Topline
Jurors said they acquitted Sean “Diddy” Combs on three serious charges in July because they felt evidence of domestic violence wasn’t enough to prove sex trafficking or racketeering, according to interviews with two jurors in a new Netflix docuseries produced by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson that has sparked Combs’ ire from prison.
Sean “Diddy” Combs sent a cease-and-desist to Netflix over “Sean Combs: The Reckoning.” (Photo by Shareif Ziyadat/Getty Images for Sean “Diddy” Combs)
Getty Images for Sean “Diddy” Combs
Key Facts
Two jurors from Combs’ trial appear in “Sean Combs: The Reckoning” where they admit Combs’ relationship with ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura was violent, citing surveillance footage of Combs attacking her in a hotel, but they didn’t find this evidence sufficient to convict on racketeering or sex trafficking charges.
“You can’t beat that small girl like that the way he did,” one juror said, referring to the surveillance video, but she said “domestic violence wasn’t one of the charges.”
Another juror said he was “confused” because jurors would be presented evidence of Combs being violent to Ventura, “and the next minute, they’re going on dinners and trips,” adding he didn’t understand why Ventura wouldn’t leave him.
One juror confirmed Combs sometimes nodded during his trial and occasionally looked at the jury with certain facial expressions as if to say, “Can you believe they said that?” which in June prompted the judge to scold Combs and threaten to remove him from the courtroom.
Both jurors interviewed said the jury found testimony from Capricorn Clark, Combs’ former assistant who alleged Combs had kidnapped her in 2011, hard to believe, and Clark—who was also interviewed in the docuseries—said she felt the jury didn’t believe her story and was “starstruck” by Combs.
How Has Diddy Reacted To The Docuseries?
Combs slammed the documentary from prison and sent a cease-and-desist to Netflix on Monday night, stating he “will not hesitate” to take legal action against the streaming service. His spokesperson, Juda Engelmayer, told Forbes in a statement Monday the docuseries includes footage Combs had commissioned for a documentary he had been working on about his life for decades, alleging the use of this footage is “fundamentally unfair, and illegal.” Alex Stapleton, director of “Sean Combs: The Reckoning,” said she obtained the footage legally and has the necessary rights to use it. Engelmayer also said it is “staggering” Netflix would cede creative control to Jackson, whom he called a “longtime adversary with a personal vendetta who has spent too much time slandering Mr. Combs.”