Skip To...
Sean “Diddy” Combs walked into a Manhattan federal courtroom on Friday morning looking calm, collected, and already planning his post-prison comeback. The hip-hop mogul waved to family members and greeted his legal team before taking his seat at the defense table, dressed in a light sweater layered over a collared shirt and dark dress pants. But prosecutors say Diddy’s cool demeanor masks something else: hubris.
Prosecutor Christy Slavik dropped a bombshell revelation in court, telling Judge Arun Subramanian that Combs had already booked speaking engagements in Miami for next week, apparently assuming he’d walk free. “That is the height of hubris,” Slavik told the court, according to Yahoo. The Associated Press also reported that a Miami-based nonprofit submitted a letter confirming Combs had scheduled “teaching engagements” in South Florida beginning Monday. The optics? Not great, considering he’s facing a maximum of 20 years behind bars.
Prosecutors Push for Harsh Diddy Sentence
Slavik didn’t hold back while making her case for more than 11 years in prison. She reminded the court that Combs’ violence was “uncontested” during trial, pointing directly to the chilling surveillance video shown to jurors of the mogul kicking, dragging, and beating his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel hallway. Ventura testified that the brutal attack happened after she tried to leave one of his infamous “freak offs.” “Imagine how much worse it was behind closed doors,” Slavik said, urging the judge to factor in the severity of his violence when delivering the sentence.
Diddy’s Last-Minute Plea for Mercy
On Thursday night, just hours before sentencing, Combs sent Judge Subramanian a four-page handwritten letter begging for mercy. In it, he apologized “for all of the hurt and pain” he has caused and asked the judge not to make him an example of scandal, but of second chances.
Slavik wasn’t impressed. She told the court Combs’ letter sounded less like remorse and more like self-pity. “Even in his submission last night, his remorse was qualified,” she said, pointing out his line, “My domestic violence will always be a heavy burden that I will have to forever carry.” Slavik argued the phrasing made it sound “like he’s the victim in this scenario.” “This is not a person who has accepted responsibility,” she said.
Judge Subramanian is expected to hand down his decision later today, with Combs facing up to 20 years in prison. Between his Miami bookings, his plea for mercy, and the prosecutor’s fiery rebuttal, all eyes are locked on the courtroom as the former music mogul’s empire hangs in the balance.
