Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs made his sentencing hearing about himself instead of his victims

On Thursday, the day before U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian sentenced Sean “Diddy” Combs to 50 months in prisonfive years of supervised release and fined him $500,000, the music mogul who’s been locked up since September 2024wrote a four-page letter to the court. In it, Combs expresses remorse for the domestic violence he inflicted on former partner Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura, writing, “My domestic violence will always be a heavy burden that I will have to forever carry.” Though he says he could never forgive someone “if they put their hands on one of my daughters,” he nevertheless asks the judge for mercy so that he could take care of his loved ones, including a 2-year-old daughter and his 84-year-old mother who he says recently had brain surgery.

Though he says he could never forgive someone “if they put their hands on one of my daughters,” he nevertheless asks the judge for mercy.

Combs was found guilty of two counts of transporting women (Ventura and another woman “Jane” who testified at the trial) to engage in prostitution. He was found not guilty of two other charges: racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking, which mandate longer sentences. Combs says in his letter to Subramanian that he had “lost his way.” At one point, he writes, “I literally lost my mind.” He attributed the pain he inflicted upon women to his selfishness and a drug addiction and said he’s been reformed after more than a year of detention at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn.

Combs cried as he addressed the court Friday. He pleaded for mercy and told Judge Subramanian that he’d never be violent again.

However, at Friday’s sentencing hearing, Judge Subramanian, acknowledged the bravery of the women who testified against Combs as he denied him the mercy Combs sought.

“Jane and Cassie Ventura have been through abuse and trauma we couldn’t imagine,” the judge said. “I can only say your families are proud of you and your children will be proud of you for coming to the court to tell you what really happened. You weren’t just talking to the jury, you were talking to the women who feel powerless.”

Prosecutors had sought a sentence of more than 11 years. Combs sought a sentence of 14 months, which would have allowed him to be released Friday on time served.

The fact that Combs apologized in his letter and acknowledged some blame is somewhat surprising, although his statement fell short recognizing the profound trauma his victims experienced at his hands. He is the star of his letter: his mistakes, his regret, his alleged transformation. He wants to get on with his life in a way that his victims struggle to. In her letter to the judge, Ventura wrote, “Reliving in detail the events and truths described throughout the trial and this letter causes me tremendous emotional pain. I am trying with all that I am, to move on.”

After Friday’s sentencing, Ventura’s attorneys issued a statement: “While nothing can undo the trauma caused by Combsthe sentence imposed today recognizes the impact of the serious offenses he committed. We are confident that with the support of her family and friends, Ms. Ventura will continue healing, knowing that her bravery and fortitude have been an inspiration to so many.”

As an aspiring R&B singer, Ventura was only 19 years old when she and the hip-hop mogul, 17 years her senior, began dating. In November 2023, she filed a civil lawsuit accusing Combs of raping her, sexually trafficking her and beating her. Combs’ lawyer responded with a statement that said “Mr. Combs vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations,” but Combs settled the case out of court the next day.

During the Combs trial, it was impossible to miss the hostility toward the women who testified against the defendant.

The jury’s decision to acquit Combs of the more serious racketeering and sex trafficking charges suggests they weren’t convinced that Ventura’s and “Jane’s” participation in Combs’ infamous “freak offs” (sometimes called “hotel nights”) was nonconsensual, as they testified.

In July, after the verdicts, sociologist Nicole Bedera told NBC News that she’s noticed a shift in the way we talk about victims of sexual violence. “I think we’re in a new era where instead of people trying to convince us not to believe survivors, they tell us the survivors deserved it,” she said. Indeed, during the Combs trial, it was impossible to miss the hostility toward the women who testified against the defendant. Across social media, they have been characterized as foolish, gullible, liars or greedy, supposedly making it acceptable to mock them and joke about their suffering.

And make light of the whole sordid situation.

As the verdicts were read inside the Manhattan courtroom July 2, there was a crowd outside laughing, dancing and dousing themselves with baby oilwhich prosecutors say Combs bought in bulk for his freak offs. They weren’t moved by the women who testified that Combs physically and psychologically tortured them but instead saw Combs as being unfairly persecuted for his sexual tastes. And the jokes have continued. Rival mogul 50 Cent in a parody letter to Judge Subramanian joked that releasing Combs now would mean there wouldn’t be enough baby oil on store shelves for babies.

We will inevitably disagree on what we think Combs’ punishment should have been — whether we think Judge Subramanian let him off too easily or was too harsh — but we ought to reflect seriously on how we collectively respond to victims’ narratives and the suffering of others more generally.

In May 2024, CNN shared with its viewers footage from InterContinental Hotel in Century City, Los Angeles, that showed Ventura running toward an elevator as Combs, clad in a towel, chased her down, threw her to the floor as he kicked her, snatched her bags and dragged her back to the hotel room. He was pulling her back to a freak off that she was attempting to escapeshe testified.

That hotel video should linger with everybody for a long time. It will linger with Ventura, others who have been in Ventura’s position, and those of us who can imagine ourselves or the women and girls in our lives in her position, even longer. Combs tells us this criminal investigation and trial have changed him. He presents himself as a tragic hero, the hitmaker who can make dreams come true or turn life into a nightmare depending on his frame of mind.

That hotel video should linger with everybody for a long time.

During the sentencing hearing, prosecutor Christy Slavic told the judge that Diddy had already booked events in Miami as early as next weekassuming he’d walk free Friday. She described this as “the height of hubris.” It’s the sort of move that wouldn’t surprise Cassie Ventura. She wrote that Diddy “will always be the same cruel, power-hungry, manipulative man” that she said raped, drugged and physically abused her during their decade-long relationship.

Though Judge Subramanian acknowledged the good work Combs has done in prison and told Combs he hopes “you will continue to do that,” he said, he had to consider “all” of Combs’ history.

“You abused the power and control with women you professed to love,” the judge said. “You abused them physically, emotionally and psychologically.”

That’s what Ventura asked the judge to focus on, and we should all be glad he did.

Robyn Autry

Robyn Autry is a sociology professor and director of the Center for the Study of Public Life at Wesleyan University. She is the author of “Desegregating the Past: The Public Life of Memory in the U.S. and South Africa.”