Ten minutes after 10 a.m. Friday, Sean \u201cDiddy\u201d Combs walked into the federal courtroom \u2014 the familiar one he sat in for his eight-week trial \u2014 one final time for his sentencing hearing. The music mogul hugged his attorneys, waved to his family sitting in the pews, and sat down for what would be a dramatic six-hour hearing that determined his fate for the next four years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don’t care about the fame or the money or making records or performing,\u201d the award-winning rapper declared in his first remarks to the court. But his legions of fans, both inside and outside the courthouse, had already been presented with a show \u2014 the last act of his farewell tour. I had a prime seat.<\/p>\n
The sentencing hearing consisted of multiple speakers, a high-production video, guest stars, and concluded with the headliner himself. Emotions were running high and the drama was in full force; the day was filled with tears, gasps, and palpable anxiety.<\/p>\n
Even three months after the blockbuster trial ended with his conviction on two prostitution-related charges, the 55-year-old convicted felon was still the hottest ticket in town.<\/p>\n
Line holders and ardent fans began queuing outside the downtown Manhattan courthouse on Thursday afternoon. When I arrived this morning, still hours before the hearing kicked off, hordes of people, camera crews, and police officers lined the block. <\/p>\n
Diddy declared that he didn\u2019t care about fame, but his sentencing was a show that many people lined up to see (REUTERS)Even before most people had their coffees, the crowd outside seemed energized to see the final stage of the high-profile case. Some people were guessing his sentence length. Others wondered which victims, if any, would make an appearance. Others, still, quietly asked if there was any chance he\u2019d walk free today. <\/p>\n
Ultimately, there were enough spectators to fill up at least three overflow rooms in addition to the main courtroom.<\/p>\n
As if you were at a theater being asked to silence your phone before the movie starts, a courtroom deputy asked for silence before the judge and defendant entered the room.<\/p>\n
Within minutes of the hearing starting, however, drama ensued.<\/p>\n
\u201cMia,\u201d Diddy\u2019s former assistant who had asked to read her victim impact statement at the hearing days earlier, no longer wished to address the court, prosecutor Christy Slavik said. Diddy\u2019s attorneys\u2019 had objected, accusing her of lying on the stand. \u201cMia\u2019s\u201d change of course was \u201cat least in part because of the letter submitted by the defense\u201d which can \u201conly be described as bullying,\u201d Slavik said. <\/p>\n
Judge Arun Subramanian scolded the defense team, calling the tone of the letter \u201cinappropriate.\u201d <\/p>\n
Minutes later, the judge outlined a sentencing range of 70-87 months, saying he saw “no basis for a departure” from the guidelines. The statement seemed to make the defense lawyers sink in their seats ever-so slightly. But, despite the seemingly inevitability of the outcome, the show was just warming up.<\/p>\n
Slavik followed, urging the court to consider the harm done to the victims in this case. \u201cToday is about accountability and justice\u201d for the public and for the victims whose \u201clives have been shattered by the defendant\u2019s abuse and exploitation,\u201d the prosecutor said. The government asked for him to be sentenced for 135 months behind bars.<\/p>\n
The defense team took the stage for the rest of the day in a showing that included five attorneys, a reverend, and an 11-minute campaign video over the space of four hours in a desperate last-ditch attempt to prove the rapper’s life and character wasn’t what had been heard in the courtroom months earlier.<\/p>\n
Nicole Westmoreland, one of his attorneys, spoke about how the mogul inspired and helped so many people through his music career and businesses and charity work. Diddy \u201cdedicated so much to breaking the chains of systemic racism,\u201d she told the court. She suddenly, and unexpectedly, broke down when discussing his media company Revolt. One person walked into the overflow room and uttered: \u201cIs the lawyer crying?\u201d<\/p>\n
The rapper became emotional, slouching in his seat, as he watched a 15-minute video that contained media clips and home videos from his adult life (REUTERS)When the rapper\u2019s six adult kids stood up to speak, suddenly it wasn\u2019t just Westmoreland in tears. Their words were powerful and emotional. Quincy called his father a \u201csuperhero.\u201d Chance pleaded: \u201cWe\u2019re just daughters who need our father.\u201d D\u2019lila concluded, speaking through sobs: \u201cWe cannot watch our baby sister grow up fatherless the way we grew up motherless.” <\/p>\n
Diddy, who had remained composed throughout the day, buried his face with his hands, as if signaling his heart was breaking for his children, and then wiped away tears from his eyes. I certainly sniffled. Others around me shook their heads, acknowledging how moving their remarks were. At least one person sitting near me had tears running down their cheeks.<\/p>\n
Then the tone changed \u2014 dramatically. The defense team played a montage of their client\u2019s life, complete with clips of him running a marathon, early 2000s home videos, and excerpts of his interviews with the media. The production value was high; the music in the background was low. It was reminiscent of footage shown before a concert begins, getting the crowd to warm up before the headliner appears. Instead, the mogul slouched in his seat, emotionally coping with the personal footage.<\/p>\n
His defense attorneys argued that he\u2019d undergone enough punishment. Brian Steel remarked on the \u201chundreds of civil lawsuits\u201d against his client and the media storm that has followed the criminal case, the rapper\u2019s dark secrets \u2014 from his drug addiction to sex life \u2014 put on public display. <\/p>\n
Arguing for his release, Marc Agnifilo similarly said: \u201cThis has been a devastating, destructive case for this man on the largest of stages.\u201d<\/p>\n
At 4 p.m., five hours after the hearing began, the hotly anticipated act stood up and took a deep breath, and told the judge he didn\u2019t want any more stages. <\/p>\n
As he spoke, the room was rapt. No one was whispering to their neighbor or rifling through their bag for a pen. Everyone was leaning forward, anxious to finally hear what Diddy had to say about his own trial.<\/p>\n
Quincy Combs and D’Lila Combs leave the court after delivering emotional pleas before their father was sentenced (REUTERS)He apologized to his ex-girlfriends, Cassie Ventura and \u201cJane,\u201d for his violence and abuse. The mogul repeatedly underscored how he was a changed man. Instead of performing, he wanted to take care of his family, he said.<\/p>\n
Diddy, who had been facing the judge, turned around to face his family sitting in the pews. He apologized to his children and then to his mother, his voice breaking as he said: \u201cMom, I failed you as a son. I\u2019m sorry. You taught me better. You raised me better.\u201d<\/p>\n
The fame and the drugs are behind him, he said: \u201cI got lost in my journey of life. I\u2019m not this larger-than-life person, I\u2019m just a human being.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking to the judge directly, Diddy vowed: \u201cIf you give me another chance, I won\u2019t let you down.\u201d<\/p>\n
The court broke for just five minutes. Unlike the verdict day, when people stood up in anticipation of the jury\u2019s verdict, when Subramanian returned, everyone remained seated. <\/p>\n
The mood was somber. The judge\u2019s sentencing estimation from earlier in the day was still seemingly imprinted in everyone\u2019s mind, as were the victims\u2019 testimonies of domestic violence that Slavik had quoted. <\/p>\n
\u201cNothing about this case was good \u2014 except the victims who came forward,\u201d Subramanian said, later praising their bravery in sharing some of the worst moments of their lives. <\/p>\n
The sentence was, in part, \u201cto send a message to abusers and victims alike that exploitation and violence against women is met with real accountability,\u201d the judge added. <\/p>\n
Diddy was given 50 months in prison and a fine of $500,000. A few people in the room cheered. Both teams of lawyers sat in their seats looking dejected; neither side were handed what they\u2019d asked for. Diddy pinched the bridge of his nose, apparently disappointed. His kids appeared upset, but their tears had dried from hours earlier. They wouldn\u2019t respond to a braying press pack outside who asked them how it felt that after their \u201cdaddy got four years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe court is adjourned,\u201d Subramanian said. And just like that, the show was over.<\/p>\n
Push notifications about the mogul\u2019s fate popped up on my phone as I headed home from the courthouse. Forgetting I was still wearing my press pass, someone glanced at it before asking me: \u201cWait, are you press? Were you at Diddy?\u201d <\/p>\n
Diddy might be done with fame, but there are no signs it\u2019s done with him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ten minutes after 10 a.m. Friday, Sean \u201cDiddy\u201d Combs walked into the federal courtroom \u2014 the familiar one he sat in for his eight-week trial \u2014 one final time for his sentencing hearing. The music mogul hugged his attorneys, waved to his family sitting in the pews, and sat down for what would be a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4924,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n