Music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has been sentenced to 50 months in prison following a dramatic hearing in New York, where a judge condemned his decade-long abuse of women and rejected pleas for leniency.
Judge Arun Subramanian handed down the sentence late Friday, noting that while Combs is a self-made artist who has contributed to charity and uplifted the Black community, the severity and length of his actions demanded a significant punishment.
“You abused them, physically, emotionally and psychologically,” the judge told Combs, referring to his former partner Cassie Ventura and another woman identified as Jane Doe. “This was subjugation. The trauma you caused will last a lifetime.”
The courtroom, packed with reporters, family members, and supporters, grew tense as Combs spoke publicly for the first time since his conviction on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. Fighting back tears, he apologised to Ventura, Jane Doe, his seven children, and his mother.
“My actions were disgusting, shameful, and sick,” Combs said. “I got lost in excess, I got lost in my ego. I don’t have anybody to blame but myself.”
He pleaded with the judge for mercy, insisting he had learned his lesson: “If you give me another chance, I won’t let you down. I would never jeopardise being in this situation again—or being away from my family.”
Prosecutors, however, described Combs as a “master puppeteer” who used his wealth and influence to manipulate and control. They pointed to what the judge called “massive” evidence, including the now-infamous video of Combs assaulting Ventura in a hotel hallway.
Outside the courthouse, crowds of onlookers and fans gathered as the sentencing unfolded. Some expressed shock, while others said the punishment was long overdue.
Combs’ defence team, led by celebrity attorney Marc Agnifilo, argued for a much shorter sentence—just 14 months—citing his mental health struggles, drug use, and the heavy personal toll of the case, including raids on his home and the collapse of business ventures. They also proposed that Combs continue teaching entrepreneurship and life skills to inmates, a program he had begun while awaiting sentencing.
But Judge Subramanian dismissed those arguments, ruling that Combs’ actions over more than a decade required a punishment that would serve as both justice and deterrence.
The 50-month sentence amounts to just over four years in federal prison—far less than the maximum he could have faced, but a sharp rebuke to the former hip-hop kingpin who once embodied the mantra “can’t stop, won’t stop.”
Source: ameyawdebrah.com/
