Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs hid in plain sight for years until one critical move seemingly opened Pandora’s Box.
Diddy’s longtime girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, accused Diddy of assault and sexual abuse, and offered Diddy a deal to keep the information away from the press. Diddy pushed back on the offer, according to Variety, which prompted Ventura to file a lawsuit against him.
The rapper’s refusal to comply effectively triggered Ventura to expose a side of the star that the world had never seen before. Within 24 hours of the legal filing, the disgraced rapper settled with Ventura. That singular move set off a tidal wave of legal drama. It ultimately exposed details of his alleged “freak off” parties, inspired over 120 victims to come forward with criminal and civil suits against him, and landed him behind bars, where he currently remains awaiting trial.
Diddy’s own response to the Ventura case could prove to be his undoing. (RELATED: Ray J Suggests Diddy’s Celebrity Friends Are Paying Off Alleged Victims)
Lawyer Marc Agnifilo said Ventura offered Diddy $30 million for rights to a tell-all book that would expose her claims against him, but Diddy refused to comply, according to Variety. Ventura doesn’t seem to have been the first person to come forward, and numerous professionals interviewed by the Daily Caller agreed that in all likelihood, other complaints were filed against the star over the course of the past several years.
Shortly after he rejected the opportunity to purchase the rights to the tell-all, Ventura’s bombshell allegations against Diddy were front and center in the news, and the horrifying video of one of the world’s most famous rappers dragging, punching, and kicking his estranged girlfriend in a hotel lobby quickly went viral. This singular moment changed the world’s perspective of the once-successful star, according to Attorney Andrew Stoltmann, Securities Attorney at Stoltmann Law,
“Victims smelled chum in the water and now they are coming out in droves,” he told Daily Caller. “The biggest mistake Diddy made was not settling the Ventura case confidentially prior to it being filed in court.”
Cassie and Diddy have reached a settlement for an undisclosed amount. Only one day after Cassie filed her lawsuit against Diddy for R550 295 100. pic.twitter.com/cQRJNkqNNV
— MDN NEWS (@MDNnewss) November 18, 2023
Stoltmann went on to explain how this led to the downward spiral that ultimately cost the disgraced rapper his freedom.
“The complaint provided a roadmap for federal prosecutors to investigate them and the publicity caused multiple other victims to come forward. Either Diddy or his council made a massive error by not settling this case prior to it being filed,” Stoltmann told the Daily Caller.
Longtime criminal attorney and managing partner of Spiggle Law Firm, Francisco Mundaca, agreed that “the prosecution is what prompted others to come forward because now law enforcement is involved. Coupled with Cassie’s Ventura settlement, there are more opportunities to strike deals with Diddy because he is in a weakened position,” he told the Daily Caller.
Since then, over 120 men and women of all ages and walks of life have filed lawsuits against Diddy accusing him of drugging and raping them. The common thread between their stories lies in the allegations that they were drugged before they were assaulted. Many of the alleged victims referenced “freak-off” parties that are being described as sex parties hosted by Diddy.
The sex, however, wasn’t always consensual, according to the numerous court filings against the star. Diddy’s “freak-offs” are now also infamously connected to date rape drugs, and thousands of bottles of what appeared to be baby oil, seized by the feds during the raids on his homes. An alleged victim suggested the baby oil bottles were also laced with drugs, according to an interview aired on NewsNation.
Since the Ventura case went public, hordes of alleged victims have come forward with horrific allegations of rape and sexual violence against Diddy. (RELATED: Diddy World Goes All In For Harris)
“I believe that a big part of the alleged influence that ‘Diddy’ had against the alleged victims is that he used his power and ability to extort individuals to do certain things or acts,” Mundaca told the Daily Caller.
“Now that this case is being prosecuted, there is an essence of safety, because it will be harder for him to retaliate against an alleged victim, giving them the confidence to move forward,” Mundaca said.
CEO & Co-founder of Stillwater Behavioral Health, Nick Mathews, said “it’s important to note that drugs and alcohol are already a part of the culture,” as the alleged victims in most cases willingly attended Diddy’s parties and were likely already drinking and partying before the alleged attacks. Mathews said the alleged victims that claimed they were given drinks laced with GHB were “going to already be under the influence, and that makes it so much more powerful and so much worse than GHB on its own.”
He explained the effects of the combination of both alcohol and GHB, saying that on its own, GHB “induces the blackout effects very similar to alcohol. It lowers inhibitions. It’s going to kind of make your head spin.” Combined with alcohol, Mathews told the Daily Caller the victims would have been “basically asleep.”
“It’s gonna be very difficult for you to use your voice. It’s gonna be very difficult for you to move physically at all,” he said.
“You’re aware of what’s happening around you, you’re still coherent, but you can’t move… and that’s terrifying,” he said, calling it “hell on earth,” especially in an environment “where there’s predators.”
Criminal defense attorney from Pitcher Law and Utah State Senator, Stephanie Pitcher, said it seemed that the Ventura case opened the door for others to speak out against the famous rapper. “I think whenever there are abuse allegations or sexual assault allegations, it’s really scary for a victim to come forward,” she told the Daily Caller. This is magnified when filing against a celebrity. “But when victims can see that there’s somebody else – the first person who paved the way makes it so much easier for everybody else that follows.”
“We see that in this case, we saw that with high profile cases like Harvey Weinstein, ” she said, noting that victims “become a little more confident and maybe less intimidated by criminal justice systems or legal systems in general, and they realize they’re not alone and it’s okay to come forward.”
The video evidence was damning, and Diddy rose to the occasion by issuing a public apology for the incident with Ventura. He purported to be repenting for the errors of his ways and already sought help to become a changed man, but Homeland Security had already been investigating the star, and raids on two of his luxury properties were executed as the world looked on.
New York City-based attorney and partner at Jodre Brenecki Law, Nicole Brenecki, told the Daily Caller she believes there were rumblings about Diddy’s alleged criminality well before Ventura spoke out, which begs the question — if the alleged victims are telling the truth, how was Diddy able to get away with this for so long? “I do doubt that any of these prior victims felt like he did not have enough money to pay them, but one thing that they were probably concerned about was going after someone who was so well-positioned,” Brenecki said. “An A-list celebrity, there is definitely some fear of being ridiculed and some fear of not getting enough legal representation to go forward, to go after a person like this.”
Hollywood celebrities being asked about Diddy….
Their faces are priceless…
— Isaac’s Army (@ReturnOfKappy) November 18, 2024
Ventura could have been the catalyst in flipping the switch on this case. “Definitely, you can make an argument that her lawsuit triggered the other ones. But we also have to understand the cultural wave that has been occurring recently — a movement that is making victims want to come forward, that is not shaming the victim,” Brenecki told the Daily Caller.
Brenecki noted that there are two major points in play that likely prompted other alleged victims to come forward.
“On one hand, people have definitely been emboldened by the fact that someone did that and was successful in doing that,” she said, speaking to Ventura’s case. She went on to say that the involvement of the government in this case was also a significant factor.
“Once the government went after him, the other people felt that this is not going to be frivolous if they do the same thing in the civil aspect,” Brenecki told the Daily Caller. She noted that the government went after Diddy “aggressively to the point where he’s being denied bail,” and is being held on the suspicion that he’d be threatening or might engage in witness tampering. This, paired with Ventura’s evidence and settlement, gives other alleged victims the confidence to come forward.
Brenecki is confident that many others had voiced concern about Diddy’s behavior, but nothing came of it.
“As a practicing attorney, I know you just cannot take one allegation and just run and make a case out of it to make sure that if you bring something of such magnitude and such significance that is well put together,” she told Daily Caller.
“I am 100% sure that there were people earlier reporting, that there are people going to the police,” she said, noting that it was like “nobody wanted to touch this because it’s a famous person with a lot of money and a lot of connections.” The Ventura case played a big factor. According to Brenecki, “the video resurfaced — it would make them look stupid to not go after him.” Pandora’s box had been opened, and the allegations began flooding in.
Ventura’s bombshell abuse video didn’t demonstrate evidence of sexual abuse, but it did serve to lay the groundwork for future claims against Diddy.
Pitcher also noted that it helped pave the path for others to come forward. The world now had undisputed evidence that Diddy’s reputation wasn’t squeaky clean, lending to the possibility that he had more secrets behind closed doors.
“Once you’ve got a case with palpable evidence, it makes things a little bit easier. You can demonstrate that there’s a pattern of conduct that he resorted to violence. You know, this is, this is an MO and so it starts to make criminal cases easier,” she told the Daily Caller.
“The fact that she came forward, that there was video evidence of it happening again, I think that inspires some confidence in victims, that they can also get a good outcome,” Pitcher told the Daily Caller.
“It starts to make victims feel a little more confident in the system. And I really do think that’s what, that’s what sort of triggered these other lawsuits,” she said. She noted Ventura helped others realize “there is a legal path forward”.
“I think what Cassie Ventura did for both, for herself, for subsequent victims, is huge, huge,” Pitcher told the Daily Caller.
“I think some people go through really horrible incidents of abuse, and they know it’s wrong, but maybe they don’t realize that there’s actually a legal path for them. And I think once you see it, once you realize, okay, there might be a path for me as well,” Pitcher said.
Brenecki believes Diddy got away with these alleged crimes for so long because there are deeper issues at play in this case.
In their opposition to Diddy’s latest motion for bail, the feds allege he continues his efforts to obstruct as well as contact witnesses. He’s doing this, in part, by using other inmates’ telephone pins (rookie mistake). Of course, all the good stuff is redacted. https://t.co/m1QVDqrdxD pic.twitter.com/4bVlsxSu59
— LB (@beyondreasdoubt) November 16, 2024
“It all boils down to who’s corrupt and who is handling these things, and when there’s not a celebrity pulling off stuff like that, there may be corrupt people around us that will or her that will cover it up, and I think that’s exactly what happened here,” she told the Daily Caller.
“But at a certain point in time, too much evidence had come out, so that even the people that were covering it up earlier had to switch their tunes in order to save their own spaces and their own positions. And I think that is what’s going on right now,” she said.
Mathews also believes the way these alleged offenses were carried out was carefully and intentionally planned.
“It seems like a very, very well-oiled, well-orchestrated system that he had deployed that had many, many points of, sort of failsafes, to keep him safe from authorities and keep the victims coming through,” he told the Daily Caller.
Only time will tell if Diddy will be held criminally accountable for the allegations made against him, and if other prominent figures and celebrities will also be incriminated or convicted as part of the developments in court. At this time, the information and evidence presented leaves even the most experienced lawyers baffled by the potential outcome of this case.
Pitcher and Brenecki believe the physical evidence and witness statements presented in the discovery process of this case will weigh heavily on the outcome. Both noted that Diddy is already guilty in the court of pubic opinion, and it would be challenging to secure an unbiased jury.
Stoltmann believes the case filed by Ventura is “a roadmap for federal investigators to follow and that is likely leading for Diddy to face life in prison.” He predicts Federal prosecutors will likely call Justin Bieber to testify in Sean Combs’ upcoming criminal trial as a fact witness.
Mundaca went on to tell the Daily Caller that “for him to be acquitted of these charges is going to be nearly impossible unless there is an agreement in place with ‘Diddy’ to help get others who participated in this potential sex-trafficking ring.”
Mundaca believes there is a “great chance” that Diddy’s case will expose other celebrities. “I believe the reason they brought the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act charges against ‘Diddy’ is that they anticipate that others are involved,” he said.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs remains in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York until his trial begins in May.
This article was originally published at dailycaller.com
