Sean “Diddy” Combs will reportedly not testify in his ongoing sex trafficking trial.
The music mogul “will not take the stand in his own defense” as the trial continues its sixth week and prepares to enter “the final phase,” sources told People in a report published on Tuesday, June 17.
Us Weekly has reached out to Diddy’s legal team for comment.
The report comes just two days after the rapper’s son Christian “King” Combs shared a social media Father’s Day tribute to his dad, 55, that included the message, “We waiting for you at ????.” (Diddy shares sons Christian, 27, Quincy Brown, 34, and twin daughters, D’Lila and Jessie, 18, with his late partner Kim Porter, as well as son Justin, 31, with Mysa Hilton, son Chance, 18, with Sarah Chapman, and daughter, Love, 2, with Dana Tran.)
Diddy was arrested in September 2024 and charged with sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution. He pleaded not guilty to all charges and has denied all of the allegations against him.
“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,” Diddy’s attorney Marc Agnifilo said in a statement at the time. “He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal. To his credit Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court.”
Since his arrest, Diddy has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. His four requests for bail were denied by Judge Arun Subramanian.
His trial began in New York City on May 5, with jury selection launching proceedings before opening arguments started that day.
Diddy appeared in court as jury selection started, seen wearing a sweater over a white collared shirt and gray pants, per the Associated Press. (Judge Subramanian previously said that Diddy could wear casual clothing for the duration of the trial rather than his jail uniform.)
Before voir dire (preliminary juror examinations) began, Diddy turned down a plea deal, which may have shortened a potential prison sentence if he agreed to plead guilty. When the judge asked him on May 1 if he rejected the prosecution’s offer, Diddy replied, “Yes, I do.”
Per his legal team, Diddy has requested a mistrial three times. The rapper has been formally denied two of the motions, with the most recent denial delivered on June 10.
In Tuesday’s proceedings, the prosecution said it’s likely they will not rest their case until June 20 despite initially offering a date of June 18. This was due to an unexpectedly lengthy testimony from DeLeassa Penland, a special agent with the U.S. attorney’s office who claimed that Diddy paid for a male escort to travel via air from Los Angeles to New York in 2009.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support. If you or someone you know is a human trafficking victim, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.
