TRIGGER WARNING: This article includes references to sexual abuse.Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs isn’t just a hip-hop icon; he’s the one who’s collected Grammys, pumped out hit after hit, and turned ‘Bad Boy Records’ into a major force. He helped launch legends like The Notorious B.I.G., Usher, and Mary J. Blige. For years, his name meant music, money, and over-the-top parties. But that image has cracked.Jump to 2025. Diddy was not on stage; he was in a New York courtroom, staring down a huge federal case. The charges? Prosecutors accused him of sex crimes, drug use, coercion, and human exploitation. And at the center of it all were those infamous “freak-off” parties—private, wild nights that prosecutors called sexual marathons, where women and sex workers were allegedly pressured into doing things they never signed up for, all while Diddy looked on.
Who is Diddy?
He started as Puff Daddy back in the ‘90s, as a rapper, a producer, the mastermind behind ‘Bad Boy Records’. He didn’t just make music; he changed what hip-hop and R&B sounded like. But Diddy was always more than just the music. He was famous for his outrageous parties, his taste for luxury, and a lifestyle that screamed excess. And, honestly, trouble was never far behind. Lawsuits and accusations have followed him for years, but by the 2020s, things got way more serious. By 2025, all eyes were on him in a New York courtroom, facing federal charges that could rewrite his whole story.
Accusations and charges: The legal battle
In May 2025, federal prosecutors went after Diddy with some of the most serious charges in his career: racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, and violating the Mann Act, which makes it illegal to transport people across state lines for prostitution. These charges didn’t appear out of nowhere. They came after years of lawsuits and police investigations.One of the most remarkable moments? A 2023 lawsuit from singer Cassie Ventura, Diddy’s ex. She accused him of rape, physical abuse, and coercion. As per The New York Times, that case was settled for $20 million almost right away, but it brought even more attention to Diddy’s private life.During the federal trial, prosecutors painted a picture of Diddy as the mastermind behind a criminal network, as someone who used intimidation and manipulation to control and exploit women and sex workers at his events.
What were the ‘freak parties’: What happened and what followed?
So, what were these “freak parties” everyone keeps talking about? As reported by E! News, according to prosecutors and victims, these were far from your typical celebrity get-togethers. They were private, multi-day benders—think drugs, alcohol, sex, and sometimes violence. The “freak-off” label exploded into the national spotlight during Diddy’s trial, with witnesses describing parties where almost anything went. Prosecutors said these weren’t just wild nights; they claimed the parties were designed to enable non-consensual sex, coercion, and exploitation.Last year, as the music mogul faced federal charges (racketeering, sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, and transporting people for prostitution), as reported by E! News, prosecutor Emily Johnson and her team put the spotlight on the so-called “freak off” parties at the heart of the case.On May 12, 2025, during opening statements, according to NBC News, prosecutors told the jurors to brace themselves. They promised evidence of days-long, drug-fueled orgies that, they say, Combs orchestrated.Although Combs pleaded not guilty, the September 2024 indictment detailed these “freak offs,” and here’s what prosecutors say happened: elaborate, extended sex acts with male commercial sex workers. As reported by E! News, it read, “Freak Offs were elaborate and produced sex performances that Combs arranged, directed, masturbated during, and often recorded.” Prosecutors even stated that these events happened regularly, lasted for days, and involved several sex workers at once.They also claimed that Combs used force, threats, and coercion to make people participate, often with heavy drug use involved. The defense, on the other hand, argued that the alleged victims took part willingly.According to the indictment, as reportedby E! News, Combs handed out all sorts of drugs at these parties—partly, as per prosecutors, to keep people compliant. Afterward, everyone, including Combs, would get IV fluids to recover from the drugs and physical exhaustion.There was more to the story. As per the prosecutors, the planning went deep: Combs and his team booked hotel rooms, cleaned up afterward, arranged travel for the participants, and kept a lot of cash on hand to pay sex workers. They even stocked the rooms ahead of time with everything needed: drugs, baby oil, lube, extra linens, and special lighting. Investigators revealed, as reported by E! News, they later found these supplies—over a thousand bottles of baby oil and lubricant, along with narcotics—when they searched Combs’ homes in Miami and Los Angeles in March 2024.On May 13, Combs’ ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura took the stand. She dated him—on and off—for about ten years until 2018. As reported by E! News, Cassie described helping organize these parties, sometimes hiring escorts herself. She told the court about the guilt and shame she carried. “I didn’t want him to be upset or not trust me,” she said. “He was a scary person; he would be violent.” She added, “I felt pretty horrible about myself. I felt disgusting. I felt humiliated. I didn’t have the words to show how horrible I felt. I couldn’t talk to anyone about it.”
Who showed up at these parties?
A big question everyone keeps asking is: Who actually went to these parties?Since Diddy was such a major figure in music and entertainment, people started speculating about which celebrities might have been at his more controversial parties. In fact, in a civil case filed in Florida on April 1, 2025, Joseph Manzaro alleged, according to court docs obtained by E! News, that he was “drugged, transported against his will, and sexually maimed as a victim of a coercive and organized criminal enterprise,” facilitated by Combs and others back in 2015. Manzaro mentioned big names like Beyoncé, Jay-Z, and LeBron James in his lawsuit, claiming them as “witnesses.”However, big names like Will Smith straightaway denied any such association with Diddy and his parties. In fact, he went out of his way to make it clear he wanted nothing to do with any of it. As reported by Variety, Smith told TMZ, “I want to say this very clear: I don’t have s*** to do with Puffy, so y’all can stop all the memes. Stop all of that bulls***.”It’s worth making a distinction here. Diddy hosted those famous “white parties” every year—big, flashy events where everyone wore white and half of Hollywood seemed to show up. But those weren’t the same as the private “freak-offs” that ended up at the center of all the legal trouble. Lots of people attended the white parties and later insisted nothing illegal happened there.
The legal battle: The verdict and the aftermath
In July 2025, after a long, messy trial, a federal jury cleared Diddy of the heaviest charges—racketeering and sex trafficking. But they did find him guilty on two counts under the Mann Act for arranging for people to cross state lines for prostitution. Even though Diddy repeatedly claimed that he was not guilty and avoided the harshest punishments, those convictions and years of lawsuits and testimony completely changed how people see him.DISCLAIMER: If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, assault, or abuse, please seek immediate help. Reach out to a mental health specialist, NGO, or trusted individual. Several helplines are available to offer assistance.
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