Law&Crime Sidebar - 9 Most Shocking P. Diddy 'Freak Off' Party Details Revealed in Indictment

Starting point is 00:00:00 Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. When Combs didn't get his way, he was violent. And he subjected victims of physical, emotional, and verbal abuse so that they would participate in the freak-offs. The Freak Off, a term that has now not only become synonymous with Sean Diddy Combs, but it is at the center of his federal sex crimes case. We're going to explain some of the major accusations and details surrounding the freakoffs and what this could mean for the indicted rapper.

Starting point is 00:00:39 Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law and Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. There is one term that has gone viral since the indictment of Sean Diddy Combs, more than anything else. You've heard it here on Sidebar, you've heard it amplified in the media. it is called a freak-off, this alleged sexual performance that is at the center of this criminal case facing the rapper and producer Sean Didy Combs. And I'm going to go over some of the details of these freak-off sessions as laid out in the government's indictment

Starting point is 00:01:14 and in their subsequent letters that they filed with the court when they argued against Combs' bail, which, by the way, was denied twice. Now, he's currently locked up in the Brooklyn Detention Center. is facing charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, transportation to engage in prostitution. We've mentioned it before, but he could be looking at 15 years to life in prison. That's how serious these charges are. But the main theme here, the main allegation is that Combs led a criminal enterprise. And the goal of this criminal enterprise, other than to operate a global media and entertainment business, was to engage

Starting point is 00:01:55 in the abuse of women, sex trafficking, forced labor, prostitution, the distribution of drugs, to use violence and threats, to commit crimes like kidnapping, arson, bribery, obstruction of justice, to carry out their goals, their missions, all the while making sure to satisfy the sexual desires of Sean Combs. And one of those desires, as alleged by the government by prosecutors, and also alleged by several Combs' accusers in separate civil lawsuits that they filed against him were the commission of freak-offs. So with that in mind, now we're going to get into these shocking details surrounding these

Starting point is 00:02:36 freak-offs. And I guess we should start with saying, what are freak-offs, right? Well, let's go to the indictment. It says, quote, Combs and other members and associates of the Combs Enterprise wielded the power and prestige of Combs' role at the Combs' business to intimidate, threaten, and lure female victims into Combs' orbit, often under the pretense of a romantic relationship. Combs then used force, threats of force, and coercion to cause victims to engage in extended sex acts with male commercial sex workers that Combs referred to as, among other things,

Starting point is 00:03:09 freakoffs. Freakoffs were elaborate and produced sex performances that Combs arranged, directed, pleasureed himself during, and often electronically recorded. Now, while this indictment came down, I said at the time, this may be a term that is foreign to any person that was not familiar with Sean Combs, but for me, who's been following this whole saga for, what, a year now, I have heard this term multiple times because in the Cassandra Ventura lawsuit, Combs' ex-girlfriend, and Rodney Little Rod Jones lawsuit, this is Combs' former producer, they discussed the freak-offs in their, again, their sexual assault lawsuits. Now, Ventura alleged, among other things, that Combs would demand her participation in freak-offs and that she would have to be forced to hire the male sex workers and that this could happen at any random moment. Jones alleged, among other things, that Combs' son Justin Combs and DJ and record producer Stevie J would engage in freak-offs.

Starting point is 00:04:13 Now, to be clear, those specific allegations, those names, those details were not mentioned as part of the criminal case. I will tell you, though, that the idea of this freak off, now that it is officially part of the criminal case, now that it's mentioned multiple times, this makes me wonder two things from a legal point of view. Number one, it is such a wild concept and a phraseology that it's hard to believe that this is something that was just made up by Combs accusers. And when I say Combs accusers, could that be Ventura? Yes. Could that be Jones? Yes. Perhaps the government got this information, this idea of the freak-offs originally from them. And by the way, when I say Combs' accusers, could be Ventura, could be Jones, perhaps the

Starting point is 00:05:02 government got this idea of the freak-offs from them originally, but we don't know. To be clear, we do not know for sure. We do not know who the accusers are, the victims are in this criminal case, who the government's witnesses are, whoever those people may be, because we don't know for sure who is cooperating with the government right now. But the bottom line is the idea of the freak off, there's enough there to substantiate it that the government is moving forward with this. And again, it is so wild. It's such a wild concept to come up with that I wonder if an argument will be made that, look, jury, this has to be true. No one can honestly make something like this up. And as you'll

Starting point is 00:05:43 see, it doesn't appear it was just witness testimony that corroborates the idea of the freak off's happening, the existence of these freak-offs, but there's more, and I'll get to that. But this also leads me to a secondary point, that based upon what we are already seeing from Combs' defense counsel during bail arguments, they may not deny that these freak-offs or even that Combs called them freak-offs. They may say, yeah, you know what, he engaged in freak-offs, that's what he called them, but they were consensual. That's the idea.

Starting point is 00:06:15 They were consensual. This is not a crime. Talking about Sean Combs and these allegations. Does it not show you just how scary the world can be, how unpredictable the world can be? And you know what? You know what one of the most unpredictable things can be in life? Something that is truly terrifying that comes out of nowhere if you get injured, right? That comes out of nowhere.

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Starting point is 00:07:32 these freakoffs. So the indictment continues quote, freakoffs occurred regularly, sometimes lasted multiple days and often involved multiple commercial sex workers. During freakoffs, combs distributed a variety of controlled substances to victims in part to keep. the victims obedient and compliant. Sometimes, unbeknownst to the victims, Combs kept videos he filmed the victims engaging in sex acts with commercial sex workers. After freak-offs, Combs and the victims typically received IV fluids to recover from the physical exertion and drug use. That is something, and the government, would allege that these freak-offs, they have been happening since 2009, that those drugs consisted of ketamine, GHB, ecstasy.

Starting point is 00:08:20 Now, in terms of the defense of consent, the defense could say, well, these people knowingly and voluntarily took drugs, but if it's true that Combs kept videos that these participants didn't know about, that could be problematic for him, especially since we learned the government may have the goods to back all of this up. In their bail letter to the judge, they write, quote, The evidence against the defendant, which would be made public at trial, includes substantial evidence that is highly sensitive and has the potential to significantly and negatively impact the defendant's reputation. For example, dozens of video recordings created by the defendant of freak-offs with victims. I mean, we wondered what was collected by federal authorities after they raided Combs' homes in L.A. and Miami back in March. There were reports that they collected digital evidence.

Starting point is 00:09:11 In fact, further on in the government's letter, prosecutors write, quote, setting aside devices seized in connection with the defendant's arrest, the government has obtained over 90 cell phones, laptops, cloud storage accounts, as well as over 30 other electronic and storage devices such as hard drives, thumb drives, cameras, and a surveillance system. The government also wrote, victim testimony regarding freak offices at times corroborated by other witness testimony, communications with the defendant and commercial sex workers, travel records, hotel records, videos of the freakoffs, and records reflecting or indicating payment. By the way, you're talking about evidence of freakoffs. Prosecutors revealed one other way that they can prove that these freak off events happen because in the government's bail letter, it states, the defendant arranged freakoffs with the assistance of members and associates of the enterprise,

Starting point is 00:10:08 including employees of his business, and the hotel. rooms where they were staged often sustained significant damages. So the prosecution's letter goes on to state that, for example, in approximately 2012 in Manhattan, the defendant paid over $46,000 to cover damages to a penthouse hotel room following a freak off. Yeah. Now I imagine the government plans to produce receipts of this, some documentation or witness testimony to corroborate that account, because it'll be tough for the defense to say,

Starting point is 00:10:41 Why else did that hotel room sustain, allegedly, $46,000 worth of damages if it wasn't for this wild sexual performance event? But again, you could see why the government's putting that evidence forward to suggest that these freak-offs occurred. Now, going back to that idea of consent, this defense of consent, I couple that with something else that I've been hearing. I've seen people say, why are these freak-offs a crime, right? You might be wild sexual encounters, but why is this sex trafficking? Why is this racketeering? Well, as laid out in the indictment, but also this was articulated by Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Starting point is 00:11:25 Here's what he had to say in a press conference after the unsealing of this indictment. As alleged, Combs used force, threats of force, and coercion to cause victims to engage in extended sexual performances with male commercial sexual. workers, some of whom he transported or caused to be transported over state lines. When Combs didn't get his way, he was violent, and he subjected victims of physical, emotional, and verbal abuse so that they would participate in the free golfs, and that Combs hit, kicked through objects at and dragged victims at times by their hair. On one occasion in March of 2016, that conduct was captured on video and later reported in the media.

Starting point is 00:12:09 Specifically, Combs kicked, dragged, and threw a vase at a victim in a Los Angeles hotel when the victim was attempting to flee. As alleged, these assaults often resulted in injuries to the victims, which took days or weeks to heal. In addition to the violence, the indictment alleges that Combs threatened and coerced victims to get them to participate in the freak-offs. he used the embarrassing and sensitive recordings he made of the freak-offs as collateral against the victims. And that's the key. It's using power, violence, threats, coercion, force to get people to participate in sexual activity. That is illegal.

Starting point is 00:12:54 Sex trafficking is when you use such methods for the purposes of commercial sex, usually over state lines. Commercial sex is when money is offered for sexual services. or something else of value. And one of the things that the indictment mentions is how Combs would allegedly dangle promises of career opportunities or threatening to withhold financial support to get people to do what he wanted. Now, you heard Damien Williams mention that 2016 incident. So even if you hadn't been following the Combs legal saga for the past year, everyone

Starting point is 00:13:27 saw that video that was published by CNN of Combs allegedly beating Cassandra Ventura back in 2016 at the Intercontinental Hotel in L.A., all while wearing a robe. This is something that Ventura alleged had happened when she filed her lawsuit back in November of 2023. But when that video was released, we all saw with our own eyes what apparently transpired. And we know Sean Combs issued an apology on Instagram two days after the release of that tape. But how this ties to the freak off? Well, the allegation was the reason.

Starting point is 00:14:03 He was in a towel. The reason she was allegedly running away, the reason he allegedly beat her was because she was trying to escape a freak off. And as Ventura alleged, prosecutors say Combs tried to cover up this event. In the bail letter, prosecutors write, quote, when a member of hotel security staff intervened, the defendant attempted to offer the hotel security officer a stack of cash to ensure his silence. After the security guard refused the defendant's bribe and after coordination between the defendant and his employees, the defendant's staff contacted other members of hotel security. At the same time, staff members were in close communication with the victim of the assault as well,

Starting point is 00:14:43 all in an effort to cover up the defendant's assault and to prevent the incident from being publicly disclosed. Within days of the incident, the surveillance video disappeared from the hotel's server. By the way, that brings me to another point about the freakoffs. How many people allegedly helped Combs do this. As the indictment reads, quote, members and associates of the Combs Enterprise, including high-ranking supervisors, security staff, household staff, personal assistance, and other Combs business employees facilitated the freak-offs by, among other things, booking hotel rooms for the freak-offs, stocking the hotel rooms in advance with the required freak-off supplies, including controlled

Starting point is 00:15:25 substances, baby oil, lubricant, extra linens, and lighting. cleaning the hotel rooms after the freakoffs to try to mitigate room damage, arranging for travel for victims, commercial sex workers, and combs to and from freakoffs, resupplying combs with requested supplies, delivering large sums of cash to combs to pay the commercial sex workers, and scheduling the delivery of IV fluids. And or about March 2024 during searches of Combs' residences in Miami, Florida, and Los Angeles, California, law enforcement seized various freakoff supplies, including, narcotics and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant. Wow. So assuming the government

Starting point is 00:16:09 did in fact collect all of this evidence. Again, I don't think there's a great defense for why someone would have that much baby oil and lubricant. So the defense will probably be like, yeah, my client engaged in these sexual sessions. But hey, that's not illegal on its face. Everyone agreed to. It's all consensual. But here's the larger point. First, you can see how this supports the racketeering conspiracy charge that Combs faces, right? The idea that there was an agreement to create and further a criminal enterprise. Combs can't do this alone. Prosecutors need to prove he conspired with others in this criminal enterprise to break the law. So you see this alleged coordination between multiple people at his behest. But this also helps explain potential witnesses

Starting point is 00:16:54 that may be working with the government. Those people that used to work for Combs, a associated with Combs, help facilitate these alleged freak-offs that may now be key witnesses at a future trial. After all, what did the prosecution write in their letter to the judge? The government has conducted interviews with over 50 victims and witnesses, many of whom saw or experienced the defendant's abuse. Many of these witnesses corroborate one another, and their accounts are similarly consistent with the other types of evidence discussed below. The government only expects that number to continue to grow, given that the investigation, which is now public, is ongoing.

Starting point is 00:17:35 And we did another sidebar on the potential that people will come forward or take deals to cooperate with the government. You can check it out on our long-crime YouTube page. But if you thought that all of that wasn't shocking enough when it comes to the freak-offs, I want to leave you with one final allegation regarding these freak-offs. And this is something that prosecutors mentioned in their second letter regarding bail. So let's not forget. Combs was first denied bail by a magistrate judge.

Starting point is 00:18:05 He appealed that decision to a district court judge. And that judge is supposed to review this with fresh eyes. Doesn't have to provide necessarily deference to what this other judge did. So the government doubled down to show how much of a danger Sean Combs is, how he can't be trusted on the outside, how he needs to be detained pending trial. And in their second letter, they write, quote, indeed, since at least in or about January 2024, when the defendant was unquestionably aware of the criminal investigation, the evidence shows that he is engaged in multiple freakoffs, some involving the interstate transportation of individuals to participate, has continued to use narcotics and has contacted multiple

Starting point is 00:18:48 witnesses. So if true, the government is saying, these freakoffs are not years old. They are essentially still happening. This was after he had already been sued. And after the idea of the freakoff had become publicized through those lawsuits, people were talking about in the media. And he's still allegedly engaged in this behavior? That's huge for prosecutors.

Starting point is 00:19:13 And of course, here, we know that Combs was denied bail again by that secondary judge. So there you have it. A full breakdown of the freakoff allegations, how they tie into the larger overall case. clear, I'm sure this is not the last time we will hear this term, or we will hear more details surrounding the freakoffs. That's all we have for you right now here on Sidebar, everybody. Thank you so much for joining us. And as always, please subscribe on Apple Podcast, Spotify, YouTube, wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next time. You can binge all episodes of this law and crime series ad free right now on Wondery Plus.

Starting point is 00:20:03 Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

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Law&Crime Sidebar - 9 Most Shocking P. Diddy 'Freak Off' Party Details Revealed in Indictment

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