I had a prime seat for Diddy’s last act and one thing is clear: The show is over
Ten minutes after 10 a.m. Friday, Sean “Diddy” Combs walked into the federal courtroom — the familiar one he sat in for his eight-week trial — one final time for his sentencing hearing. The music mogul hugged his attorneys, waved to his family sitting in the pews, and sat down for what would be a dramatic six-hour hearing that determined his fate for the next four years.
“I don’t care about the fame or the money or making records or performing,” the award-winning rapper declared in his first remarks to the court. But by that point, his legions of fans, both inside and outside the courthouse, had already been presented with a show — the last act of his farewell tour. I had a prime seat.
The sentencing hearing consisted of multiple speakers, a high-production video, guest stars, and concluded with the headliner himself. Emotions were running high and the drama was in full force; the day was filled with tears, gasps, and palpable anxiety.
Even three months after the blockbuster trial ended with his conviction on two prostitution-related charges, the 55-year-old convicted felon was still the hottest ticket in town.
Line holders and ardent fans began queuing outside the downtown Manhattan courthouse on Thursday afternoon. When I arrived this morning, still hours before the hearing kicked off, hordes of people, camera crews, and police officers lined the block.
Even before most people had their coffees, the crowd outside seemed energized to see the final stage of the high-profile case. Some people were guessing his sentence length. Others wondered which victims, if any, would make an appearance. Others, still, quietly asked if there was any chance he’d walk free today.
Ultimately, there were enough spectators to fill up at least three overflow rooms in addition to the main courtroom.
As if you were at a theater being asked to silence your phone before the movie starts, a courtroom deputy asked for silence before the judge and defendant entered the room.
Within minutes of the hearing starting, however, drama ensued.
“Mia,” Diddy’s former assistant who had asked to read her victim impact statement at the hearing days earlier, no longer wished to address the court, prosecutor Christy Slavik said. Diddy’s attorneys’ had objected, accusing her of lying on the stand. “Mia’s” change of course was “at least in part because of the letter submitted by the defense” which can “only be described as bullying,” Slavik said.
Judge Arun Subramanian scolded the defense team, calling the tone of the letter “inappropriate.”
Minutes later, the judge outlined a sentencing range of 70-87 months, saying he saw “no basis for a departure” from the guidelines. The statement seemed to make the defense lawyers sink in their seats ever-so slightly. But, despite the seemingly inevitability of the outcome, the show was just warming up.
Slavik followed, urging the court to consider the harm done to the victims in this case. “Today is about accountability and justice” for the public and for the victims whose “lives have been shattered by the defendant’s abuse and exploitation,” the prosecutor said. The government asked for him to be sentenced for 135 months behind bars.
The defense team took the stage for the rest of the day in a showing that included five attorneys, a reverend, and an 11-minute campaign video over the space of four hours in a desperate last-ditch attempt to prove the rapper’s life and character wasn’t what had been heard in the courtroom months earlier.
