Post By : 2025-05-26T14:05:19"

The rise and fall of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs: From boy wonder rap mogul to defendant in sex trafficking case"

Sean “Diddy” Combs was riding high in the fall of 2023. He had just released his fifth studio album and was granted the key to New York City. But weeks later, he was accused of abuse and violence in a startling civil lawsuit from a former girlfriend. More allegations followed, casting a shadow on his reputation and potential future.

From his humble origins to his meteoric music career, the tides have changed for Combs about as often as he’s changed his name. With his legacy in question, this particular chapter of his story is punctuated more by an ellipsis than a period. But if he manages to rebuild a once towering professional empire in the aftermath of his present legal troubles, Combs will have accomplished the ultimate turnaround.

Bad Boy Records

Sean Combs, then using the nickname “Puffy,” founds label Bad Boy Records and signs Christopher Wallace — better known as Notorious B.I.G. — going on to produce hit records like “Big Poppa,” “Hypnotize” and “One More Chance."

Notorious B.I.G. murdered

Wallace, 24, is murdered in March 1997. Combs, then 27 and using the nickname "Puff Daddy," releases his debut album "No Way Out," which contains a tribute song, "I'll Be Missing You." It becomes the first rap song to debut as No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and wins a Grammy.

1998

Sean John clothing

Combs starts a clothing line using his given name, Sean John. Within the next year, he will change his nickname back to “Puffy,” then later switch to “P. Diddy” and eventually just “Diddy.”

Charges in shooting

A shooting leaves three people wounded at a popular Times Square nightclub. Combs was at the club with singer Jennifer Lopez, his then-girlfriend. Combs and two associates are charged.

Combs releases the album "Forever."

2001

Not guilty

After a high-profile trial, Combs is found not guilty of all five counts of gun possession and bribery related to the Manhattan shooting. The same year, he releases another album, "The Saga Continues..."

2002

"Making the Band 2"

Combs helps to form the group Da Band on the MTV music competition reality series "Making the Band 2," on which Combs stars and is an executive producer. The group is signed to Combs' Bad Boy Records but eventually disbands during the Season 3 finale.

2005

Danity Kane

During "Making the Band 3," Combs forms the all-girl group Danity Kane, who also sign with Bad Boy Records. The group consists of singers Dawn Richard, Aubrey O’Day, Shannon Bex, D. Woods and Aundrea Fimbres, who enjoy success with singles like “Touching My Body” and “Damaged.”

Album release

Combs releases “Press Play,” his fourth studio album.

2008

"I Want to Work for Diddy"

Combs stars in another reality TV program, "I Want to Work for Diddy," which debuts in 2008 on VH1 and airs for two seasons. The series features a set of contestants who compete for the opportunity to become Combs' assistant.

2009

"Making the Band 4"

Combs searches for an all-male group in “Making the Band 4” and for personal band members in a spinoff called “Making His Band,” but the latter fizzles out in one season.

2017

Yet another moniker

Combs announces he is changing his stage name again to "Love," or “Brother Love,” but later says it was just a joke.

2021

Legal name change

Combs posts an image of his Florida driver’s license on his verified Instagram account, confirming that he has legally changed his middle name from John to Love.

2022

Love Records

Combs launches a new record label called Love Records.

2023

Success and accusations

September 15

Combs releases his fifth studio album, "The Love Album: Off the Grid," which features collaborations with Justin Bieber, H.E.R., Mary J. Blige and more. New York Mayor Eric Adams gives Combs a symbolic key to the city.

November 16

Combs' former girlfriend, Casandra "Cassie" Ventura, files a lawsuit against the producer claiming he raped and physically and emotionally abused her for years. She also claims Combs sought to control all aspects of her personal life and says he “introduced” her to a lifestyle of “excessive alcohol and substance abuse,” according to the filing in a federal court in New York.

The lawsuit accuses Combs and other defendants of sex trafficking, human trafficking, sexual assault, gender-motivated violence, sexual harassment, gender discrimination and a hostile work environment. In particular, the suit describes an altercation in a hotel hallway in March 2016 in which Combs “grabbed at her,” beat her and threw glass vases at her.

Combs’ attorney issues a statement saying Combs “vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations.”

November 17

Just a day later, Combs and Ventura agree to settle the lawsuit.

Both release statements saying the matter was resolved "amicably." Combs' attorney says the settlement is "in no way an admission of wrongdoing."

November 23

Others, including Joi Dickerson-Neal and Liza Gardner, accuse Combs of sexual assault in lawsuits filed in New York Supreme Court on the eve of the expiration of the state's Adult Survivors Act.

Combs denies the accusations.

December 6

After more accusers come forward, Combs writes in an Instagram post:

“ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. For the last couple of weeks, I have sat silently and watched people try to assassinate my character, destroy my reputation and my legacy,” he wrote. “Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday. Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”

That post is later removed from his Instagram feed. Only seven posts remain on his account page, most of which are photos of his children.

2024

Arrests Made

March 25

Heavily armed teams of federal agents – some in armored vehicles and tactical gear – execute searches of Combs' homes in Los Angeles and the Miami area. The searches are carried out by Homeland Security Investigations as part of an ongoing sex-trafficking investigation, a law enforcement source tells CNN at the time.

March 26

Aaron Dyer, then an attorney for Combs, criticizes the raids as a “gross overuse of military-level force.”

May 17

CNN publishes hotel surveillance video from 2016 that shows Combs kicking and dragging Ventura at a hotel in Los Angeles.

May 19

Combs releases a video statement apologizing for physically assaulting Ventura in the hotel surveillance video.

“My behavior on that video is inexcusable," he says. "I take full responsibility for my actions in that video."

The apology video is later removed from his Instagram.

May 29

CNN reports federal investigators are preparing to bring Combs' accusers before a grand jury, citing two sources familiar with the probe. Additional sources tell CNN that most of the plaintiffs who had filed civil lawsuits against Combs have been interviewed by federal investigators. Some are handing over evidence they believe could assist investigators, one source said.

June 10

Combs returns his symbolic key to New York City after Mayor Eric Adams sent a letter to him requesting he do so. Adams wrote that he was “deeply disturbed” by the hotel surveillance video published by CNN.

September 10

Dawn Richard, a member of Danity Kane, files a civil lawsuit, accusing Combs of sexual battery, sexual harassment and false imprisonment, among other allegations, that she claims occurred while working as an artist for him. She also claims to have seen Combs “brutally beat” Ventura while the pair were dating in the 2000s.

Combs denies the allegations.

September 16

Combs is arrested in New York City after a grand jury votes to indict him on charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution in incidents dating back to 2008.

New indictment and trial

January 30

Federal prosecutors file a superseding indictment against Combs, expanding the racketeering conspiracy allegations to include two new female victims. The new indictment alleges the criminal conduct goes as far back as 2004, four years earlier than the initial indictment said.

March 14

A gray-haired Combs appears in court and pleads not guilty to the superseding indictment.

April 4

In another superseding indictment, federal prosecutors add two new counts of sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution related to "Victim-2" that they allege occurred between 2021 and 2024.

April 14

Combs pleads not guilty to the two new counts.

April 25

The federal judge rules footage of Combs physically assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, will be shown to the jury at his trial.

A prosecutor informs the judge that Combs has rejected a plea deal.

May 5

Jury selection begins in Combs' federal trial in a Manhattan courtroom.

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