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AP:
For more than two decades, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs was one of one of hip-hop’s most opportunistic entrepreneurs, spinning his hitmaking talents into a broad business empire that included a record label, a fashion brand, a TV network, deals with liquour companies and a key role in a reality TV show.
But US prosecutors say that behind the scenes, Combs was coercing and abusing women with help from a network of associates who helped silence victims through blackmail and violence.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering. Jury selection for his trial starts today.
Here is a timeline of major events in his rise and fall:
1990: Combs, then a student at Howard University, gets his start in the music business with an internship at Uptown Records in New York.
December 28, 1991: Nine people die at a celebrity basketball game promoted by Combs and rapper Heavy D when thousands of fans try to get into a gym at the City College of New York. A mayoral report lays part of the blame for the catastrophe on poor planning by Combs.
1992: Combs is one of the executive producers on What’s the 411?, the début album by Mary J. Blige.
1993: After being fired by Uptown, Combs establishes his own label, Bad Boy.
1994: Bad Boy releases Notorious B.I.G.’s album, Ready to Die. Two months later, Tupac Shakur survives a shooting in New York. He says Combs and Biggie knew about the attack, which they deny.
1996: Tupac is killed in a shooting in Las Vegas.
1997: Biggie is killed in Los Angeles.
1998: Combs wins a Grammys for best rap album for No Way Out, and another for best rap performance by a duo or group for I’ll Be Missing You with Faith Evans. He establishes his Sean John fashion line.
April 16, 1999: Combs and his bodyguards are charged with attacking Interscope Records music executive Steve Stoute and is sentenced to an anger management course.
December 27, 1999: Combs is arrested on gun possession charges after he and his girlfriend at the time, Jennifer Lopez, fled a shooting that wounded three people at a New York City nightclub. He is charged with offering his driver $50,000 to claim ownership of the gun found in his car.
March 17, 2001: Combs is acquitted of all charges related to the nightclub shooting. His protégée, Shyne, is convicted and serves nearly nine years in prison. After the trial, Combs announces he wants to be known as P. Diddy.
2002: Combs becomes the producer and star of talent-search TV show, Making the Band.
2005: Combs changes his stage name to Diddy.
March 2008: Combs settles a lawsuit brought by a man who claims Combs punched him after a post-Oscar party outside a Hollywood hotel in 2007. In May, Combs is honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
2016: Combs launches the Capital Preparatory School charter school in Harlem and announces a $1-million donation to Howard University.
2017: Combs is named the top earner on Forbes’ list of the 100 highest-paid celebrities.
November 15, 2018: Kim Porter, Combs’ former girlfriend and mother of three of his children, dies from pneumonia at age 47.
November 16, 2023: R&B singer Cassie sues Combs, alleging he subjected her to years of abuse, including beatings and rape. A day later, the lawsuit is settled under undisclosed terms.
November 23, 2023: Two more women accuse Combs of sexual abuse in lawsuits. Combs’ attorneys call the allegations false. More lawsuits follow by women and men who accuse Combs of rape, sexual assault and other attacks.
March 25, 2024: Federal agents search Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami Beach, Florida.
May 17, 2024: CNN airs video that shows Combs attacking and beating Cassie in a hotel hallway in Los Angeles in 2016. Combs later posts videos on social media apologising for the assault.
September 16, 2024: Combs is arrested at his Manhattan hotel. A sex trafficking and racketeering indictment accuses him of using his business empire to coerce women into participating in sexual performances. Combs denies the allegations.
May 5, 2025: Jury selection is scheduled to begin for Combs’ trial.
English (US) ·