Sean “Diddy” Combs pleaded not guilty Friday to new allegations that he forced employees to work long hours with little sleep and wielded threats to get them to comply with his demands.
The new allegations were detailed in a superseding indictment unveiled March 6.
Combs, who appeared in a downtown Manhattan courtroom with newly gray hair and a gray beard, hugged his lawyers at the start of the hearing. He sat and listened as attorneys on both sides of the case discussed various procedural matters with Judge Arun Subramanian.
The embattled hip-hop mogul already faces a trial on the federal charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution — all part of an alleged sex trafficking scheme that prosecutors say spanned decades.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to all charges in the case and vehemently denied allegations of sexual assault and other misconduct detailed in dozens of civil lawsuits filed by women and men.
“Mr. Combs has said it before and will say it again: he vehemently denies the accusations” made by federal prosecutors, Combs’ lawyer Marc Agnifilo said in a statement ahead of Friday’s hearing. “He looks forward to his day in court when it will become clear that he has never forced anyone to engage in sexual acts against their will.”
The judge said jury selection will begin May 5, with the trial tentatively slated to start May 12.
The superseding indictment contains no new charges. But it describes Combs’ attempts to keep an extreme level of control over his employees, “whom he forced to work long hours with little sleep,” prosecutors say.
Combs made these demands “through the use of, among other things, physical force, psychological harm, financial harm, and reputational harm, and/or threats of the same,” according to the indictment.
In one case, Combs forced an employee to “engage in sex acts” with him, the indictment states.
The indictment accuses Combs of engaging in “acts of violence” when employees or witnesses threatened his “authority or reputation,” including arson, kidnapping, throwing objects at people and — on one occasion — dangling someone over an apartment balcony.
In his pre-hearing statement, Agnifilo said many of Combs’ former employees “stand by his side, prepared to attest to the dedication, hard work and inspiration they experienced while helping build groundbreaking, award-winning businesses.”
Friday’s hearing partly concerned footage, originally obtained and aired by CNN, showing Combs beating an ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, at a hotel in 2016.
Combs’ lawyers have alleged that the video aired by CNN was “substantially altered.” CNN has forcefully denied that claim, with a spokesperson saying in a statement: “CNN never altered the video and did not destroy the original copy of the footage, which was retained by the source.”
Subramanian, the judge, told lawyers Friday to reach a compromise on the role the video might play during the trial. If they can’t compromise, he added, they will need to file formal motions.