Candace Owens hits out at Macrons plus Diddy is "a good man"

25 Sep 2025 · 32 min · 10 chapters

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In short

The episode covers two main stories. First, it discusses Candace Owens’ response to a defamation lawsuit filed by Brigitte Macron and her husband, Emmanuel Macron. Owens claims the Macrons are lying about “scientific evidence” they plan to present in Delaware court to prove Brigitte is a woman, and she links the coverage to her belief that the Fame Under Fire team is trying to distract her from investigating Charlie Kirk’s assassination. The show’s trial attorney, Sean Kent, explains that plaintiffs must prove their case, that expert testimony and evidence are governed by rules like Daubert/Fry, and that discovery (including depositions and subpoenas) can’t be skipped; he also disputes Owens’ claim that Brigitte will be forced into a third-party medical exam, saying only records/subpoenas are compelled. Notable examples include discussion of “photographic evidence” allegedly involving Brigitte pregnant/raising children, and how discovery disputes could involve motions to quash/redactions.

Second, it previews sentencing in the Sean “Diddy” Combs case (sentencing Oct 3). The prosecution argues escorts/exotic dancers are victims and that Diddy managed “freecoughs” orgies; the defense seeks a near-time-served sentence (about 14 months) and wants access to thousands of “3500 material” statements from escorts who didn’t testify. A key example is a character letter from Young Miami (Carisha Brownlee) praising Diddy as a “good man,” which the attorney notes could conflict with trial testimony from “Jane” about Diddy’s relationships and public/private dynamics.

Guests

Sean Kent (resident trial attorney). No other named guests appear; Candace Owens and Young Miami/Carisha Brownlee are discussed via their statements/letters.

Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.

Chapters

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Candace Owens vs. Macron

1:02 to 2:26

Discussion on Brigitte Macron's lawsuit against Candace Owens and its implications.

“Candice Owens responds to our exclusive story and rapper Young Miami, the ex-girlfriend of Sean Diddy Combs, tells the judge he is a good man.”

Candace Owens' Response

2:26 to 4:32

Examining Owens' claims about scientific evidence and her criticisms of Macron.

“around 45 minutes into her podcast on the Candace Owens website, she says this.”

Expert Insights with Sean Kent

4:32 to 6:04

Trial attorney Sean Kent discusses legal implications of the case.

“I can tell you this because I booked it.”

Discovery Process Explained

6:04 to 7:55

Understanding the legal discovery process and its requirements in the lawsuit.

“when they spoke to us, they spoke about scientific evidence.”

Medical Examination and Records

7:55 to 9:55

Debating the demands for medical examinations and records in the case.

“When Tom says rules of evidence, what does he mean by that?”

Consequences of Legal Actions

9:55 to 14:00

Discussing the potential outcomes and burdens of the lawsuit for both parties.

“And one of the rules are depositions have to be completed by a certain time.”

Legal Dynamics in Candace Owens' Case

14:00 to 21:12

Explore the complexities of medical record discovery in Candace Owens' legal battle.

“Those her experts will be able to look at her medical records.”

Sean Diddy Combs Trial Updates

22:04 to 28:00

Get the latest on Diddy's trial, including defense strategies and prosecution arguments.

“Download Mistplay today and enter for your chance to win.”

Diddy's Character Letters in Court

28:00 to 32:51

Explore the implications of character letters submitted for Diddy and how they contrast with trial testimonies.

“he's going to have his decision made before he goes into the courtroom because that's their argument.”

Exploring Mr Beast's Impact

33:20 to 34:31

Analyze the career of Mr Beast and the intersection of philanthropy and the attention economy.

“We are living through one of those hinge moments in history when all the old certainties crumble and a new world struggles to be born.”
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Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

0:00This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK.

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1:00Visit textnow.com for terms and conditions. Candice Owens responds to our exclusive story and rapper Young Miami, the ex-girlfriend of Sean Diddy Combs, tells the judge he is a good man. Hello and welcome back to Fame Under Fire from BBC Sounds with me, Anushka Matandadauti. Coming up... We're just going to all hound Candice to try to distract her from looking into Charlie Kirk's murder and assassination. Candice Owens follows up on the news that Brigitte Macron, the French president's wife, will present scientific evidence in court to prove she is a woman. Plus, our resident trial attorney, Sean Kent, is here to tell us what to expect at the sentencing of Sean Diddy Combs.

1:38Nobody in the history of using prostitutes without a criminal record is being treated worse than he is. That's their strongest argument. And I think it might actually work. As always, if you've got questions, send them to me on social media or WhatsApp at 0-330-678-1114. That's 0-330-678-1114. Don't forget to subscribe and turn on your push notifications so you never miss a thing. Okay, so last week we brought you the exclusive that Brigitte Macron, the First Lady of France, is resolved to bring scientific evidence to present in open court in Delaware that will counterclaim she was born male. The Macrons are suing podcaster and influencer Candace Owens for continuing defamatory attacks against them to boost her media platforms and make her money.

2:20Go back and listen to the interview we did with the Macron's lawyer and corporate investigator if you haven't heard it. We now have a response from Candace Owens. around 45 minutes into her podcast on the Candace Owens website, she says this. Talk about a federal operation. Out of nowhere, Brigitte Macron just lies. I don't even know how they got this in the press. This is so dumb. Brigitte Macron comes out and says they have offered scientific evidence to the U.S. court to prove that Brigitte is a woman. That's what her lawyer says. Well, the lawyer's a liar because we haven't even started this case yet.

2:52So how could you have offered scientific proof to a court to prove you're a woman? OK, so let's fact check that. The headline on the screen reads, Macron's to offer scientific evidence to court to prove Brigitte is a woman, lawyer says. The Fame Under Fire team knows this because the Fame Under Fire team wrote it. It is very clear from the interview, articles and videos we did that the Macron's lawyer, Tom Clare, says they will present scientific evidence and photographs in court. That will is will as in future tense. There will be expert testimony that will come out that will be scientific in nature that will also demonstrate the falsity of the statements.

3:28And obviously it's incredibly intrusive for this family to have to go into open court and present this evidence. But that should just demonstrate how serious they are about it, how confident they are in their ability to prove it as false in a public forum and how they want to put this false into rest once and for all. So no one said they had already submitted evidence. In the same podcast, she also introduces the idea that our interview with the Macron's lawyer had something to do with her investigation into the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. So I don't know what this is. Just like we're just going to all howd Candace to try to distract her from looking into Charlie Kirk's murder and assassination.

4:07But it's focusing me more because this is not normal. Like the amount of lying that's happening right now is because you don't think I'm strong enough to handle it. You're trying to break me. You're not going to break me. OK. I watched him catch a bullet in the throat and were being lied to by everybody about who was involved, why it happened, and why you are attacking the people who are the person, rather, who is trying to investigate it. Let's fact check that as well. This interview was booked before Charlie Kirk was assassinated. I can tell you this because I booked it. We have previously covered the case on the pod as well on the 31st of July.

4:41Now, we contacted Candace's team directly and asked them if she wanted to say any more about the story. Here is what they sent over, voiced up by a BBC producer. Brigitte's claim that she will offer scientific evidence regarding her gender in court is an obvious and pathetic public relations ploy. Brigitte has never once offered such scientific evidence, and to the contrary, when we offered Brigitte and her lawyers multiple opportunities to supply any form of proof that she was born female, she refused outright. In any event, it is not defamatory to say someone transitioned or is gay. We have filed our motion to dismiss and look forward to defending this frivolous case through the American judicial process.

5:21Joining me now to cast an expert eye on this is our resident trial attorney, Sean Kent. Hi, Sean. Hey, Aniska. How are you? I'm good. We got into some things last week. I really want to hear your opinion on all of it. But particularly the aftermath of that interview, which kind of went around the world and what Candace has had to say. You can hear there that she's talking about the scientific evidence that they said that the first lady is resolved to bring to open court in Delaware, saying that this is a PR ploy. Isn't it the plaintiff's prerogative, what evidence they want to present? 100 percent.

5:53The plaintiff is the one who is bringing their lawsuit. So not only is there their prerogative, it is also their burden. So they have a duty. They sued Candace. They got a duty to bring their case and prove their case. Now, when they spoke to us, Tom Clare, the lawyer, and Dan Ardello, the corporate investigator, when they spoke to us, they spoke about scientific evidence. They also spoke about an expert that is going to give evidence of a scientific nature, both generically, but also specific to Brigitte. Now, when you put an expert on the stand, is that also your prerogative when you bring them in, how you introduce them?

6:23Can you just put them in or does the judge have to say, yes, this expert is qualified enough to speak to this? We always used to make the joke that realistically, an expert is just somebody who can assist the trier of fact. And that's the jury to understand anymore. So technically, a fifth grader is an expert on the fourth grade. You know what I mean? So that can be an expert, somebody who just knows more than the jury. And so what the judge has to make the decision about is, is this person, do they have the qualifications necessary to assist the jury? and is the thing that they're talking about something that you would need an expert for?

7:01So in other words, you can't have an expert in witchcraft if witchcraft doesn't exist. You have to have something that has scientific value. So once they get to that threshold and we have a standard, we have cases called Daubert and Fry. Those are the cases in which experts have to show that the things that they are testifying about have scientific validity. And if they can prove that, then those individuals can testify. Now, to the point that they didn't offer evidence to Candace, I asked that question because I've had that question for a while. Why not just give her pictures, I asked, of Brigitte pregnant?

7:32And that is also something Candace and her team are echoing here. We asked that question directly to Tom Clare, the Macron's lawyers, and this is what he said. When you're dealing with someone who has not demonstrated a level of responsibility in the way that she handles facts and evidence, handing more evidence to her versus other responsible journalists doesn't make any sense. And so we are prepared to supply all of those materials, but we're just going to do it in open court where there are rules, where the rules of evidence apply, where there's proof and where it can be done publicly in a way that people will see how it's presented.

8:10When Tom says rules of evidence, what does he mean by that? Well, it's like if you've ever played any type of board game at home, like Uno, if you've ever played Uno and everybody has a different set of rules and it's like you can't put a draw two on a regular two, well, the rule of evidence is the judge saying, these are the rules that we're going to play the game by. And you must follow these rules no matter how you do them in other jurisdictions. This is how we play Uno in my house. Now, that's not all we've heard from Candice and her team. In a story published by the Daily Mail, Candice gave this statement, again, read out by one of our BBC producers.

8:42You don't get to skip discovery just because you're a foreign world leader angry about a podcaster's First Amendment rights. Brigitte's claim that she will offer scientific evidence regarding her gender in court is an obvious and pathetic public relations ploy. Now, I questioned Tom Clare directly about discovery. And here's what he said. Subjecting yourself to discovery in the United States, which is, you know, fulsome, much more fulsome than in other parts around the world, is not something that people relish doing. But the fact that they said yes to that, yes, we stand ready to go through that discovery process.

9:19Yes, we stand ready to travel to the United States and appear in a public courtroom and explain why this is false. It just demonstrates, one, their conviction in the truth. But it also tells you that they're not afraid. They're not afraid of that discovery. They're not afraid of the truth. If they were, they wouldn't have filed the lawsuit. And so we're looking forward to it. Now, we've got there in that first line, you don't get to skip discovery just because you're a foreign world leader. Sean, what would happen if you tried to skip discovery? Well, you can't. She's not wrong on that. You just can't.

9:49The lawsuit wouldn't go forward. The second you file a lawsuit, remember we talked about the UNO rules, the court sets the rules of UNO. And one of the rules are depositions have to be completed by a certain time. Statements have to be given the list of who your experts are. All this has to be given at a certain time. Let's say the court sets a trial date for 2026, 2027. Well, they'll do what's called a scheduling order a lot of times. And in that scheduling order, they'll tell everybody all depositions must be completed by this date. All evidence to the other side must be completed by this date.

10:23And if somebody doesn't do it, the court can do whatever sanctions they want, including throwing the case out. So it is almost impossible to ignore discovery, especially when you are filing the lawsuit. Okay. So in your legal opinion, would it be a bit redundant to then file a lawsuit if you're not going to participate with Discovery or any of the other sort of landmark moments in a case? Absolutely. When you file a lawsuit, we always have the same conversation with our clients. You can sue, but just know they're going to ask you everything at these depositions, all of these questions. There's nothing you can hide from.

10:59And you ask them, are you sure you want to do this? And so the lawyer was exactly right. The fact that These people are saying we don't care. We know we've got to come to the United States at our own dime, by the way. We've got to come over when they tell us to come over. We have to go to Delaware when they want us to come over. And would they get to take our depositions? They will get to see anything we have relevant to this lawsuit and stuff that's not relevant. So it is an onerous burden when you file a lawsuit. And then the continuation of that statement given to the Daily Mail, it says the court mandated discovery process does not allow Brigitte to just submit evidence.

11:34The American court system isn't some kangaroo court where leaders can just say whatever they want. Evidence must be independently verified. So let's focus in on the evidence that we were talking about, photographic evidence. And guys, let me just clear something up here. When we say photographic evidence, we are talking about pictures of Brigitte pregnant and her raising her children. Not what some of you have been thinking it was going to be pictures of her this, that and the other to prove she was a woman. Let me just make that clear. And that's on you who have been republishing this story without giving context.

12:03Thank you. So when we talk about photographic evidence and scientific evidence, this is about what the Macron's lawyers said they are willing to present in open court. How does that work? Does somebody need to verify that's not an AI picture? That's not a doctored picture? This scientific evidence holds weight. How does that work? What ends up happening is people have just put an expert on the stand or put a picture on the stand. And then the other side is allowed to cross examine. Just like you said, they'll have to say that picture a doctor, that picture is AI. You get to cross examine them.

12:33The difference is in these civil contexts, because of the depositions and the sworn statement, they will have this information early and then they can say, we don't think it's real. We have got our own experts to look at this information. And this is what our experts are going to testify to it. So there are no secrets. There are no tricks. Everybody will know everything well in advance of the trial. Okay, so Tom Clare spoke about how the Macrons are going to find this process invasive, but are willing to go through with it. It is a process that she will have to subject herself to in a very public way, but she's willing to do it.

13:09She is firmly resolved to do what it takes to set the record straight. And if that unpleasantness and that discomfort that she has of opening herself up in that way is what it takes to set the record straight and stop this, she's 100 % ready to meet that burden. And here's the part I really want to get into in the rest of this statement given to the Daily Mail by Candace Owens. During the discovery process, Brigitte will need to submit herself to a third party medical examination. We're going to demand Brigitte sit down for an exam with an independent doctor. We're coming for her medical records.

13:42Sean, is that true? She will need to sit down and submit herself to a third party medical examination? Not no, but hell no. I mean, that is just such an absolute lie. Like, that's just not going to happen. Like, you cannot force a person to sit down with our doctors. Again, what will end up happening is now they'll have to give up her medical records. Those her experts will be able to look at her medical records. They could voluntarily allow a third party to do it. And sometimes we do that situation. So at court, they can say, look, we allowed her to be looked at by a third part. But you cannot make somebody sit down with someone else's doctor in a civil context just because you want to.

14:24So that statement is so that is pandering to the public saying, because that's what you're hearing a lot from the public is, why won't they have her sit down with a third person? You can't make someone do that in a civil law. So it's not happening. But as part of discovery, the medical records, can you come for all of the medical records? That feels like for her whole life. Is that not extremely invasive? And that's what's going to be interesting. And that's what sometimes remember we talked about the rules of Uno from the judge and the rules of evidence. Somebody's going to come and say, judge, we believe this is overburdensome.

14:58We believe this is going too far. We believe this is unnecessary. They don't need all of these medical records. Candace's team, I guarantee you, is going to say the opposite. They're going to say, look, we need to know what's happened from birth. We need all of these medical records. We need to see what medicines we are on. They want to know all of this information. So it'll be a battle on what medical records is given. I can see it now. If Candace's team does not get all of the medical records during trial, they'll say, and you've seen the way she is, she'll say something to the effect of, they haven't given us all the medical records.

15:29So we know something's missing in this situation. And had we had everything, we would know the truth. Get ready for it. That is interesting because when you talk about discovery, how do they know what to ask for without knowing the intimate details of that other person's life? Well, that's why we have depositions. So what happens a lot of times you start to ask them questions during the deposition and it opens the door of like, ah, I need this stuff and this stuff. And you send questions, you send requests. Things are called requests to admit. And these lawyers have been doing these things for a long time so they know the types of questions they need.

16:02And so they'll say, we want all of her medical records from blank. And then what ends up happening is they'll send a subpoena. And you've heard that word a lot. They'll send a subpoena to the McCrones and to her team. We want a subpoena for this, this and this. Well, a phrase you'll start hearing is the McCrones lawyer will file a motion to quash the subpoena. They'll say that we don't want that out there. We think it's too much information that you're not entitled to. And that'll go back and forth for a long time. So this is the Blake Lively Justin Baldoni of it. Guys, we've done an episode on that.

16:33If you haven't listened to it, let me just break that down really quickly. They're asking, they're subpoenaing for all this stuff and they're saying they're trying to quash it and then they're trying to redact certain parts of it. So presumably if they subpoena the motion to quash, if it's not granted, can they then come out and say she's the wife of a head of state? We need this completely redacted. Yeah. You know, we don't want the public to see it. This could have national implications. All of this situation is going to come in. Now, look, I didn't get a chance to talk to you last week about Candace's response and the Delaware of it all.

17:03She filed a motion to dismiss in response to the civil complaint by the Macrons. And she says the case was improperly filed in Delaware. It's going to cause her operational and financial hardship trying to defend the case out there. Sean, I know we had a little conversation before this and you were nerding out. We love to see it. I'm such a dork. So explain why the Macrons are filing in Delaware and why, outside of this costing Candace money, why might she not want it to be in Delaware? And this is my thoughts, of course, in the United States, when you file a lawsuit, first, people have got to understand that each state is its own jurisdiction.

17:41Each state technically has its own law. Think of them as little independent little countries, if you will, under the umbrella of the United States. but they're all separate. To bring a lawsuit against somebody, you can bring a lawsuit where that person lives or where the incident actually occurred. So the example I give is somebody is driving from California and going to South Carolina and they get in an accident dead in the middle of the country. A person can bring a lawsuit against them in the place where the accident happened. They'll say, well, I don't live there. They say, well, you have what are called minimum contacts.

18:16You came through that state. You purposely availed yourself of the benefit and the protection of the laws of that state as you're driving through it. So I can sue you there. Nerd answer. Well, what ends up happening is creative and very smart plaintiff lawyers try to find the best jurisdictions to file lawsuits. You understand they want to find where people are the most sympathetic. And so what the lawyers try to do is look for jurisdictions. Now, it would have been easy to file a lawsuit against Candace in Tennessee, because, again, as we talked about, you can always file a lawsuit where the person lives.

18:56Candace lives in Tennessee. You could have filed a lawsuit there. Well, I think one of the reasons they may not want to file a lawsuit in Tennessee is they're looking at it as one. Tennessee has a six month statute of limitation on defamation cases, which means six months from the time that she said the defamatory conduct, you must bring the lawsuit. That's a short window. And so there can be an argument that you cannot bring that lawsuit there. But to me personally, the most important reason why they probably don't want it in Tennessee is for your listeners. We have what are called red states and blue states.

19:28A red state is what is a very conservative Republican state. Candace is a conservative right wing podcaster. Tennessee is a very red state. So I'm assuming the lawyer said, well, you don't want to file no lawsuit there. That's her base. Those are conservatives. Those are Republicans. We get 12 conservative Republican Candace supporters on the jury. We lose. So they decided to file in Delaware. How are they able to file in Delaware? Because Candace has business that is incorporated in Delaware. Because it's in court, she incorporated in Delaware. The assumption is the reason people in the United States, almost everybody tries to incorporate their businesses in Delaware.

20:08Delaware doesn't have state income tax and is very business friendly. And so the example of us driving to the United States, Candace chose to drive her business through Delaware. And as that reason, because you have purposely availed yourself of the benefit and the protections of Delaware, they're allowed to file the lawsuit in Delaware. Delaware is a blue state, historically Democratic, and it will be very sympathetic. And it's got a two year statute of limitations. There's my answer. You're getting a round of applause in the gallery. Sorry about that. Very long-winded answer, but that's the answer.

20:38No, it's really good to understand that because I think a lot of people came out and were like, Candace said that she did not want this lawsuit to be dismissed. She specifically said that on Tucker Carlson's podcast. She was very clear about that. I want to see this through. So then filing the motion to dismiss, we saw a lot of commentary online going, why has she done this? Why is this all about Delaware and where it's filed? And when you explain that, it makes it far, far clearer. Now it's down to the Macron's lawyers. They're deciding how they're going to respond. Will they file an amended complaint?

21:04Will they take a different legal route? Whatever happens, we will have it here for you first and we will be following this case as it progresses. This is summer at its peak. Whole Foods Market Summer Fruit Fest is your invitation to eat the season. Fresh, organic and bursting with flavor. Start your day with peaches and organic blueberries and yogurt. Build a grazing board with fresh fruit, prosciutto and artisanal cheese. Then fire up the grill with no antibiotics ever, proteins and fresh produce. Savor the season. Shop Summer Fruit Fest at Whole Foods Market.

22:04Rewarded for it? Download Mistplay today and enter for your chance to win.

22:15Now we're back talking about Diddy. It's been a while. Remember, we told you the verdict of the Sean Diddy Combs trial on July 2nd. Hip-hop megastar Sean Diddy Combs has been inside the notorious Metropolitan Detention Center since then, awaiting sentencing after being convicted of two counts of transportation for prostitution, but acquitted of sex trafficking and RICO, the more serious charges. Sentencing begins on October 3rd, and we have started to see how the defense and the prosecution are gearing up for that. The defense are saying, come on, he was a user of prostitutes, not a pimp, not somebody running a prostitution ring.

Read the full transcript

22:49It's not typical for them to receive a charge, let alone a conviction. The prosecution are now saying, actually, remember those exotic male dancers we heard from or escorts who were part of those days-long orgies called free coughs those were victims even though they didn't refer to them as such during the trial those were victims and diddy took a managerial role overseeing jane and cassie as they organized those free coughs so that's how they're gearing up for different arguments obviously the prosecution want him to have more time behind bars and the defense less so the prosecution and we did this in an episode it was i think it was on our first episode of fame under fire so go back and listen if this is all sounding a little unfamiliar but the prosecution are like, OK, how are we going to get him to have a longer time in prison?

23:33So they're presenting the escorts now as victims, which they were not referred to throughout the trial. Remember those male exotic dancers, escorts, they refer to themselves in different ways. Now, the defense wants access to, I want to say 3 ,500 materials, but I feel like you guys say 3 ,500. Is that right? We say 3 ,500 material. The defense wants access to 3 ,500 materials. Sean, what is that? Now, 3500 material is basically jinx act material is what the other way it's called. But and this is going to shock some people, which is very interesting, is when you meet with law enforcement, you can give a statement.

24:07You give a written statement to law enforcement. Seems easy. We always talk about discovery. Everybody should be given everything. Believe it or not, the rule specifically says that the defense is not entitled to a statement, even though it's written until a person takes the stand and testifies. And then after they're done testifying, technically at that point, the prosecution then gives the statement up. So that is what 3 ,500 material is and material that you're usually not entitled to, but you get till after they take the statements. But they want the 3 ,500 material specifically of escorts who didn't testify in the trial, but that the prosecution spoke to.

24:45We heard from two escorts in the trial. The Punisher, I can remember his name, the other guy, his name, not so catchy, but both of them did not present themselves as victims. They actually presented themselves as willing participants going so far as to talk about enjoying it, etc. There were multiple other escorts or exotic dancers that were named and we saw pictures of them, but we did not hear from them. So now the defense wants access to those statements because I'm presuming this is because they want to say the idea of you presenting these guys as victims is ridiculous. Every single statement you took, nobody referred to themselves as a victim.

25:21Do you think that's a strong line of argument for the defense? No, it's 100 percent going to be argument. These people are not victims. They were consenting, voluntary, willing participants. The best example I always give is because I mentioned I used to be a prosecutor a long time ago and I always give this example. I'll never forget. I was cross examining a young lady who was underage, who was dating her boyfriend, who was overage, and it was a statutory rape case. And the young lady got on the stand and she still was in love with the boyfriend. And I remember she got on the stand, tears just streaming down her eyes.

25:54And she just looks dead at me. And there's a jury in the box. She said, Mr. Kent, Mr. Kent, you can't prosecute it. I gave it to him. And I looked at her in my southern drawl and I was like, young lady, you can't give it away because the state of South Carolina owns it until you're 18 years of age. She did not want to be a victim. And a lot of times individuals don't want to be a victim. And if you remember the entire Diddy trial, people testified as if they were not victims. It doesn't matter what you call yourself. We have rules and regulations that protect individuals from getting into situations that they don't want to be in.

26:30And they might still be a victim. This might be that situation. I'm not saying it is, but the government could say, bruh, there's no such thing as a consensual sex worker. You're still a sex worker. This is still a crime. You're still a victim, period. So that's a thought. Well, that reminds me, we did that episode ages ago. What is sex trafficking when we're building up to the trial? And I spoke to this young advocate, Lala Applebury, and she was talking about not realizing until a few years afterwards that she was a victim of sex trafficking and kind of piecing the situation back together in her head and understanding it as she spoke to other people.

27:02So it is a very real thing. And I mean, are you anticipating that that's what the prosecution will parry with? Possibly, because don't forget, like, I think we just noticed, I looked down that they the defense filed a three hundred and eighty page sentencing memorandum. And in their long and short, they're asking for 14 months, which basically is a time served sentence. And so the government is going to have to file something in response and they're going to have to take they're going to have to swing for the fences. And maybe one of the things they swing is all of these individuals are victims.

27:32They're all under the umbrella of him that are all affected. And I think that's what the government's going to have to swing for, because I peruse that 380 page sentencing memorandum. It's pretty good. So let me get this straight. That sentencing memorandum, which is long, very long, but that is pretty much what they're going to argue when they get into the courtroom. And that's one of the great things about it. Not only is it what they're going to argue, it's already been argued. So a lot of times these federal judges are brilliant human beings. They give it to him early. He's going to have it.

28:01He's going to review it. He's going to research it. he's going to have his decision made before he goes into the courtroom because that's their argument. What you and I are going to be watching in the courtroom is basically fluff. So people are like, oh, why did they file 380 pages? Because they know this is their best chance to get the judge to review it, look at it, research it. Because in the courtroom, going sometimes that fast, he won't have time to go through everything. And part of that sentencing memorandum where they lay out their arguments is these letters, like character, what would you call them?

28:31Character letters? You got it exactly right. They're character letters. Character letters. So we saw this before on verdict day, character letters coming out from the other side, from the prosecution saying, please don't release Diddy. This is the other side. This is a lot of letters, like 65 letters. Sixty five, I saw. One of them is from Carisha Brownlee, Young Miami. We heard about her a lot. Now, I haven't just gone for this because it's Young Miami. I know you have. That's the only reason you're not fooling me. We have letters from the children. We have letters from his mother. We have letters from people he's worked with.

29:01The reason I've picked up on Young Miami is because we heard about her a lot during Jane's testimony. When Jane was talking about, remember, that's a pseudonym because her identity is being protected. But when Jane was talking about her experience of being in a relationship with Diddy, she was talking about those days long orgies, the freak offs as we know them, not being taken out in public. She felt not being respected as a public romantic partner of him, etc. And she spoke about the relationship he was having with young Miami at the same time, where she was publicly being flown out, being bought.

29:32You know, there's a lot of talk about Chanel bags and this and that and all these designer things, you know, out of my tax bracket. But a lot of conversation about what young Miami was being bought and where she was going, etc. Now, she's written this letter. My name is Carisha Brownlee. I can only speak from my personal experience and the man I've come to know over the past four years. She goes on to praise him, how he supported her. One of my most meaningful memories was when he took me to my first Met Gala, how he's upheld other African-Americans and opened doors for black artists. She talks about feeding the homeless in 2022 together and how he does stuff privately without cameras because his heart, quote, is genuinely wants to help people.

30:07She then goes on to say, I've also witnessed him doing real inner work. He made the choice to check himself into anger management, start therapy and commit to physical healing through therapy. That takes strength, humility and self-awareness. He didn't do it for show. He did it because he wanted to grow and to become a better person. In my personal experience, Sean is not a danger or a threat to the community. She finishes the letter by saying, Judge, that's a good man. It's a strong letter in support of his character. But my question is here, that doesn't challenge the narrative that was being offered by Jane during the trial.

30:36Jane was saying young Miami was getting flown out. Young Miami was being bought designer bags and this and that and getting loved on in public spaces. I was the one locked in hotel rooms. I was the one organizing escorts and making building relationships with escorts and doing this and that. And obviously he received a conviction for the transportation for prostitution. So if I read that, I would. Is there a way that the judge could read that and say, OK, but that's literally what Jane told us. He wasn't a bad guy to you. But simultaneously, he was doing this with Jane. He was convicted of transportation for prostitution during the same time frame that you're talking about here.

31:13And you're not wrong. And like I said, these are phenomenal lawyers who have done this packet and it looks great and it's 380 pages. But there's certain situations, like you've just said, that you have to be careful and your zeal to get too much. You can sometimes get too much. If you read the 380 pages, one of the things they put in there, there's this lengthy section about, hey, ever since did he stop using drugs, he stopped beating on people. You mean since he's been incarcerated? I didn't like, you know, there's a little things that you have to be careful putting things in there. Like he's such a great person since he's been locked in jail and not able to beat up a woman or get to drugs.

31:50You have to be careful on stuff like that. I think the strongest arguments they had to me on the sentencing memorandum is this is what he's been convicted of. This is what it carries. He has no really prior criminal record. Fourteen months is appropriate. Anything more is just based upon the charges he was found not guilty of. I think that's their strongest argument. I've seen from lots of other legal analysts and comments online as well that there is a very strong element on this in that they point to other cases where people didn't even receive a charge, let alone a conviction for the same crime as Diddy.

32:24To me, that's the strongest argument. We have to get past what we think we know and what he was convicted of and what he was convicted of was using prostitutes. And nobody in the history of using prostitutes without a criminal record is being treated worse than he is. That's their strongest argument. And I think it might actually work. Well, we shall see. And of course, we will have it here first for you guys, what happens on October 3rd and however long this goes on for. We did tell you this could rumble on for a while. Sean, thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you for having me. Much appreciated.

32:55That was our resident trial attorney, Sean Kent. And that's it for Fame Under Fire from BBC Sounds with me, Anushka Matandadauti. Keep sending in your questions or ideas of what you'd like us to cover next. You can get us on WhatsApp at 033-678-1114. That's 0330 678 1114. Make sure you subscribe and turn on those push notifications so you never miss a thing.

33:17Hello, I'm Amol Rajan and from BBC Radio 4, this is Radical. We are living through one of those hinge moments in history when all the old certainties crumble and a new world struggles to be born. So the idea behind this podcast is to help you navigate it. What's really changed is the volume of information. That has exploded. And also by offering a safe space for the radical ideas that our future demands. Go to the Chancellor and say, radically cut the taxes of those with children. Telling our stories is powerful and a radical act. Listen to Radical with Amol Rajan on BBC Sounds.

34:02How did a boycott Jimmy become a billionaire from posting videos? On Good Bad Billionaire, we're going to find out how the world's most popular YouTuber, Mr Beast, made his fortune. He's buried himself in a coffin for days. Counted to 100 ,000 on camera. And even recreated Squid Games, all in an attempt to go viral on the internet. But it all started when he gave a homeless man$10 ,000. So is he a philanthropist reshaping capitalism? Or is he just the king of the attention economy? Find out on Good Bad Billionaire. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

From the publisher

Candace Owens claims she is being “hounded” by the media to distract her from investigating the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

The right-wing influencer was responding to Fame Under Fire’s exclusive story last week that Brigitte Macron is planning to present “scientific evidence” in the Macrons’ lawsuit against Owens.

The French president and his wife are suing the podcaster for defamation including over her allegation that Brigitte Macron was born a biological man.

Last week, the Macrons’ lawyer Tom Clare told Fame Under Fire how they plan to support the case with scientific and photographic evidence.

On her podcast, Candace Owens told her followers: “I don't know what this is, just like we're just gonna all hound Candace to try to distract her from looking into Charlie Kirk's murder and assassination.”

In a statement to Fame Under Fire, she added: “Brigitte's claim that she will offer scientific evidence regarding her gender in court is an obvious and pathetic public relations ploy.”

Presenter Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty unpacks Owens’ response with resident trial attorney Shaun Kent and looks at why the location of the lawsuit is so important.

Plus, could Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs walk free? The hip hop megastar is due to be sentenced on 3 October after being convicted for two counts of transportation for prostitution.

Anoushka and Shaun look at his glowing character reference from rapper Yung Miami and assess how the sentencing hearing may play out.

Got questions? Send us a Whatsapp message on 0330 678 111 4.

Subscribe to Fame Under Fire on BBC Sounds and turn on push notifications so you never miss an episode. We’ll let you know as soon as new episodes are available.

Host: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Series Producer: Vicky Farncombe Senior Impact Producer: Melanie Stewart-Smith Production Coordinator: Tammy Snow Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards Editor: Clare Fordham Assistant Commissioning Producer: Rechmial Miller Commissioning Producer: Adam Eland Assistant Commissioner: Will Drysdale Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts

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Candace Owens hits out at Macrons plus Diddy is "a good man"Fame Under Fire · 32 min
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