
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York City, Sean “Diddy” Combs was taken into custody on Monday.
According to a spokesman, Combs was taken into custody at the Park Hyatt Hotel on West 57th Street. According to a person with knowledge of the incident, he had been staying at the hotel for a few weeks and was taken aback by the fear.
According to a statement released by U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, federal officials detained Combs on Monday night in response to a sealed indictment that the Southern District of New York had filed.
Williams stated that further information would be available when the indictment is unsealed in the morning.
Marc Agnifilo, Combs’ lawyer, released a statement expressing dismay. The 54-year-old Combs, according to him, “voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges” and had cooperated with the investigation.
“For the past thirty years, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has built an empire, loved his family, and worked to uplift the Black community. He is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, and proven philanthropist,” the statement read. “He is not a criminal, but he is an imperfect person.”
The statement continued, “These are the deeds of an innocent man who has nothing to hide and who looks forward to clearing his name in court.”
The allegations for which Combs, the rapper-turned-music entrepreneur, was detained were not immediately apparent.
Since November, when his ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura filed a federal lawsuit accusing him of years of physical and sexual abuse, Combs has been the target of numerous lawsuits, the most recent of which was filed last week, alleging sexual assault and misconduct.
Known popularly by her stage as Cassie, Ventura was formerly signed to Combs’ Bad Boy record label. A day after her complaint was filed, the two reached a settlement without sharing the terms of the agreement. Combs’s lawyer claimed that the deal did not constitute an admission of guilt. He had refuted the claims before.
Since then, a number of others have filed lawsuits. Among them is Dawn Richard, who claimed to have observed him severely beat Ventura and to have been harassed and intimidated by him while she worked for him from 2005 to 2012. Combs has fiercely refuted the claims made in the lawsuits, claiming that the plaintiffs were only seeking “a quick payday” and that they were making “sickening allegations.”
However, Combs apologized in an Instagram video in May after CNN published hotel footage showing him punching, kicking, and throwing Ventura to the ground in a Los Angeles corridor in 2016. He claimed that his actions were “inexcusable” and that he had sought counseling. Later on, the video was taken down from his Facebook.
Last week, Combs was sued by Richard, a former member of the girl group Danity Kane, which Combs formed on the MTV reality series “Making the Band.” Richard eventually joined the group Diddy — Dirty Money.
Combs was “shocked and disappointed,” according to an attorney, by Richard’s lawsuit, which, like Ventura’s complaint, paints him as a violent and domineering figure.
Sex trafficking was alleged in Ventura’s case. She said that he beat her regularly, made her perform sexual acts with male prostitutes under duress (which Combs called “freak offs” and occasionally videotaped), and that in 2018, when she was attempting to break up with him, he broke into her house and sexually assaulted her.
Richard claimed to have gone to “drug-fueled parties,” where attendees had to give over their phones, according to her suit. She also claimed to have seen Combs and his guests sexually abusing underage females while they were intoxicated.
Federal authorities investigated Combs’ houses in Los Angeles and Miami in March.
A source familiar with the investigation told NBC News in March that investigators spoke with a number of persons regarding claims of sex trafficking, sexual assault, and the soliciting and distribution of illegal drugs and weapons.
According to NBC News, the Southern District of New York issued the warrant for the search of Combs’ residences.
In the early 1990s, Combs—who has previously gone by the names Puffy, Puff Daddy, and Love—founded Bad Boy. Being the creator of the Sean John clothing brand and the channel Revolt TV, which he sold his interest in over the summer, he is considered a pioneer in the fields of hip-hop, fashion, and television.
Producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, who worked on Combs’ most recent record, said in a February complaint that Combs had inappropriate sexual contact with him, had made him hire prostitutes, and had coerced him into performing sex acts with them. From September 2022 to November 2023, Jones claimed to have traveled and resided with Combs. During that time, he captured hours of film and audio showing Combs, his employees, and other people “engaging in serious illegal activity.”
Combs’ “long-awaited arrest” was hailed by his lawyers, Rodney S. Diggs and Tyrone Blackburn, who are also defending other accusations of Combs, as “an important step towards justice for all of Mr. Combs’ victims.”
On Monday night, they declared, “We give the people and the legal system control over the criminal portion of this case.” Regarding civil cases, we seek the justice our clients are due while we wait for the facts to become clear. We also expect additional victims to come forward. This was something we were sure would happen. It was just a matter of time, and the proof is abundantly evident.
Howard University severed its relationship with Combs following the release of the hotel video showing him abusing Ventura. The university terminated a scholarship program in his honor and revoked an honorary degree it had given him in June. In accordance with New York Mayor Eric Adams’ request, Combs returned his key to the city that same month.
Combs advertised his Los Angeles residence, which was the target of a raid in March, for $61.5 million this month.