Sean “Diddy” Combs is in jail after being denied bail Tuesday on sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
The 54-year-old star was sensationally arrested after traveling to New York City to cooperate with prosecutors.
He denies the allegations, which include accusations of drug-fuelled “freak-offs” in which he forced victims to have sex with each other, and hiding weapons.
In an indictment made public by New York authorities on Tuesday morning US time, he is accused of three crimes: extortion, human trafficking and transportation for the purpose of prostitution.
The 54-year-old, who had a net worth of $1 billion in 2022, was causing a stir in Australia long before his current legal troubles and may have contributed to the demise of an Australian music festival.
Diddy never officially toured Down Under (save for a brief visit in 1999 with then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez), but came very close when he was announced as the headliner for the now-defunct SupaFest in 2012.
The hip-hop festival, which was held in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, ran from 2010 to 2012 before its parent company, Paper Chase Touring and Entertainment, went into administration.
In 2012, Diddy publicly criticized the festival for not delivering what it initially promised.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is in jail after being denied bail on sex trafficking and racketeering charges on Tuesday. The 54-year-old, who was worth $1 billion in 2022, was a controversial figure in Australia long before his current legal troubles, and may have contributed to the demise of an Australian music festival
In 2012, Diddy publicly criticized the festival for failing to deliver what was initially promised. The rapper said on Twitter that he was “furious as a steer” over what he called a breach of contract by SupaFest.
The rapper said on Twitter at the time that he was “furious” about what he called a breach of contract by SupaFest.
“SupaFest 2012, stop playing games and stick to your contract!!! Don’t cheat people, give them what they want,” he tweeted in 2012.
The 2012 shows, the festival’s last, were ultimately cancelled by Diddy, as were Missy Elliott and Rick Ross.
Around the same time, Missy claimed she had been falsely advertised as a headliner by the festival, while she was still in the early stages of negotiations.
Around the same time, Missy Elliott (pictured) claimed she had been falsely advertised as a headliner by the festival while still in the early stages of negotiations.
Even after the festival went bankrupt, Chris Brown, Kelly Rowland and Ludacris still performed there in 2012.
Founder John Denison had plans to re-host SupaFest in 2013, with a lineup that included 50 Cent, Akon, Ne-Yo and Young Jeezy.
But due to debts of more than $2 million, the festival was canceled that year and never held again.
In 2016, the parent company Paper Chase Touring has been cancelled by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
Combs was ordered to jail Tuesday to await trial in his federal sex trafficking case after a magistrate ordered him held without bail in a case in which he is accused of running a sordid sex crimes empire.
He is accused of inducing female victims and male sex workers to engage in sexual acts, sometimes lasting for days under the influence of drugs, known as ‘Freak Offs’.
The indictment against him also alleges that he coerced and abused women for years, using blackmail and shocking acts of violence to keep his victims in line. It makes a passing reference to a videotaped attack on his former girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie.
In this courtroom sketch, Sean Combs (center) is flanked by his attorney Marc Agnifilo (left) and Teny Garagos, in Manhattan District Court Tuesday.
Members of the media gathered outside Combs’s arraignment hearing in New York on Tuesday
Prosecutors wanted him jailed. His lawyers had proposed that he be released on $50 million bail and sent home with electronic monitoring. U.S. Magistrate Judge Robyn Tarnofsky sided with the government.
Combs was arrested Monday night in Manhattan, about six months after federal authorities raided his luxury homes in Los Angeles and Miami in a sex trafficking investigation.
A conviction on all charges in the indictment would carry a mandatory 15-year prison sentence, with the possibility of life in prison.
Combs was arrested Monday night in Manhattan, about six months after federal authorities raided his luxury homes in Los Angeles and Miami in a sex trafficking investigation.
A conviction on all charges in the indictment would carry a mandatory 15-year prison sentence, with the possibility of life in prison.
The indictment describes Combs as the head of a criminal organization that engaged or attempted to engage in sex trafficking, forced labor, interstate transportation for the purpose of prostitution, drug offenses, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice.
Combs and his associates used his “power and prestige” to intimidate and lure women into his orbit, “often under the pretense of a romantic relationship,” the indictment said.
Judge Robyn Tarnofsky presided over a hearing for Sean Combs on Tuesday. Seen in a sketch of the courtroom
He then allegedly used violence, threats and coercion to induce the women to engage with male sex workers in the “Freak Offs” — “elaborate and produced sex performances” that Combs organized, directed, masturbated to and often recorded, resulting in dozens of videos.
According to the indictment, he sometimes arranged for the women to be flown in and secured their participation by buying and supplying drugs, controlling their careers, using his financial support, and using intimidation and violence.
The events could last for days, and Combs and the victims were often given IVs to recover from the exertion and drug use, the complaint said.
His employees allegedly facilitated “Freak Offs” by arranging travel, booking hotel rooms, stocking the rooms with supplies such as medications and baby oil, scheduling IV administrations and cleaning the rooms afterward.
During raids on Combs’ homes earlier this year, police seized narcotics, videos of the “Freak Offs” and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant, prosecutors said. They said officers also seized firearms and ammunition, including three AR-15s with defaced serial numbers — two of them, broken into pieces, found in his Miami bedroom closet.