Sean 'Diddy' Combs arrested, charged: A timeline of allegations and the rapper's career
This story was updated to add new information.
Sean "Diddy" Combs' legal troubles came to a head Sept. 16 when he was arrested and charged with racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.
The next day, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced charges leveled against Combs in an unsealed indictment. Despite a proposed $50 million bail, Combs was ordered to remain in custody at the Special Housing Unit in Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center ahead of his trial.
The criminal charges arrive nearly a year after Combs' ex-girlfriend and "Me & U" singer Casandra "Cassie" Ventura accused Combs of rape, sex trafficking and physical abuse in November. The lawsuit spurred multiple civil suits leveled against him with allegations of rape, sexual assault and similar claims as the ones listed in the Tuesday indictment unveiled by investigators.
Combs and Ventura settled for an undisclosed amount a day after her lawsuit filing last year, but the unsealed indictment marks the first criminal charges on the latest allegations against the Bad Boy Records founder. Combs, 54, has denied all accusations against him, although he publicly apologized in May after surveillance video leaked of him physically assaulting her at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016.
While Combs' legal trouble has mounted over the past year, Combs has faced a plethora of controversy since Bad Boy Entertainment positioned him as one of the most powerful in music. Look back at his biggest moments over three decades of defining career moments — and the year that led to his downfall.
September 2024: Diddy indictment documents unsealed after arrest, rapper pleads not guilty
Federal authorities announced the criminal charges against Combs in an unsealed indictment on Sept. 17. That afternoon, Combs appeared in a Manhattan courtroom to plead not guilty to charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. A judge ruled he would remain in custody pending trial.
Multiple AR-15 guns, large-capacity magazines, "evidence" of the crimes in the indictment and over 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant used during "freak off" parties were discovered during the raids, said Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, at a press conference Sept. 17.
The indictment refers to Combs' alleged "freak off" parties, or "elaborate and produced sex performances" that were recorded without many victims' consent and at times used as collateral against them. Combs allegedly "arranged, directed" and "masturbated during" these sometimes dayslong "performances" involving sex workers, with him and his employees distributing drugs to victims, partly to keep them "obedient and compliant."
September 2024: Diddy arrested in New York
Combs' attorney Marc Agnifilo confirmed the rapper's Sept. 16 arrest to USA TODAY in a statement, saying, "We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office."
The music mogul was taken into custody "based on a sealed indictment" filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, prosecutors announced on social media.
"He is an imperfect person but he Is not a criminal," the statement continued.
September 2024: Danity Kane's Dawn Richard accuses Diddy of sexual abuse
Richard, formerly of the Bad Boy Records girl group Danity Kane and trio Diddy Dirty Money, sued Combs on 21 counts of sexual assault and battery, sex trafficking, gender discrimination and copyright infringement in a lawsuit filed Sept. 10.
She claims the producer stole her work, withheld payment and subjected her to "inhumane" working conditions, which included assault, groping and false imprisonment, over the course of nearly a decade.
Richard also names former Bad Boy president Harve Pierre, Interscope Records and Bad Boy Records, among others, in the 55-page suit.
Read more: Dawn Richard of Danity Kane accuses Diddy of sexual abuse in bombshell lawsuit
September 2024: Diddy ordered to pay $100M in default judgment for alleged sexual assault
On Sept. 10, the day before Richard's lawsuit was filed, Derrick Lee Cardello-Smith was granted $100 million in a default civil suit judgment for an alleged 1997 sexual assault, which the convict sued for in June.
In response, Combs filed a pair of emergency motions on Sept. 12 to dismiss the multimillion-dollar judgment, as well as a restraining order granted in the case.
The judgment was reversed during a Sept. 18 hearing after Judge Anna Marie Anzalone ruled that the statute of limitations on Cardello-Smith's complaint had expired.
August 2024: Diddy responds to 'The Love Album' producer's claims
On Aug. 26, lawyers for Combs, his record label Love Records, Inc. and Combs Global filed a motion to dismiss a February lawsuit filed by Rodney "Lil Rod" Jones Jr, who was a producer on "The Love Album."
In the filing, reviewed by USA TODAY, Combs' attorneys said Jones' complaint consisted of "countless tall tales, shameless celebrity namedrops, and irrelevant images," and they say the "vague allegations" in Jones' filing did not adequately establish claims of Combs operating a RICO enterprise and of Jones being a victim of trafficking and sexual assault.
Jones' lawsuit's "true purpose is to generate media hype and exploit it to extract a settlement," they told the judge.
July 2024: Former Vibe top editor Danyel Smith speaks out about Diddy, Cassie
In a New York Times Magazine op-ed on July 12, former editor-in-chief of music magazine Vibe Danyel Smith wrote about an incident in which Diddy threatened to kill her for not showing him before publication the 1997 covers he was set to appear on.
After telling Diddy she could not show him the covers before publication, a policy that is typical in journalism, Smith said the producer angrily showed up at the Vibe office looking for her. Her team hid her, and a day later, she said Combs called her and told her he would see her "dead in the trunk of a car." She involved her lawyer and, hours later, said she was faxed an apology.
The long-time journalist also recalled a 1998 incident at a restaurant with Kim Porter and mutual friends when Diddy showed up and yelled at the mother of his then-two children to go home and be with them.
July 2024: Woman alleges she was sex trafficked at Diddy's 'white parties'
In a July 3 civil complaint filed in the southern district of New York and obtained by USA TODAY, Adria English alleged she was sex trafficked by Combs and his associates between 2004 and 2009 in New York and Florida.
A New York go-go dancer at the time, English claims she agreed to work as "entertainment" at Combs' Labor Day "white parties" in the Hamptons and Miami to help her boyfriend secure modeling work with Sean John. She alleges she was "forced to drink copious amounts of alcohol and consume illicit narcotics" including ecstasy and eventually was coerced into having sexual intercourse with guests.
English also accused Combs of helping her break into the music industry to "silence" her and "keep her in his sex trafficking organization" as well as threatening to harm or blackball those who "did not comply with his demands."
In a statement shared with USA TODAY, Combs' lawyer, Jonathan Davis, wrote: "No matter how many lawsuits are filed it won't change the fact that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted or sex trafficked anyone."
June 2024: Former Sean John employees claim Diddy was violent in Daily Beast report
The Daily Beast reported that a few ex-employees of fashion brand Sean John and Blue Flame (Combs' former advertising agency) told the outlet they'd witnessed or experienced Combs' workplace anger.
Several of the five anonymous sources who spoke to The Daily Beast in the June 2 report claimed Combs fostered a toxic work environment — to the point that Sean John employees allegedly started using the phrase "catching a brick" to describe being the target of the entrepreneur's anger.
A female former employee alleged Combs once grabbed and squeezed her face after they had a disagreement. Another ex-employee claimed Combs screamed in their face. Two others who spoke with the outlet said they had no knowledge of these types of incidents.
May 2024: Ex-Bad Boy employees speak out in Rolling Stone report
A Rolling Stone report published May 28 detailed allegations that Combs had a history of violent and dangerous behavior toward women and his employees at Bad Boy Entertainment.
Bad Boy co-founder and former president Kirk Burrowes, who was fired in 1997, and another ex-employee claimed they witnessed Combs attack a woman in the office in 1994 and had to tear him off her.
Felicia Newsome, former manager of Bad Boy's recording studio Daddy's House, added that she also had to hold Combs "by his waist" as he was about to "beat this girl" amid a fight between two women.
In a statement to Rolling Stone, Combs' attorney Jonathan Davis said, "Mr. Combs cannot comment on settled litigation, will not comment on pending litigation, and cannot address every allegation picked up by the press from any source, no matter how unreliable. We are aware that the proper authorities are conducting a thorough investigation and therefore have confidence any important issues will be addressed in the proper forum, where the rules distinguish facts from fiction."
Keep reading: Former Diddy associates detail alleged history of abuse
May 2024: Second lawsuit in a week claims Diddy raped college student in '90s
April Lampros filed a lawsuit on May 23 in New York County Supreme Court accusing Combs of battery and sexual assault stemming from alleged incidents that occurred in the mid-'90s.
She claims to have met the music mogul as a college student in 1994, and says he first "love-bombed her" and "showered her with gifts and flowers."
However, her lawsuit states, "what Mr. Combs displayed as kind gestures quickly manifested into an aggressive, coercive and abusive relationship based on sex." She details being raped by Combs in 1995 and 1996 and being sexual assaulted by him inside a car in 1996.
More about the lawsuit: April Lampros' allegations against Combs
May 2024: Former model sues Diddy for drugging, sexually assaulting her
In a lawsuit filed May 21 in New York federal court, Crystal McKinney claimed Combs, then 34, assaulted her when she was 22 years old. She alleged he forced her to perform oral sex on him at his New York recording studio in 2003.
She also accused the hip-hop icon of derailing her career by having her "blackballed" in the modeling industry, despite initially promising to help her professionally.
McKinney, who is described as a "woman of faith," said she felt a "moral obligation" to come forward with her experience after seeing media coverage of allegations against Diddy.
Read on: Lawsuits details Crystal McKinney's allegations against Combs
May 2024: Diddy seen physically assaulting Cassie in surveillance footage
On May 17, CNN released surveillance video from 2016 showing the embattled business mogul kicking, hitting and dragging then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in the hallway of the now-closed InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles.
The incident matched an allegation levied in Ventura's November sex trafficking, rape and physical abuse lawsuit against the rapper.
However, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in a May 17 statement shared on social media that Combs would not be charged with assault or prosecuted: "If the conduct depicted occurred in 2016, unfortunately we would be unable to charge as the conduct would have occurred beyond the timeline where a crime of assault can be prosecuted."
More about the video: What the clip reveals, how it compares to Cassie's lawsuit
March 2024: Homeland Security Investigations raids Diddy's homes
On March 25, Homeland Security Investigations agents raided Combs' Los Angeles home. Agents also searched Combs' Miami residence at that time, Rolling Stone, NBC News and The Associated Press reported.
A Homeland Security Investigations spokesperson said in a statement to USA TODAY on March 25 that "Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York executed law enforcement actions as part of an ongoing investigation, with assistance from HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami, and our local law enforcement partners."
Per NBC News, the Los Angeles Times and the AP, the searches were part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation in New York.
Read the full story: Sean 'Diddy' Combs' homes raided by law enforcement
The day after Combs' homes were raided, attorney Aaron Dyer insisted on the rapper's innocence and criticized the federal invasion for its "gross overuse of military-level force" and called it a "witch hunt." Dyer added that Combs was not detained by authorities, nor were any of the rapper's family members arrested during the raid.
'A witch hunt': Sean 'Diddy' Combs' lawyer says rapper is innocent, criticizes home raids
February 2024: Diddy accused of sexually assaulting 'The Love Album' producer
Rodney "Lil Rod" Jones Jr., the music producer who worked with Combs on his most recent record, "The Love Album: Off the Grid," sued him in February, accusing him of "engaging in serious illegal activity" including sexual assault.
In a lawsuit filed in U.S. federal court for the southern district of New York and obtained by USA TODAY, Jones alleged Combs "forcibly touched and attempted and/or threatened to touch (Jones') intimate areas and/or touched (Jones) with his own intimate body parts" while they worked on the album.
He also accused the rapper and his associates – including his 30-year-old son, Justin Dior Combs, his chief of staff and Combs Global Enterprises – of participating in "a sex-trafficking venture." Jones added Cuba Gooding Jr. as a defendant in the case on March 25, accusing him of sexual abuse after the "Act Bad" rapper introduced the two on Combs' yacht.
The full story: Lil Rod adds Cuba Gooding Jr. to sexual assault lawsuit
January 2024: Diddy withdraws lawsuit against Ciroc vodka owner Diageo
Combs filed a lawsuit against London-based spirits giant Diageo in May 2022, alleging the company did not follow through with promoting his brands Ciroc vodka and DeLeon tequila, according to The Associated Press. He also accused the company of racism and limiting distribution of his brands to "urban" neighborhoods.
In January, he withdrew his lawsuit as part of a settlement. Diageo is now the sole owner of Ciroc and DeLeon and has ceased its business relationship with the music mogul, per the AP.
December 2023: Diddy, Harve Pierre accused of gang raping 17-year-old girl
An anonymous accuser filed a lawsuit in December alleging Combs, former Bad Boy Entertainment president Harve Pierre and a third unnamed assailant raped her when she was 17 years old in 2003.
Combs and Pierre "preyed on a vulnerable high school teenager as part of a sex trafficking scheme that involved plying her with drugs and alcohol and transporting her by private jet to New York City where she was gang raped by the three individual defendants at Mr. Combs' studio," the plaintiff's attorney Douglas H. Wigdor said in a statement at the time.
"The depravity of these abhorrent acts has, not surprisingly, scarred our client for life."
Full story: Lawsuit accuses Diddy, former Bad Boy president Harve Pierre of gang rape
November 2023: Diddy steps down as Revolt chairman
Diddy stepped down as chairman of his cable television network Revolt, and the network confirmed Combs' exit from the company in a statement shared on Instagram.
"Sean Combs has stepped down from his position as chairman of Revolt," the statement read.
"While Mr. Combs has previously had no operational or day-to-day role in the business, this decision helps to ensure that Revolt remains steadfastly focused on our mission to create meaningful content for the culture and amplify the voices of all Black people throughout this country and the African diaspora."
November 2023: Jane Doe accuses Diddy and Aaron Hall of raping her in early '90s
A third lawsuit, filed by a Jane Doe in the New York Supreme Court, accused Combs and Guy singer Aaron Hall of the sexual assault of her and a friend. The lawsuit, obtained by USA TODAY, claimed Combs and Hall took turns raping the two women in an incident that occurred in 1990 or 1991.
The lawsuit alleges after the two women met Combs at an MCA Records event, where he and Hall were "handsy," Combs and Hall took the unnamed woman and her friend to Hall's apartment, where she was given more alcohol and later coerced into having sex with Combs. The woman says as she lay traumatized on the bed, Hall allegedly came in, pinned her down and raped her.
Additional context: Judge rules Jane Doe cannot remain anonymous if lawsuit proceeds
November 2023: Joi Dickerson-Neal alleges Diddy drugged, sexually assaulted her
In November, a woman named Joi Dickerson-Neal filed a lawsuit against Combs alleging she was drugged, sexually assaulted and abused, and was the victim of "revenge porn."
Combs videotaped the January 1991 assault and distributed the tape to others in the music industry, according to the suit. This caused "severe harm to Ms. Dickerson-Neal's reputation, career prospects, and emotional well-being," Dickerson-Neal's attorney, Jonathan Goldhirsch, said in a news release sent to USA TODAY.
The full lawsuit: Sean 'Diddy' Combs accused of 1991 sexual assault of college student
November 2023: Cassie Ventura accuses Diddy of rape, sex trafficking before settling
Combs' ex-girlfriend, singer Cassie Ventura, accused Combs of rape, sex trafficking and physical abuse in a civil suit. Combs and Cassie settled for an undisclosed amount a day later.
After being lured into an "ostentatious, fast-paced and drug-fueled lifestyle" and a romantic relationship with her former boss Combs when she was 19, Cassie alleged in the lawsuit that Combs plied her with drugs and alcohol, physically abused her and "took control" of her life – ranging from her healthcare to her career opportunities. Combs also allegedly raped her in 2018 and forced Cassie into "repeated unwanted sexual encounters" with male prostitutes who he hired and recorded their encounters.
The lawsuits filed by Dickerson-Neal and Ventura were done so before the New York's Adult Survivors Act deadline. It gave victims of sexual abuse a one-year window to make claims that would otherwise be barred by time limits.
Read more: Sean 'Diddy' Combs, Cassie settle bombshell lawsuit alleging rape, abuse, sex trafficking
September 2023: Diddy receives key to New York City
Combs received the key to New York City from Mayor Eric Adams in Times Square in September 2023. The honor arrived the same day as his studio album, "The Love Album: Off the Grid," and days after his Global Icon Award performance and celebration at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards.
"I'm a New York boy, and I just got to key to the city, and everything is just a little surreal right now," he told USA TODAY at the time.
September 2023: Diddy gives publishing rights back to Bad Boy artists
The rapper and music mogul agreed to give the label's publishing rights back to all artists and writers who worked with Bad Boy Records, a source close to the situation but not authorized to speak publicly told USA TODAY in an email in September 2023.
Bad Boy artists such as Faith Evans, Mase, The Lox, 112 and the estate of The Notorious B.I.G. signed agreements to receive their publishing rights.
Read on: Diddy announces he's giving publishing rights to Bad Boy artists
October 2022: Diddy and Dana Tran welcome daughter Love
In October 2022, Dana Tran welcomed a daughter with Diddy, his seventh child. He confirmed her arrival on X in December 2022, announcing, "I'm so blessed to welcome my baby girl Love Sean Combs to the world. Mama Combs, Quincy, Justin, Christian, Chance, D'Lila, Jessie and myself all love you so much! God is the Greatest!"
June 2022: City Girls rapper Yung Miami and Diddy confirm they're dating
Diddy and City Girls rapper Yung Miami were first linked in 2021. They later confirmed they were dating in a June 2022 "Caresha Please" podcast episode.
The pair were aloof about their relationship status, but in an April 2023 profile with The Cut, the "Act Up" rapper said she was single.
June 2019: Gina Huynh alleges Diddy abused her during 5-year relationship
Combs' ex Gina Huynh told YouTube blogger Tasha K in June 2019 that the Bad Boy mogul allegedly physically abused her and once "stomped" her stomach.
"He was mentally, emotionally and physically abusing me. He would always compare me to Cassie and tell me that I'm the bad one, she's a good one," said Huynh, adding that Combs' inner circle "allowed" the abuse to occur.
November 2018: Diddy's ex Kim Porter dies
Actress and model Kim Porter died from pneumonia in November 2018, the Los Angeles County coroner's office said. "The manner of death was certified as natural," according to a statement released by Sarah Ardalani, the former spokeswoman for the Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.
Porter was 47 when she was found unresponsive in her bed at home in Toluca Lake on Nov. 15, 2018, and was pronounced dead at the scene.
They were no longer a couple but shared three children: son Christian and twin daughters D'Lila Star and Jessie James. They also raised Quincy Brown, Porter's son with singer and record producer Al B. Sure.
Sean 'Diddy' Combs accused by Cassie of sex trafficking, rape and physical abuse in lawsuit
October 2018: Diddy and Cassie call it quits for good
Diddy began dating Cassie in 2007 and also managed her career as a singer. The couple was on-and-off for over a decade before they announced their final split in 2018.
July 2006: Diddy welcomes daughter Chance Combs while Kim Porter was pregnant
Porter and Diddy dated on and off from 1994 to 2007. While Porter was pregnant with their twin daughters, who were born in December 2006, Combs and his friend Sarah Chapman welcomed daughter Chance.
November 2005: Diddy forms Danity Kane
Combs formed pop group Danity Kane on MTV's "Making the Band" in 2005. The group comprised Aundrea Fimbres, D. Woods, Shannon Bex, Dawn Richard and Aubrey O'Day. The band disbanded and reunited several times since their formation, most notably with O'Day being removed from the group in 2008, although she later returned.
In a December 2022 episode of the "Call Her Daddy" podcast, O'Day alleged that Combs fired her because she wouldn't do things he requested "in other areas" besides music. She also alleged on the "Only Stans" podcast in September 2023 that she did not agree to the terms of the music rights return because it required a nondisclosure agreement that she would never "disparage" the rapper or Bad Boy.
June 2004: Kimora Lee Simmons alleges Diddy threatened to hit her
A 2004 New York magazine fashion profile of designer Kimora Lee Simmons included claims that Combs threated to hit the Baby Phat founder.
"And I was pregnant! The moron!" she said, adding that Combs did apologize in a public setting. "I respect him for being a fierce entrepreneur."
December 1999: Diddy and then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez arrested
Combs, his then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez and rapper Jamal "Shyne" Barrow were arrested following a shooting scuffle at the now-defunct Club New York in Times Square in December 1999. Combs and Lopez started dating in 1999 and split in 2001.
Natania Reuben, one of the victims, filed a $130 million lawsuit for compensation against Combs in 2008 and settled in June 2011.
Barrow, who began shooting a gun in the melee, was later convicted of assault in shooting two bystanders who were wounded, while Reuben was wounded in the face by bullet fragments. Barrow was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Combs and an employee of his, Anthony Jones, were acquitted on weapons charges.
Reuben still insists Combs shot her in the face. In a TikTok video posted in February 2024, Reuben said, "I am the woman who he shot in the face in that Dec. 27, 1999, Club New York shooting. I have told everyone, ad nauseam, since then. … I watched him fire the gun."
December 1993: Diddy and Misa Hylton welcome son Justin
Diddy and fashion designer Misa Hylton were linked in the early '90s. She styled many of the associated Bad Boy Records artists. In December 1993, the couple welcomed their son Justin. It's unclear when they officially split.
1992: Bad Boy Entertainment is born
Combs started out as an intern at Uptown Records, rose to being an A&R and in 1992, he founded Bad Boy Records. The company sold over 500 million records, produced 38 platinum singles and earned multiple Grammy Awards, according to the official website for Combs Global.
"Ready to Die," the 1994 debut album by Combs' friend and artist The Notorious B.I.G., sold 2 million copies by 1995 and went on to be certified six times platinum. Biggie's labelmates Evans and Mase sold 1 million and 4 million copies, respectively, with their first albums "Faith" and "Harlem World."
Contributing: Josh Meyer, KiMi Robinson, Anika Reed, Jay Stahl, Pamela Avila, Maria Puente, Edward Segarra, Morgan Hines, Taijuan Moorman, USA TODAY; Reuters
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free, confidential, 24/7 support to survivors and their loved ones in English and Spanish at: 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Espa?ol RAINN.org/es.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Diddy timeline: Biggest moments amid his arrest, charges
