Nearly three dozen New Yorkers were questioned Monday about what they knew about the federal sex trafficking case against Sean “Diddy” Combs as jury selection got underway in a Manhattan courtroom.
Prospective jurors were also shown a list of more than 100 places and people whose names may come up at trial and were asked whether they knew any of the people and whether it would affect their ability to be impartial. The list included celebrities such as Michael B. Jordan, Mike Myers and Kanye West, none of whom are implicated in the case.
The names of women who have filed civil lawsuits against Combs also appeared on the list, including his former girlfriend Casandra Ventura, whose suit paved the way for the sex trafficking and racketeering charges, and Dawn Richard, a member of two now-defunct musical groups Combs had formed.
Richard alleged in a suit filed last year that he had groped and threatened her and that she had witnessed him assaulting Ventura. Combs has denied her allegations, and her suit is pending.
The attorneys did not provide an explanation for the list, and representatives for Jordan, Myers and West did not immediately return requests for comment.
Also Monday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey said prosecutors have had trouble getting in touch with the attorney for a woman identified only as Victim-3 in the indictment against Combs and that they were unsure whether she would show up to court even if they tried to enforce a subpoena.
Twelve jurors will ultimately decide whether Combs used his power and influence to sexually exploit women for more than two decades, as federal prosecutors allege in the five-count indictment.
Sporting a goatee, Combs, who has been detained at a federal prison in Brooklyn since his September 2024 arrest, arrived for the first day of jury selection dressed in a white collared shirt, black crewneck sweater and charcoal-colored pants. U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian gave Combs permission to wear his own clothes during the trial.
He hugged and shook hands with his attorneys before Subramanian issued various rulings, including that Dr. Elie Aoun, a clinical psychiatrist, can testify as an expert for the defense about drugs Combs may have taken and their combined effects. Subramanian said Aoun could also testify about blackouts and other episodes in which Combs may have been intoxicated.
At the heart of the government’s case are allegations that Combs forced women — including his former girlfriend Ventura — to participate in drug-fueled sexual encounters with male sex workers that Combs directed and filmed and called “freak offs.”
The indictment does not name any victims, but the allegations of Victim-1 closely align with those Ventura made in a 2023 civil lawsuit that she and Combs settled within a day without him admitting any wrongdoing.
The public first learned about the alleged sexual encounters from her lawsuit, which alleged Combs had abused her for years. Combs has vehemently denied the allegations, and his attorneys have said the sex was consensual.
But prosecutors say those encounters amounted to sex trafficking and allege Combs kept recordings of the encounters and silenced victims through blackmail and violence.
Central to the prosecution’s case is a video from March 5, 2016, showing Combs attacking and dragging Ventura in a Los Angeles hotel hallway. Prosecutors have said that Ventura, who was signed to Combs’ music label as Cassie, had been trying to escape the hotel room and that the events of that day “are powerful evidence of trafficking” and of Combs’ “use of force in connection with a freak off,” which they allege preceded the assault.
Combs was wearing only a towel in the video and Ventura did not have shoes on. After CNN aired the video last year, Combs apologized publicly, saying his behavior in it was “inexcusable” and that he took full responsibility for his actions.
According to prosecutors, Combs bribed hotel security with $100,000 to obtain the footage and cover up what he had done. Combs’ attorneys had sought to exclude the video from evidence, arguing it “is wholly inaccurate, having been altered, manipulated, sped-up, and edited to be out of sequence” — claims CNN has forcefully denied.
When questioned by Subramanian on Monday, a number of prospective jurors said they had seen the video, with one woman referring to it as “damning.” The woman was excused.
Another woman, who said she works for HBO, said she found the video “disturbing” and “upsetting” but that she could be impartial. Combs’ lead attorney, Marc Agnifilo, expressed concern because HBO released a documentary about Combs titled “The Fall of Diddy” that the woman said she was unaware of.
After another prospective juror said she had been caught stealing a wand from a Harry Potter store, Combs nodded in apparent approval to his attorneys. Throughout the day, as potential jurors were questioned, he appeared to express his approval or disapproval, either with a nod or by shaking his head no.
Another woman disclosed she had liked a video on social media of a comedian who made a joke about Combs and baby oil because she thought it was funny. Prosecutors have said that when Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami Beach, Florida, were raided last year, federal agents seized more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant.
Both women were allowed to stay.
When the defense asked for a quick bathroom break, Subramanian suggested they wait and continue questioning jurors.
“I’m a machine,” Subramanian said, to which Combs responded: “I’m sorry, your honor, I’m a little nervous today.” Subramanian granted the break.
Subramanian said last week that he hoped to seat a jury of 12 people and six alternates in three days for the trial, which is expected to last eight weeks.
High-profile defense lawyer Mark Geragos, whose daughter Teny Geragos is on Combs’ legal team, was in court Monday.
“Can’t I just watch my daughter? I’m a helicopter parent,” he said jokingly as he entered court.
A source familiar with the case told NBC News that Mark Geragos will help throughout the trial in an unofficial role and will advise Combs’ legal team this week on which jurors to choose. He was seen Monday in court conferring with the defense’s jury consultant.
Mark Geragos had no further comment, and Combs’ legal team did not respond to a request for comment.
The jurors will remain anonymous.
