Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial: Defence claims “money” is motivating “many” accusers
The defence team for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has said in their opening statements for the rapper’s sexual abuse and racketeering trial that for many of his accusers, “the answer is money”.
Combs’ lawyer, Teny Geragos, told the court in New York on May 12th: “This case is about Sean Combs’s private, personal sex life, which has nothing to do with his lawful businesses.”
Geragos noted that Combs is not without flaws, including that he is violent with a “bad temper” and takes drugs, and that there may be points in the trial “where you think he is a jerk, he is mean,” she said. “But he is not charged with being mean. He is not charged with being a jerk. He is charged with running a racketeering enterprise.”
She then went on to describe Combs’ range of accusers as “strong, capable women” who were not victims of sex trafficking. Instead, Geragos said, “When these people testify, ask yourself why. For many of them, the answer is money.”
The lawyer added that his relationships were always consensual and that those who engaged with Combs “loved him.”
The hip-hop mogul’s lawyer went on to focus on the video published by CNN in May 2024, which showed Combs beating his former girlfriend Cassie, one of the trial’s main witnesses, in a hotel hallway in 2016.
Geragos said the full video allegedly reveals that the pair’s argument was over infidelity in their relationship, which was discovered on a mobile phone. “The video is overwhelming evidence of domestic violence, but it’s overwhelming evidence that this domestic violence is over a phone, and not over sex trafficking.”
Combs’ main defence argument is that while he is guilty of domestic abuse, this does not amount to the sex trafficking and racketeering of which he is charged. If found guilty, Combs could spend the rest of his life in prison.
The rapper has pleaded not guilty in the case and denies all charges against him.
The trial continues.
For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.
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