NEW YORK — Sean “Diddy” Combs shocked courtroom attendees with a grizzled new look at a pretrial conference Friday.
Combs’ legal team and prosecutors disputed various aspects of the disgraced rapper’s trial – including jury selection, submitted evidence and the trial’s court timeline – during the Friday conference in front of U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian at Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse in Manhattan.
Combs is charged with racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution following his arrest in September. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The graying music mogul appeared in mostly good spirits throughout the 35-minute conference – grinning and waving to a small group of family and friends seated toward the back of the gallery ‒ although at other times, he could be seen shaking his head and whispering in his attorney’s ear.
Combs was arraigned in court on a new indictment, which added accusations that the hip-hop mogul forced employees to work long hours and threatened to punish those who did not assist in his alleged two-decade sex trafficking scheme.
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His upcoming trial is scheduled to begin May 5. The indictment follows numerous lawsuits and allegations of rape, sexual assault, physical abuse and similar claims over the course of three decades.
Earlier this month, prosecutors submitted a second superseding indictment, updating the amended indictment from January that added three unnamed women who were allegedly victims of his so-called sex trafficking enterprise, which claims Combs subjected employees to forced labor under inhumane circumstances.