending that it didn't happen sometimes is actually worse than denying that they are involved, denying that any of this happened.

[Witness/Commentator]

These rumors and these stories would come up, but just as almost quickly as it come up, they'd often fall by the wayside. I think a lot of people looked the other way or just thought these stories are way too crazy to be true.

[Jesse Weber]

But not all of them. Other celebrities, including model Nikki Heaton and Katt Williams, took to social media and podcasts to share their own Diddy stories.

[Legal Analyst]

We walk in, and Kanye and Diddy are already completely fucked up. And Diddy hands me a drink. I'm like, okay, let me pretend to drink. Immediately. I'm like, there's something in this drink. I turn, and my manager's walking out. The music's low, the lights are dim. I realize that I'm in the studio with Diddy and Kanye, and there's three other men and me alone. I'm not in the industry anymore. I'm not filing a lawsuit, so I'm not getting paid. I'm not looking for clout, because who gives a fuck about me? So how. Why would I lie about this now? I've had to turn down $50 million.

[Industry Insider]

Four times just to protect my integrity.

[Legal Analyst]

And that I was telling you about, right? Cause P. Diddy be wanting the body, and you gotta tell him no. You got to tell him no.

[Jesse Weber]

As more rumors and civil suits made headlines in the wake of Cassie's bombshell lawsuit, Diddy's legal team consistently denied all allegations, labeling them as fabrications aimed at financial gain. How could any of this be proven? Thus far, prosecutors could find no hard evidence to corroborate any of these claims. But it turns out Rodney Jones said there was proof.

[Legal Analyst]

In Rodney Jones's civil lawsuit, he insinuates that there's videos of all of this.

[Jesse Weber]

In Jones lawsuit, he went so far as to claim that Diddy had hidden cameras in every room of his homes and that he had, quote, compromising footage of every person who has attended his parties. Investigators finally had something tangible to look for.

[Expert Contributor]

The civil lawsuits meant everything for the ultimate criminal investigation of Diddy without the Civil lawsuits. I don't think the feds would have gotten involved. They wouldn't have known about this.

[Industry Insider]

And the investigators began by speaking to the people who brought the civil lawsuits and asking them, what's your proof? Where's the evidence that you have that this allegation actually happened? And they heard from a lot of these people that everything should be on video because a lot of Sean combs parties, his house, there's video cameras, and he's known to record almost everything. So once they followed that up and got the information that there was video evidence of these activities, and also got some more information from these accusers, saying, well, here's how you get to the back room where some of this illegal stuff happened. Yes, everybody came to a party. That party was in the main area of the house. But if you go through this door, if you go through the study here, if you go through these stairs or this tunnel, here's where all of the illegal activity happened. And you will find separate video cameras. You will find chains and ropes and sex swings and things like that. They gave the federal investigators that type of information.

[Jesse Weber]

It was time to bring in backup.

[Industry Insider]

Homeland security was involved because you're talking about sex trafficking, where people were being taken across state lines for the purposes of performing sexual acts for other people. So that formed the investigative team, and.

[Jesse Weber]

They wasted no time.

[Industry Insider]

Once the investigative team got this information, they decided to do raids bi coastal on Sean come's main two houses, so. So that he would not get one house raided and be able to clean out the other one. They said, we're going to go into both houses at the same time. We're going to use the information we got about the back entrances, the back stairs, these hidden rooms, and we're going to verify the information we received from these people bringing the civil lawsuits. And if we can, then we move forward with our investigation.

[Jesse Weber]

Lil Rod's intel was the tipping point that brought everything crashing down.

[Witness/Commentator]

He was the one that said in February when he filed that first lawsuit, that there are tapes in Diddy's homes in LA and Miami. And then, lo and behold, March 25, just weeks after Rodney Jones's lawsuit, they go and search those exact same homes.

[Jesse Weber]

On March 25, federal agents from the department of homeland security executed search warrants at Diddy's residences in both Los Angeles and Miami.

[Industry Insider]

They wanted to go into both of his main homes at the same time and get whatever information they could. What they were investigating was human trafficking, sexual assault, and solicitation and distribution of illegal narcotics and firearms.

[Jesse Weber]

While the raids appeared urgent and swift on our TV and phone screens, this was an operation organized with some serious tact.

[Legal Analyst]

A raid of this magnitude can take anywhere from four to two weeks to plan, sometimes even longer. Just depends what you're doing. I have served surreptitious entry warrants, which is not what this is, but that's when someone's not home and you break in. Those took probably two months to plan. Because the thing is, we are obviously looking for something. We know that. That's why we got a search warrant to begin with. But then you also have to look at the behavior of the people who are within those homes to figure out what is the safest time to serve that search warrant for everyone involved to figure out on both coasts, because we're dealing with a time zone difference with Florida and then California and then your tactical teams. You don't want to be hurting anyone in the neighborhood. You also don't want to be hurting whomever the subject of that search warrant may be. That's never the intent of those. And so that takes a lot of time, a lot of conference calls, a lot of zoom calls, and a lot of coordination. They didn't just get this search warrant signed, you know, the night before. This was something that they had planned for a while. Thumbtack presents the ins and outs for caring for your home out indecision, overthinking, second guessing every choice you make in plans and guides that make it easy to get home projects done out beige on beige on beige in knowing what to do, when to do it, and who to hire. Start caring for your home with confidence. Download thumbtack today.

[Jesse Weber]

When the fateful day arrived, here's how it went down.

[Industry Insider]

During the raid, dozens of agents went into both properties, searched the properties thoroughly. They used the information they received from the people that was telling them about these parties in the back rooms to make sure that they hit every single secret entrance or room looking for any illegal activity, looking for anything that would point to illegal activity that was happening on the properties.

[Legal Analyst]

You know, his home was torn up, couches sort of pulled apart, walls pulled apart.

[Jesse Weber]

The raids ignited a media frenzy, capturing global attention. News outlets provided extensive coverage with aerial footage showcasing armed agents at Combs Holmby Hills mansion and his Miami Star island property. Social media platforms buzzed with discussions as users shared footage and debated the implications of the raids and what investigators could possibly be looking for.

[Legal Analyst]

They were absolutely looking for weapons. They were looking for digital evidence, and they were probably, you know, looking for any other kind of recording things. So Cameras and those kinds of things that were at his home.

[Jesse Weber]

In response, Diddy's legal team criticized the raids, describing them as an unprecedented ambush and a gross use of military level force.

[Industry Insider]

They handcuffed his children and the investigators did that because you just never know what the actions of someone would be in that standard procedure during the raid process.

[Legal Analyst]

We know Diddy is armed, we know that he has bodyguards. All of that information is what also caused the federal government to go in there in a very tactical way. I know they've gotten some flak for that, but that was actually the appropriate thing to do.

[Jesse Weber]

Attorneys for Diddy emphasized his cooperation with authorities and denied any wrongdoing. But the evidence found that Day said otherwise. Here's what they firearms, three AR15 rifles with defaced serial numbers. Raising concerns about illegal weapon possession. Narcotics. Various drugs, including ketamine, ecstasy and gamma hydroxybutyrate. Substances often associated with recreational use and potential misuse. Personal lubricants. Over a thousand bottles of baby oil. Items that prosecutors suggested were linked to alleged freak off parties involving sexual activities. Multiple electronic devices such as computers and smartphones.

[Industry Insider]

Those initial raids were the beginning of the end. They wanted to make sure that what the people were telling them was accurate and that they would be able to find evidence to back it up. And of course they did.

[Jesse Weber]

But it was the digital evidence that really got people talking.

[Legal Analyst]

Once they got a hold of this digital evidence, they started processing it and they started looking for the individuals that were on the videos and they were able to take statements indicating that they were being held against their will and they were participating in these acts against their will. Usually the best evidence is anything having to deal with surveillance or video footage because it's no longer about did the act take place. Instead you're dealing with probably, you know, why it took place.

[Expert Contributor]

People lie, but video does not. And if he's on these tapes that shows him involved with the sex acts, perhaps involved with violence as a victim or a perpetrator, yes, that could be.

[Jesse Weber]

Used against Diddy if the lawsuits hadn't yet shifted the public's perception of Diddy. The raids certainly did. His peers seem to change their tune too.

[Industry Insider]

For myself and I think a lot of other people in this industry, I mean, it's all a shock. Everybody is still trying to digest it and still trying to understand it. And even though, you know, there's still allegations and it's not anything factual yet, it's hurtful and it's confusing to a lot of people.

[Witness/Commentator]

You heard Cassie, through a representative, speak along the lines of saying, hopefully this will lead to justice. The hope was that criminal charges could flow from this. Audrey O'Day from Danny Kane came out in support of the raid based on what Cassie had said.

[Industry Insider]

Usher Raymond took down his X account because there were a lot of connections and videos with Sean Combs on there, and he wanted to separate himself.

[Jesse Weber]

Yet Usher responded to the rumors once his account was restored. Account got hacked, and damn, y'all ran with it.

[Industry Insider]

You see a lot of celebrities trying to scrub their pages of those connections.

[Witness/Commentator]

People started to either silently distance themselves or come out and say, I hope this leads to justice.

[Industry Insider]

You had some people like 50 Cent really pushing the issue and saying, I told you so. This is who I told you he was. These behaviors and things with drugs and.

[Jesse Weber]

All the stuff that's going on kills, drinking.

[Industry Insider]

It can make this man into a monster. And that's what it did, bruh.

[Expert Contributor]

Diddy had a lot of fans and a lot of hangers on, and now he's radioactive.

[Legal Analyst]

People knew they saw things, but because of this culture of silence, when it comes to people with power and money, they're not speaking out as loud as they should be. But I think the tides are changing. People are speaking out loud, and they're finally being heard another way.

[Jesse Weber]

People started speaking out. More lawsuits.

[Expert Contributor]

Lawsuits after the raid corroborated what Cassie was saying. Where you had other women who alleged that they were victimized by Diddy, similar MO where he allegedly lured them with a false sense of safety to be part of his enterprise, and then allegedly started to grope them and drug them and threaten them. And you had these women who had similar stories. And that, too, lends credibility to what Cassie was saying, to what little Rod was saying, to even what Jonathan Odie is saying.

[Jesse Weber]

The first of three lawsuits came two months after the raids. Model Crystal McKinney claimed Combs sexually assaulted and drugged her at his studio back in 2003 and then had her blackballed from the industry, she claimed, quote. Following the assault, plaintiff's modeling opportunities quickly began to dwindle and then evaporated entirely. Plaintiff has also experienced alcohol and drug addiction as she attempted to cope with the emotional trauma of being assaulted. Next April, Lampros filed a suit alleging Combs assaulted her four times, starting when she was just a college student. Her suit alleged, quote. She felt that if she disobeyed him, he would take away her dreams of pursuing a career in his world. Mr. Combs would also threaten to blacklist her in the industry if she tried to mess with him. In any way. Plaintiff sustained and will continue to sustain monetary damages, physical injury, pain and suffering, and serious psychological and emotional distress. Then a few months later, another suit from Dawn Richard of Danity Kane, a group Diddy managed.

[Expert Contributor]

She made similar allegations to Cassie and Larad and everyone else who's made these allegations against Diddy.

[Jesse Weber]

But there was even more.

[Expert Contributor]

Don Richard alleged that there were minors who were victims here.

[Jesse Weber]

And if that's not enough of a.

[Expert Contributor]

Bombshell, what's extra powerful, though, is that she apparently was a witness to the violence allegedly committed against Cassie, saying that she saw Diddy strike Cassie. She saw him throw a scalding skillet with eggs in it at Cassie. So this is part of the elements of sex trafficking. You have to show force, fraud or coercion. Well, this is force.

[Jesse Weber]

But again, this would require some physical evidence. Dawn may have alleged she'd seen this egregious behavior, but she didn't have any way to prove it. Then in May 2024, a previously unseen surveillance video from 2016 surfaced depicting Diddy physically assaulting his then girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, in a Los Angeles hotel.

[Legal Analyst]

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[Jesse Weber]

The footage obtained and released by CNN shows Combs clad only in a towel, chasing Cassie down the hallway as she attempts to enter an elevator. He grabs her, throws her to the ground, kicks her and drags her across the floor.

[Legal Analyst]

When they saw that video of her in the hotel. And how did he beat her and kicked her in the face? He kicked her in the face. That really changed the energy around these allegations and I think that really solidified. Oh no. Some of these things may be real.

[Jesse Weber]

This video's release provided visual confirmation of allegations Cassie had made in a November 2023 lawsuit where she accused Combs of a decade long pattern of abuse, including physical violence and sexual misconduct.

[Expert Contributor]

I think the video shocked the world and made people realize that she was telling the truth if there was any doubt of it before. Had that video not been released, I'd think that perhaps the the feds may have been less likely to move forward because they were as shocked as anyone else, I'm sure.

[Jesse Weber]

The public dissemination of the video intensified scrutiny on Combs, leading to widespread condemnation and renewed discussions about domestic violence in the entertainment industry. In response, Combs issued a public apology.

[Legal Analyst]

I was up.

[Witness/Commentator]

I mean, I hit rock bottom, but.

[Industry Insider]

I made no excuses.

[Witness/Commentator]

My behavior on that video is inexcusable.

[Industry Insider]

I was disgusted then when I did it. I'm disgusted now.

[Witness/Commentator]

I'm so sorry.

[Expert Contributor]

He had to apologize after the video came out, and I'm sure it led federal investigators to think there's a lot more to it. The video corroborated what she was saying and made Diddy look like a liar.

[Jesse Weber]

After both the shocking video and his subsequent apology went viral in the summer of 2024, Diddy appeared to go radio silent. But behind the scenes, investigators were only turning up the heat.

[Expert Contributor]

Diddy is really up against it. He thought he was above the law. He thought perhaps that he could intimidate people not to speak up. And he was right. At least until now.

[Jesse Weber]

By September 16, Diddy's decades above the law were finally up.

[Legal Analyst]

Breaking news Music trailblazer Sean Combs, also known as P. Diddy, has been arrested by authorities in New York City on federal charges. He was taken into custody at the Park Hyatt Hotel this evening.

[Jesse Weber]

On the next episode of the Rise and Fall of Diddy, we get into the details of the indictment that shocked the world.

[Expert Contributor]

I think the free cops were the most shocking thing in the indictment. It's one thing to know that he had wild parties, but then the fact that Diddy filmed himself and filmed others showed that he didn't care about getting caught because he thought he would never get caught.

[Jesse Weber]

This has been a law and crime production. I'm your host, Jesse Weber. Our executive producer is Jessica Lowther. Our writer and producer is Cooper Maul. Our editor is Anna McClain. Additional writing and guest booking by Lisa Feit and Julie Wheeler. Legal review and fact checking by Elizabeth Vouli. Key art design by Shawn Panzera. And special thanks to our contributors, Dave Aronberg, Brian Buckmire, Mina Lona, Dante Mills, Tracy Walder and Bernarda Villona. Follow law and crimes. The rise and Fall of Diddy on the Wondery app. You can listen to more episodes exclusively and ad free right now on Wondery. Join Wondery in the Wondery app, Apple podcasts or Spotify and get ad free access to more thrilling law and crime series like Karen and Sidebar with Jesse Weber. Start your free trial today.