Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Case Spawns Podcasts, Docuseries and News Specials
While Sean “Diddy” Combs remains at the Metropolitan Detention Center awaiting the start of his trial for sex trafficking and racketeering in May, several media outlets are delving into his case with podcasts, docuseries and news specials.
Monday’s release of Peacock’s “Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy,” is the latest with Legacy Editions’ hourlong “Diddy: Monster’s Fall” — a follow-up to last year’s “Diddy: Summit to Plummet” — being another new addition. The 55-year-old multi-Grammy winner and Sean John clothing label founder is facing more than two dozen multiple lawsuits and accusations of rape, sexual assault and drugging some victims. Combs, who has denied any wrongdoing, is being detained in the same federal prison as Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare’s Brian Thompson, and Sam Bankman-Fried, the crypto mogul convicted of fraud.
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Armchair investigators can also tune into The Daily Mail’s “The Trial of Diddy” podcast, BBC Sounds’ “Diddy on Trial,” and TMZ Presents’ “The Downfall of Diddy,” which was released in 2023 long before Combs’ arrest in September of 2024. ABC News jumped in with its “Impact x Nightline’s ‘Diddy’s Downfall’” last June, and the network followed that up with “Diddy: Drugs, Lies and Freak Offs” and the “Secret Life of Diddy: A Special Edition.” When NBC News had the exclusive about Jay-Z being accused in a civil lawsuit of raping a 13-year-old in 2000 along with Combs, its public relations team put out a release. Jay-Z has denied the allegations and the music mogul filed to dismiss the sexual assault lawsuit last week. Investigation Discovery will debut “The Fall of Diddy,” a four-part docuseries on Jan. 27.
Combs’ legal team said in a statement Monday, “These documentaries include unchecked claims and provide platforms for baseless conspiracy theories without accountability or evidence. In the case of the Peacock documentary in particular, the motivations and credibility of those being interviewed must be questioned. Many claim to have knowledge but lack any connection to the truth, while their wild, unfounded theories are cut and sensationalized to appear factual. Sean Combs unequivocally denies these false allegations, which are harmful, defamatory, and unsupported by credible evidence. It is deeply concerning how such narratives can influence public perception and prejudice the legal process. Mr. Combs deserves his day in court with an impartial jury, free from the taint of these baseless claims. The facts will be addressed in court, where truth — not fiction — will prevail.”
Why is there so much interest in the case? Alexandra Roberts, a professor of law and media at Northeastern University’s School of Law, said, “Combs is one of the most successful rappers and producers in the music industry. The allegations against him, including rape and sex trafficking and horrific stories of violence and assault at parties attended by myriad celebrities, are the kind that the public is fascinated by and can’t look away from. (We have 26 seasons of Law & Order SVU for a reason).”
Roberts added, “The #MeToo movement marked the start of a reckoning in the entertainment industry and the Combs prosecution feels like the latest chapter in that story. The surge in popularity of true crime podcasts and programming feeds that fascination, and so does social media and the increased access to details and images that might not otherwise be made public — for example, the viral footage of Combs dragging Cassie [Ventura, a former girlfriend and model] in a hotel by her hair.”
Ventura and Combs settled a legal dispute out of court in November 2023 — 24 hours after it was filed.
Combs’ team declined a request for an interview for Peacock’s “The Making of a Bad Boy,” according to filmmaker Ari Mark, who said, “The goal of this project for myself and the network was certainly not to come in and do a biopic about Sean Combs. It certainly wasn’t an attempt to cover every single piece of information that has come out about him recently…for us, it was really about what can we do here to tell an unexpected story. What can we do to definitely put the victims front and center?”
The documentary offers up some insights to the audience of Combs’ “origins story and his transformation from Sean to ‘Puffy’ to ‘Diddy,’” Mark said. “What I mean is who was this guy? It’s easy to jump in now and riff from the headlines, ‘Here’s this [alleged] criminal, here’s this guy — how salacious and surprising is that?’”
“Suggesting the accusations against Combs are part of the zeitgeist and don’t need to be repeated over and over, what we want do is to go back and say, OK, where did this come from? Where did this originate from — not just [looking at] him as a child, but his start, as an intern at Uptown Records, [working at] Bad Boy and his relationship with Al. B Sure! and Kim Porter. If you track the cultural milestones, but stop to think about them from a more psychological and sycophant standpoint, you just wind up with something much richer,” Mark said.
He said he expects that viewers will be most surprised by the fact that Sean Combs was not raised poor or part of some kind of criminal community, or that his father [Earl] was a gangster [and was fatally shot during an alleged botched drug deal in 1972.] He also speculated that another “formative moment” — Combs’ early introduction to parties at a very young age [that his mother threw in their home] — translated to his behavior, based on accounts by childhood friends [like producer Tim “Dawg” Patterson] and people who have known him along the way. “He was a small kid, who kind of got bullied. I think he was always looking for an opportunity to make a name for himself, build himself up and regain power. It’s really about power,” Mark said.
Marjorie Hernandez, the host of The Daily Mail’s “The Trial of Diddy,” has been investigating the allegations against the musician for 21 months. Launched in October, the weekly podcast is the media giant’s first U.S.-focused one that is part of the Daily Mail Group’s franchise “The Trial.” With the number of listeners “well into the millions,” since its October launch, The Daily Mail did not expect the audience to grow as quickly as it has, according to Jamie East, head of podcasts for the DMG Media. “The Trial of Diddy” marries the two worlds of true crime and the public’s appetite for celebrities and pop culture, making it “the perfect combination” and one with so many different angles, he said.
“Obviously, there are the shocking crimes and the shocking things that he’s been accused of doing. It’s not just about the abuse and the suffering that he’s alleged to have caused, but his business dealings — signing ownership of stuff to his mom, in advance of knowing that trouble was on the way. And the impact that he has had on artists and business managers that he has worked with in the past has been equally as fascinating to me,” East said. “When someone like Diddy starts to crumble, the aftershock effect of that is huge across the music industry and celebrity culture. In the early days, everybody was talking about the fabled list [of celebrity party guests] that may or may not exist. You only get stories like that once a decade. It’s also one with worldwide appeal. This is someone who is famous in almost every country in the world — everybody knows Diddy.”
Launched in late November, BBC Sounds’ weekly podcast covers the allegations and “conspiracies” surrounding Combs, and special episodes and social media videos are periodically released in the event of breaking news.
A BBC spokesperson said, “The Diddy allegations are a huge moment in hip-hop history. ‘Diddy on Trial’ has been launched for people to find out everything they need to know. We’re here to update on the unfolding story, to interrogate evidence, myth-bust, fact check and answer questions. Social media is full of noise. What’s an allegation, what’s just rumor, and what’s the difference?”
Presenter Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty speaks to panelists Rolling Stone’s Cheyenne Roundtree and criminal defense attorney Shaun Kent about the latest developments including new cases as they emerge. There is also commentary from special guests. Available on BBC Sounds and RSS feeds, Spotify and the BBC World Service YouTube channel, the podcast will also be broadcast on BBC World Service Radio starting at the end of this month.
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