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By Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty, host of ‘Diddy on Trial’ podcast from ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Sounds, bringing you regular trial updates from New York.

Warning: This article contains details that some readers may find distressing

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, the megastar rapper, is on trial in New York fighting for his freedom. Federal prosecutors in the United States have accused him of sex trafficking, transportation for prostitution and racketeering with conspiracy, with allegations that he coerced women into prolonged sexual orgies. They allege that he created a criminal enterprise that “abused, threatened and coerced women” and involved “kidnapping, arson and bribery”.

Diddy has consistently denied all allegations and his lawyers say he looks forward to clearing his name in court.

Since September 2024, the music mogul has been locked up in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn - a prison that’s notorious for inmate violence and poor conditions.

While Diddy has not given any interviews, his name has been in the headlines every single day. And, from featuring in a Kanye West song behind bars to bombshell balcony dangling allegations, and Diddy accusing the government of racism following the case is a full-time job.

So, if you’re struggling to keep up with it all, here are five things you need to know.

1,000 bottles of baby oil

You might have seen headlines about baby oil and Diddy and thought, what on earth is going on – is this clickbait?

Well, no. In March 2024, the FBI conducted raids on Diddy’s properties in LA and Miami. After his arrest in September the then US attorney in the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, gave a press conference talking about what they found.

“They seized cases and cases of the kinds of personal lubricant and baby oil, that Combs’s staff used to stock the ‘freak offs’, more than 1000 bottles altogether,” he said.

Diddy’s lawyer Marc Agnifilo claimed Diddy bought the product in-bulk from Costco because his houses were so big. Costco responded to say they do not stock baby oil. We checked their website and we couldn’t find any.

Now you might be thinking, owning baby oil is not illegal, so why have the federal government included this? That brings me to the next point…

Freak offs

The federal government alleges the bottles of baby oil were an essential product for Diddy’s “freak offs”. Yes, the government used the term “freak off”.

These are defined in the indictment as “extended sex performances with commercial male sex workers”, planned, controlled and sometimes filmed by Diddy.

The government claims these performances could go on for days with Diddy using drugs and violence to control his alleged victims.

The prosecution say Diddy would also threaten them with violence or become violent, “striking, dragging, throwing objects and kicking them”. They claim to have one of these instances of violence on camera.

Diddy’s lawyers have said the “freak offs” were consensual. His lawyer Marc Agnifilo said: “Is it sex trafficking? Not if everyone wants to be there.”

They have also offered other explanations for Diddy’s sexual habits…

Diddy the ‘swinger’

At a recent court appearance, Diddy’s lawyer claimed the rapper is a swinger and he thought his lifestyle was appropriate because it was common. The judge ruled that Diddy’s defence could talk about his lifestyle as part of his defence, but they couldn’t introduce the names of other prominent swingers or people who have used sex workers. Criminal defence attorney Shaun Kent says this ruling is an issue for Diddy, because he won’t be able to substantiate the claim that swinging is “common”, making it a less convincing argument for the jury.

Trump

Now I have included Trump in this, because we get asked a lot if Trump could step in and pardon Diddy. The President of the United States does have the power to pardon convicted criminals. For instance, Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden on federal felony gun and tax convictions and Trump pardoned the January 6 rioters who stormed the Capitol.

It is true that Trump and Diddy knew each other and there are multiple old photographs of the two together, including some where they are hugging. However, Trump has given no indication that he will involve himself in this case.

RICO

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act is perhaps the most confusing charge Diddy is facing. The RICO charge was created with one aim in the United States – to take down the mob. Between the 1960s and 1980s, the US was struggling with the amount of organised criminal enterprises in the country who had ties to major industries. But it was difficult to convict the leaders of the mob or tie together all their illegal acts. The RICO charge allows a series of crimes to be linked, that collectively demonstrate a criminal enterprise.

The US government alleges that from 2004 up until around 2024, “Sean Combs… and others known and unknown were members and associates of a criminal organisation… Members and associates of the Combs Enterprise engaged in, and attempted to engage in, among other activities, sex trafficking, forced labour, interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution, coercion and enticement to engage in prostitution, narcotics offenses, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice.”

The weird thing is that Diddy is facing a RICO charge by himself. No other defendants have been charged, but you can’t operate a criminal organisation with one person, so what’s going on? Well, legal experts have suggested that these other people may have been offered the opportunity to testify against Sean Combs in order to have their charges dropped or reduced.

We’re going to be bringing you the latest news from court throughout the trial, so make sure you subscribe to Diddy on Trial on ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Sounds and turn on your push notifications so you never miss a thing.