Diddy’s baby oil ‘freak offs’ were ‘a lifestyle not a crime’ and do not make him the new Epstein, rapper’s lawyer says
Sean ‘Diddy‘ Combs’ lawyer has claimed the ‘Freak Offs’ he orchestrated were a consensual lifestyle, and don’t make him a sexual predator like Jeffrey Epstein.
The rapper’s lawyer Teny Geragos appeared on NewsNation‘s Cuomo to defend Diddy, who was charged with racketeering and sex trafficking on Tuesday in New York.
‘He’s innocent,’ Geragos told Chris Cuomo after Diddy was denied bail and ordered to remain in pre-trial detention.
The lawyer added: ‘A lifestyle and being present in activities doesn’t mean he committed a crime. Those activities and the lifestyle is not criminal.
‘What was notable today, what my partner Mark said in court, is they never once said that these women didn’t consent to what happened, not once.’
The rapper’s lawyer Teny Geragos appeared on NewsNation’s Cuomo to defend Diddy, who was charged with racketeering and sex trafficking on Tuesday in New York
Geragos also noted that Diddy was not charged with any crimes related to minors.
‘The difference here between R Kelly, between Epstein, no charges relating to minors,’ she said.
Diddy headed to jail Tuesday to await trial in a federal sex trafficking case that accuses him of presiding over a sordid empire of sexual crimes protected by blackmail and shocking acts of violence.
He’s accused of inducing female victims and male sex workers into drugged-up, sometimes dayslong sexual performances dubbed ‘Freak Offs.’
The indictment also refers obliquely to an attack on his former girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, that was captured on video.
‘Mr. Combs is a fighter. He’s going to fight this to the end. He’s innocent,’ his lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said after court. He plans to appeal the bail decision on Wednesday.
Diddy, seen right in court, headed to jail Tuesday to await trial in a federal sex trafficking case that accuses him of presiding over a sordid empire of sexual crimes
‘The difference here between R Kelly, between Epstein, no charges relating to minors,’ she said
Agnifilo acknowledged Combs was ‘not a perfect person,’ saying he’d used drugs and had been in ‘toxic relationships’ but was getting treatment and therapy.
He maintained that the case stemmed from one long-term, consensual relationship that faltered amid infidelity. He didn’t name the woman, but the details matched those of Diddy’s decade-long involvement with Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura.
The ‘Freak Offs,’ Agnifilo contended, were an expansion of that relationship, and not coercive.
‘Is it sex trafficking? Not if everybody wants to be there,’ Agnifilo said, arguing that authorities were intruding on his client’s private life.
Diddy’s lawyers have argued the case stems from one long-term, consensual relationship that faltered amid infidelity. He didn’t name the woman, but the details matched those of Diddy’s decade-long involvement with Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura
The indictment describes Combs as the head of a criminal enterprise that engaged or attempted to engage in sex trafficking, forced labor, interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution, drug offenses, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice.
It says he then would use force, threats and coercion to get the women to engage with male sex workers in the ‘Freak Offs’ — ‘elaborate and produced sex performances’ that Combs arranged and recorded, creating dozens of videos.
He ensured their participation by procuring and providing drugs, controlling their careers, leveraging his financial support and using intimidation and violence, according to the indictment. It said his employees facilitated ‘Freak Offs’ by taking care of tasks like travel and hotel arrangements and stocking them with such supplies as drugs and baby oil.
The indictment describes Combs as the head of a criminal enterprise that engaged or attempted to engage in sex trafficking, forced labor, interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution, drug offenses, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice
The events could last for days, and Combs and victims would often receive IV fluids to recover from the exertion and drug use, the indictment said.
During the searches of Combs’ homes earlier this year, law enforcement seized narcotics, videos of the performances and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant, according to prosecutors. They said agents also seized firearms and ammunition, including three AR-15s with defaced serial numbers in his bedroom closet in Miami.