THE BIG STORY: A little under 18 months after sexual abuse allegations against Sean “Diddy” Combs were first made public – and 8 months after he was indicted over them – the once-powerful rap mogul headed to trial this week on felony charges that could put him behind bars for life.
When things got underway in the courtroom Monday, I was sitting just rows behind the now-gray-haired superstar as prosecutors accused him of years of criminal conduct – centered on claims that he coerced longtime girlfriend Cassie Ventura and other women to take part in drug-fueled, marathon sex sessions with male escorts called “freak offs.”
The start the trial, which is expected to run for eight weeks, was something of a circus. News crews filled the plaza outside the courthouse in Lower Manhattan as a line of spectators wrapped around the block – so many that they eventually filled the entire large courtroom and two overflow rooms. Professional “line sitters” were charging $350 for a spot closer to the door; one person waiting in line, there at the crack of dawn, told me that he didn’t want to miss the “trial of the century.”
To catch up after the first two days of the trial, go check all of Billboard’s coverage:
–On day one, both sides made their opening statements to the jury. Prosecutors said Combs had used his power for decades to “feed his every desire” — and they almost immediately played an infamous video of him assaulting Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel. Defense attorneys, meanwhile, said the women had consensually partaken in Diddy’s “swinger lifestyle” and that the star cannot be convicted merely based on weird sex, a “toxic relationship,” or even domestic violence: “We take full responsibility that there was domestic violence. Domestic violence is not sex trafficking.”
–On day two, Ventura took the stand. The star witness in the prosecution’s case, Cassie told jurors that participating in “freak off” sex performances “became a job” for her and left her feeling “humiliated.” But she said she felt she had no choice — at times because she was in love with Combs and wanted to please him, but also, later, because she feared blackmail, physical violence or other blowback: “He was a scary person. He would be violent.”
If you need a general catch-up on the Diddy case before the trial goes any further, go read our explainer on everything you need to know – or our deep-dive analysis in which the prosecutors from R. Kelly’s highly-similar case explain how this one might go. You can also read about the many, many lawyers involved in the Diddy debacle.
This is The Legal Beat, a weekly newsletter about music law from Billboard Pro, offering you a one-stop cheat sheet of big new cases, important rulings and all the fun stuff in between.
Other top stories this week…
TAYLOR GETS SUBPOENAED – Taylor Swift was hit with a subpoena formally dragging her into the legal drama between her friend Blake Lively and Lively’s It Ends With Us director and co-star Justin Baldoni. The subpoena, filed by Baldoni’s lawyers, is certain to be opposed by Swift’s lawyers after her reps blasted the filing: “This document subpoena is designed to use Taylor Swift’s name to draw public interest by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case.”
HER LAWYERS, TOO – Speaking of Taylor’s lawyers: Her longtime outside law firm, Venable, was also hit with a subpoena from Baldoni’s attorney. The filing specifically name-drops Douglas Baldridge, a Venable partner who’s worked with Swift since 2013 and recently returned to the firm after a stint as her general counsel. In legal filings this week, the firm formally opposed a filing that it described as a “fishing expedition” by Baldoni and his lawyers: “Venable had nothing to do with the film at issue or any of the claims or defenses asserted in the underlying lawsuit.”
LIL DURK DENIED BAIL – Days after federal prosecutors dropped Lil Durk’s rap lyrics from his murder-for-hire case, his lawyers argued that the new “watered-down” charges dramatically weakened the case against him and supported his push to be released from jail ahead of trial. But a federal judge then refused to release him, citing a report that Durk has been using other inmates’ jailhouse phone calls, thereby showing a “disrespect for the rules.”
HALLE RESTRAINING ORDER – A Los Angeles judge granted a restraining order to Halle Bailey against DDG, her ex-boyfriend and the father of her 1-year-old son, after she claimed that he had attacked her multiple times. In legal filings seeking the order, Bailey alleged that in one incident, her ex (Darryl Dwayne Granberry Jr.) pulled her hair, slammed her face on the steering wheel and chipped her tooth.
DRAKE v. UMG UPDATE – Weeks after Drake updated his libel lawsuit against UMG to add gripes about Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl performance of “Not Like Us,” the music giant again asked a judge to dismiss the entire case. In doing so, UMG’s lawyers said the new claims about the halftime show are what the case is really about: “Drake’s attack on the commercial and creative success of the rap artist who defeated him, rather than the content of Lamar’s lyrics.”
SMOKEY ROBINSON ALLEGATIONS – The legendary Motown singer and his wife were hit with an explosive new lawsuit, seeking $50 million in damages over claims that he repeatedly raped four housekeepers over nearly two decades. Robinson’s lawyers strenuously denied the claims, calling them “vile, false allegations” and “an ugly method of trying to extract money from an 85-year-old American icon.”
BAD BUNNY COPYRIGHT CASE – The reggaeton superstar was sued for infringement over allegations that a track from his chart-topping Un Verano Sin Ti (“Enséñame a Bailar”) featured an unlicensed sample from a song called “Empty My Pocket” by a Nigerian artist named Dera. The lawsuit claims the issue was raised with Bunny’s reps, but that they’ve “turned a blind eye” and “stonewalled” efforts to properly clear the sample.
ANOTHER SAMPLE DISPUTE – British singer-songwriter Bakar and his viral track “Hell N Back” – featured in millions of TikTok videos – were hit with a messy new lawsuit over the song’s prominent use of a sample from Robert Parker’s 1967 R&B track “I Caught You In A Lie.” The case claims Bakar and Sony Music cleared the sample, but did so with the wrong rightsholders who have been making “false claim of ownership” to Parker’s song.
DATA BREACH AT iHEART – iHeartMedia was hit with a proposed class action from subscribers after publicly disclosing that several of its radio stations were hacked months ago, exposing Social Security numbers, financial information and other personal details. The company says it “immediately implemented our response protocols” to contain the hack, but attorneys for the subscribers say iHeart waited four months to tell subscribers about it.
LIVE NATION AT SCOTUS – Live Nation asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a ruling last year that said the concert giant couldn’t enforce “opaque and unfair” arbitration agreements against ticketbuyers. That ruling – a scathing critique of Live Nation’s approach – showed improper “judicial hostility,” Live Nation warned the justices, and will create “massive uncertainty” over how such clauses can be used and enforced.
(DIDN’T) GET THEM TO THE GREEK – The Grammy-winning band The Kingston Trio sued a Los Angeles music attorney for fraud, claiming that he lied about having an “inside track” to book the folk group at the Greek Theatre last summer. The group says the lawyer, David A. Helfant, charged them high fees but didn’t actually have any secret mojo to get them booked at the legendary venue. Helfant denied the allegations, saying they were “completely without merit.”
FLORIDA DRAG LAW ICED – A federal appeals court has upheld an injunction blocking the state of Florida from enforcing a law signed by Governor Ron DeSantis that would restrict drag shows in the state, ruling that the statute likely violates the First Amendment’s protection of free speech: “The act wields a shotgun when the First Amendment allows a scalpel at most,” the court wrote.
WEEZER WIFE CHARGED – Author Jillian Lauren, the wife of Weezer bassist Scott Shriner, was officially charged with two felony counts following a bizarre shootout with police at her Los Angeles home last month. The charges are serious (discharge of a firearm with gross negligence and assault with a semiautomatic firearm) but less than she initially faced when booked on suspicion of attempted murder following the April 8 altercation.
