With less than two weeks until Sean “Diddy” Combs is set to stand trial, the disgraced rapper is pulling a few more tricks out his bag. This time around, Diddy is hoping a jury will buy his new defense...and you won’t believe what he cooked up.
And as the days inch closer to the trial’s start, many are wondering what Diddy’s defense will possibly be. A Friday (April 25) pre-trial hearing revealed some of the plan, and it apparently includes Combs’ claim that he’s not a criminal, but instead, he simply engaged in consensual group sex activities — including swapping partners.
In common terms, Diddy said he’s a swinger.
News of the revelation was revealed shortly after he was offered a plea deal from the prosecution, according to Rolling Stone. The rapper declined the offer, although his legal team has made several attempts to delay the trial’s start date of May 12. So far, they’ve been unsuccessful.
Attorney Marc Agnifilo from Diddy’s legal team told the court Diddy participated in a regular “lifestyle.” He continued saying, “Call it swingers or whatever you will— that he thought was appropriate because it was common.” He added, “Many people think it’s appropriate because it’s common.” In response, prosecutors claimed many of Diddy’s alleged actions— as documented in the federal court filings and other pending civil lawsuits against the rapper— were beyond consensual interactions.
Interestingly enough, this isn’t the only defense option for Combs’ team. On Sunday (April 27), prosecutors filed a motion to prevent any future testimony suggesting Combs wasn’t in the right mental state to commit his alleged crimes, according to PEOPLE. This was filed in reference to redacted testimony from Dr. Elie Aoun, a psychiatrist who testified for the defense.
According to Diddy’s team, his mental capacity was overshadowed by his excessive drug use. With that, there’s no way he could’ve committed the heinous crimes against him. News of Diddy’s defense comes just as he got some bad news from a judge.
Combs’ team has been working hard to try to get the 2016 hotel footage of him physically attacking his ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, thrown out of court. But during the hearing, Judge Arun Subramanian ruled the shocking video will in fact be shown to a jury once the trial is underway, according to CNN.
The rapper previously admitted to attacking Ventura in the hotel footage. He even apologized to her after the video leaked, as The Root previously reported. “We can eliminate at least many of the defense’s concerns through technology,” Subramanian said Friday.
Jury selection is scheduled to start Monday (May 5). Diddy’s trial at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan courthouse in New York City will begin one week later on May 12. The trial will not be livestreamed, but it is open to the public. If convicted, Combs is facing at least 15 years in a federal prison for racketeering and human trafficking.