50 Cent isn’t backing down when it comes to the Sean “Diddy” Combs verdict.
After the Bad Boy Records founder was found not guilty on three of the five charges in his sex-trafficking case, 50 Cent shared his take on the news.
“Diddy beat the Rio, that boy a bad man!,” the rapper wrote on Instagram July 2 alongside a photo of himself smiling at the camera. “He like the Gay John Gotti @50centaction.”
After a nearly two-month trial, a New York jury delivered a verdict acquitting Combs on charges of racketeering as well as two counts of sex trafficking, according to NBC News reporters in the courtroom. However, the jury did deliver guilty verdicts relating to two prostitution-related charges. (Combs had pleaded not guilty to all charges.)
Following the verdict, Combs—who was facing life in prison if convicted on all charges—dropped to his knees in prayer, according to NBC News, while family members including his mother Janice Combs and six of his seven children hugged and cheered.
But while 50 Cent (real name Curtis Jackson) has weighed in with his takes throughout the trial—including sharing his reaction to the jury being instructed to keep deliberating after sharing they were split on the racketeering case—he’s also looking at the case in an upcoming Netflix docuseries.
“This is a story with significant human impact,”50 Cent and co-producer Alexandria Stapleton said in a joint statement last September, just one week after Combs’ arrest. “It is a complex narrative spanning decades, not just the headlines or clips seen so far. We remain steadfast in our commitment to give a voice to the voiceless and to present authentic and nuanced perspectives.”
That same day, he joked on Instagram, “This is a pretty good deal who’s idea was this LOL.”
Keep reading to look back on the Sean “Diddy” Combs trial…
(E! and NBC News are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)
Sean “Diddy” Combs Remanded
After Sean “Diddy” Combs pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges on Sept. 17, his legal team proposed a $50 million bond package that included equity in his Miami home and his mother’s house, as well as limited his travel to within certain parts of Florida, New York and New Jersey.
The defense also offered, per a letter obtained by E! News, to “walk the Court through a series of actions taken by Mr. Combs over the past six months that prove that he is not a risk of flight or a danger to anyone in the community.”
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky rejected the package and ordered that Combs be remanded without bail. He remains in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn in a special unit that’s housed a number of high-profile inmates.
Combs’ Lawyer Says Rapper Is Getting Treatment and Therapy
“He is not a perfect person,” Combs’ attorney Marc Agnifilo told the court, per NBC New York. “There has been drug use. He has been in toxic relationships.”
Therefore, he added, his client was getting “treatment and therapy for things that he needs treatment and therapy for.”
Overall, though, Combs’ “spirits are good,” the lawyer told reporters after court Sept. 17. “He’s confident.”
Combs Creates a Slippery Situation
More than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and personal lubricant were seized during the March 2024 raids on Combs’ L.A. and Miami homes, according to the 14-page indictment unsealed Sept. 17.
Per the indictment, the oil and lube were stockpiled for use in so-called “freak-offs,” the term Combs used for gatherings in which he allegedly orchestrated sexual encounters between women he coerced and threatened into doing his bidding and male sex workers.
“I don’t know where the number 1,000 came,” his attorney Agnifilo said in the TMZ documentary The Downfall of Diddy: The Indictment, which premiered Sept. 27. Pondering out loud why anyone would need so much, the lawyer added, “He has a big house, he buys in bulk. I think they have Costcos in every place where he has a home.”
Costco, meanwhile, wanted no part of it, telling TMZ in a statement that “none” of its U.S. stores carry baby oil.
Alleged Combs Texts Read in Court
In May 2024, CNN published a clip of hotel surveillance video from 2016 that appeared to show Combs attacking his then-girlfriend Cassie, born Cassandra Ventura. (The assault matched up with an alleged incident detailed in the lawsuit she filed against Combs on Nov. 16, 2023; both parties announced a settlement the next day.)
“I was f–ked up. I hit rock bottom,” Combs said in a video posted to Instagram in response to the footage. “But I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video.” He had gone to therapy and rehab since, he added, and was “committed to be a better man each and every day.”
During a Sept. 18 hearing on Combs’ second request for bail, Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson said, per NBC News, that Combs allegedly sent a text in the days following the assault that read, “Call me, the cops are here.” Another read, “I have six kids. Call, I’m surrounded.”
Johnson did not say Cassie’s name in court. She said that Combs’ victim replied via text, “Sick you think it’s OK to do what you’ve done.”
Bail was once again denied, this time by U.S. District Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr.
The Combs Case Is Set for Trial
On Oct. 3, the Combs case was reassigned to Judge Arun Subramanian because Carter was unable to accommodate a trial date.
During an Oct. 10 status hearing, Subramanian set a trial date of May 5, 2025.
Prosecutor Johnson told the judge she expected the trial to last roughly three weeks, but said there was still the possibility that a superseding indictment could lead to more charges against Combs.
Agnifilo said in court they’d need about a week to put on their case.
Meanwhile, the attorney said in the TMZ doc that Combs was looking forward to testifying in his own defense.
“I don’t know that I could keep him off the stand,” Agnifilo said. “I think he is very eager to tell his story.”
Combs Accused of Attempting to Contact Witnesses
Prosecutors alleged in a Nov. 15 court filing that Combs arranged to pay off fellow inmates to use their phone privileges, showing his disregard for jailhouse rules, and arranged three-way calls to contact his associates in an attempt to obstruct the criminal case against him.
“The defendant has demonstrated an uncanny ability to get others to do his bidding—employees, family members, and M.D.C. inmates alike,” the filing alleged, per the New York Times.
In their third bid for bail, which was ultimately rejected, Combs’ legal team argued in a November filing that the government’s case was “thin,” and that contacting potential witnesses to aid Combs’ defense “does not amount to obstruction or evidence any risk of obstruction.”
Prosecutors Get Notes From Combs’ Cell
Alleging a violation of attorney-client privilege and calling it a “complete institutional failure,” per the Times, Combs attorney Agnifilo objected during a Nov. 19 court appearance to the prosecution’s use of handwritten notes that were removed from the defendant’s cell during a sweep of the jail to bolster its argument against bail.
The contents of the notes were redacted from the public record, but prosecutors said in court that some of Combs’ writings suggested he was trying to obstruct their case.
The prosecution also countered in court papers that the jail sweep was pre-planned and did not target Combs, and that the notes were first reviewed by a team from the U.S. Attorney’s Office to filter out any privileged material.
Agnifilo argued that the notes reviewed by the prosecution were among the papers Combs regularly brought with him to meetings with his attorneys.
Judge Subramanian ordered prosecutors to delete photos of the notes from their files while he considered whether Combs’ rights had been violated.
Cassie Abuse Video Allowed Into Evidence
Combs’ lawyers tried to get the 2016 video depicting the mogul attacking Cassie excluded, but Judge Subramanian ruled April 25, 2025, that the clip could be shown in court.
The defense alleged that CNN manipulated the tape, creating an inaccurate depiction of what occurred. The network denied manipulating the tape in any way.
“The defense can’t show the footage is inadmissible,” the judge said in his ruling from the bench. “There’s no unfair prejudice to Mr. Combs.”
