Diddy given more than four years in jail

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1:05Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty:Sean Diddy Combs has been sentenced to 50 months. That's just over four years in prison. Remember, in July, we brought you the verdict. He was convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, acquitted of the RICO, acquitted of the sex trafficking. Hello, I'm Anushka Matandadawati. This is the bonus special episode of Fame Under Fire, the Diddy sentencing from BBC Sounds. Now, if you've been with us since last November, you know this is the day we've all been waiting for. the defense, the prosecution, Diddy, his family, his fans, me, you. As always, if you've got questions, send them to me on social media or WhatsApp at 0330 678 1114.

1:39Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty:Don't forget to subscribe and turn on your push notifications so you never miss a thing. Since his arrest in September, Diddy has been inside the MDC, the Metropolitan Detention Center, the notorious jail in New York. We brought you the verdict in July and he's been in there ever since as well. He also asked for an acquittal and a new trial. Both of those were dismissed by the judge. Now, we're going to be speaking to Neda Taufik, the BBC's New York correspondent, who's been inside the courtroom all day as sentencing has unfolded. Hi, Neda. First of all, how long has Diddy been given by Judge Arunsa Bromanium?

2:11So, Diddy was sentenced to 50 months of incarceration and then an additional five years of supervised release and a fine of$500 ,000. So, keep in mind that he's already served about 12 months in prison. So he's going to have to stay behind bars for at least another over three years. And this was really kind of in the middle of what we saw both sides calling for. We saw the defense hoping for time served, and we saw prosecutors suggesting he should be in prison for 11 years. And what the judge said was that one side wasn't taking into account the mitigating factors here, his drug abuse, his past trauma, and the effect he's had on the community and the black community as an icon while the other side wasn't taking into account the aggravating factors just how much he abused these women the overwhelming evidence of abuse against these women saying it wasn't some kind of mutual toxic relationship it wasn't a modern day love story that this was pure and simple him using his power and control to force these women into what has been lifelong trauma.

3:20Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty:And like you said there, though, the defense were calling for time served. Three years potentially inside the MDC or any jail is not what Diddy wanted at all. So what was the reaction from him? You know, Diddy was very emotional as he was getting ready to address the judge. He actually took a few moments to collect himself. He was actually sitting with one of his lawyers, Nicole Westmoreland, tweaking his comments before he got up to speak. So really, really concerned about getting the tone and what he wanted to say exactly right. He had a deep sigh and kind of rubbed his forehead before he began.

3:55But when the sentence was eventually read out, he had his hands clasped in his lap. He was looking straight ahead. He was quiet. And he really just looked back at his family at the end of it all. They, of course, had gotten emotional in court earlier in the day. And he really just turned in that moment to take that moment in with his family.

4:15Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty:And what was the reaction from the family? That's the children and the mum. You know, Anoushka, you and I have been in this courthouse, and we know how often the family has come. There has always been at least one member of the family in court throughout this entire trial. But today, it was not only his older mother. It was his six eldest children. They brought a big group of their friends, their significant others there. They were clearly affected by this, in trial, very public case. But they spoke in court. They got emotional and broke down a bit. And I actually saw them being comforted by their friends in the halls after they spoke.

4:54And they, just like their father, tried to remain composed as the sentence was read. So there wasn't any outburst of emotion. But I can tell you from the overflow room where I was, there were some family friends in there. And they felt that this was a good outcome in their view.

5:11Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty:And look, the Diddy trial's never knowingly understated. What's the reaction been like outside? It's an absolute circus outside of the courthouse. I mean, as you know, it's not just the world's media gathered here to cover this case. There are influencers on social media covering and live streaming every moment. And there are hordes of either supporters or those against Diddy here. We heard his music being played as cars were driving down the street. You see the person behind me now kind of talking. So certainly this case has attracted many personalities and many people with various opinions. But let's take a step back from the direct result of the sentencing.

5:55Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty:Both sides today had their arguments heard. It started with the prosecution. What did they have to say? Yeah, well, look, prosecutors really took a hit at Diddy. The defense played a video in court that was almost like a highlight reel of his better moments. You want to go to public school? Yeah. Okay, you're running to raise money for your schools, so y 'all get more books and computers and stuff like that. I just feel like it's important that us, you know, young adults have power, that we look out for y 'all, and we utilize our power to make sure y 'all are all right in the future. Put everything you can into your work, you know.

6:32Don't think the cool thing is not to do your work. Don't think the cool thing is to hang on the corner with your friends and to talk about stuff that ain't going to protect your future. And what the prosecution said was the real video that people should remember is the Access Hollywood video. That although it might not have a music underlay beneath it and it might be pixelated, that it showed Sean Diddy Combs' true character. That when he wasn't carefully crafting an image for the cameras, it showed his true character behind the scenes. And they say that he was not remorseful. remorseful. They really hit back at this idea that he was truly sorry.

7:13They say that he's not a changed man, that he is just saying these things as a strategy to get off on a light sentence. And they asked the judge to essentially make a example out of him. That's what their key message today was in court.

7:30Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty:And we know we've been hearing from other voices. We've had victim impact statements from people like Cassie Ventura-Fine. We heard from Diddy's children today as part of what the defense presented. You mentioned that some of them who had come. Did we hear from all, did they all get up and speak? Yes, all six children did get up and speak Anoushka and at points getting quite emotional. Speaking about the impact of losing first, some of them lost their mother, Kim Porter, and being parentless and the fear that the youngest child, just two years old will grow up without their father as well. And speaking about the fact that they have seen a change in their father since he has been off of drugs during this time at the MDC, incarcerated.

8:18And they say that they do think given the changes they've seen in him, he has the capacity to really live out a life far different than the one he has for the last 25 years under drugs and the decade that he was accused of abusing Cassie and this other woman, Jane.

8:36Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty:I mean, even reading some of the quotes from what the children had to say inside the courtroom, it's extremely impactful. One of the twins said, we're scared of the thought of not having our dad and mom present in our lives. We're scared of our two-year-old little sister that runs to us every night asking where daddy is. We cannot watch our baby sister grow up fatherless the way that we grew up motherless and we know this was a central part of the defense's argument even on the day of the verdict they were talking about the fact that he is a father to some children who they then described as orphaned because he'd been incarcerated and they lost their mother kim porter so that was extremely impactful that's what a lot of people have said but then we also had members of the defense team who were getting emotional as well yeah that's right and you know just to back on to what you were talking there about the children it It was really notable that the judge said he thanked the children and said, I read your letters.

9:27I've listened to your comments and I will take them into account. So it really did impact the judge in the way that all the other letters have impacted them. But yes, I have to say, Anushka, Sean Diddy Combs lawyers were effusive in court about him. They were showing an outpouring of love that really went further than you would think from a regular lawyer attorney client relationship. You know, Nicole Westmoreland spoke about how she had heard him speak in the past at an event and was inspired by him as a black man that uplifted the black community and really took hip hop as a genre globally. You also heard from Brian Steele just about how, as a man, he was one of the hardest working people he had ever met.

10:16He said he was actually the hardest working man that he had ever met. And described how all the challenges he had overcome, losing his father at just three years old to a drug deal gone bad and the trauma that that created over his life. But then going to Howard University and then leaving Howard University to work in music and be an entrepreneur. So as I say, it was quite something to see all of his legal team make statements and do so in a way that was really trying to sway the judge to be as lenient as possible. This is summer at its peak. Whole Foods Market Summer Fruit Fest is your invitation to eat the season.

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11:41Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty:Client. And we know from the sentencing memorandum that the defence filed that this is part of their argument, those extenuating circumstances and factors, the positive impact on the black community, the way he looks after his family and has raised his children, but they also then focus in on the Metropolitan Detention Centre. This is a notorious jail in New York. Go back and listen to the program that we did on that, guys, earlier on when we were covering the trial. You know, everything from rotten food to holes in the ceiling. Inmates have made all of those allegations, and we've spoken to people who corroborate that, who were inside that jail.

12:14Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty:But Brian Steele spoke about an attempt at stabbing, shanking. Yeah, that's right. You know, Brian Steele talked about how even one day in prison is unreal, is unreal how he actually challenged prosecutors to just go for two days to see what it's like to be incarcerated at the MDC. He said that a guard actually had to intervene because somebody was over Sean Diddy Combs with a self-made knife and he could have been very badly injured. And he also speaks about how they have to boil water because the water isn't clean, how he eats bags of chips to eat properly, how he is under suicide watch like other high profile inmates and so he hasn't slept more than two hours consecutively in the last 12 months that he's been incarcerated there.

13:06So Brian Steele again trying to highlight the conditions there to say, you know, my client has suffered enough. This deterrence has been met. If he's released, he will not commit these crimes again because he doesn't want to go back to being at the MDC and being away from his family.

13:21Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty:Then we got into the element of the sentencing where they're unpacking the kind of psychological building blocks of why he has this drug abuse issue, why he has committed acts of domestic violence, which he puts his hands up and admits. And we saw multiple times throughout that trial and that video. Mark Agnifolo spoke about him being diagnosed with PTSD. Yeah. So Mark Agnifolo talks about how there were various times over the years, going back to I think 2007, where he was actually diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety and depression. And he really didn't get into exactly where that stemmed from. But he said it may trace back to, again, losing his father at a young age and not being told the truth of what happened to his father for so many years.

14:08And he suggested to the judge that the proper way to deal with somebody like Diddy, who got addicted to painkillers after a knee injury and who then, he said, kind of fell into this dark spiral, which was what he blamed on his violence and his abuse and his aggressive outbursts. He tried to say to the judge, you know, there are programs that deal with rehabilitating men like him, whether it be in domestic violence situations or drug abuse. And he said the right way to treat this is by getting him therapy, by making sure he's drug tested when he's released, making sure he's going to group therapy, making sure, again, that all of these things are taking place and that incarceration alone is actually something that would hinder his ability to heal.

14:59What we saw from the judge, of course, was an understanding of all of those factors. But he said that he did believe more incarceration was necessary. And he pointed Anoushka to the fact that after the video of Sean Diddy Combs beating Hassie was released, he issued an apology video. And the judge said that apology video sounded a lot like what he was hearing in court today. The same kind of sentiments. And then he said, and yet, he then went on to abuse Jane and beat her savagely and to hold another freak off while knowing that he was under investigation and after his homes had been raided. So in the judge's opinion, he didn't think deterrence had been met yet.

15:42He thought that was still a process that required more time in prison.

15:47Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty:And the judge was clear there'd been irreparable harm done to two women. and we know that he said there had to be a substantial sentence to be reflective of the severity of the crime. What did Diddy have to say for himself? Diddy said that his actions were disgusting, shameful and sick. He said he has to carry that with him forever, that because of the drugs he was out of control and needed help. But he said he was making no excuse, that he was taught better. He was taught better by his mother, he was taught better by his faith and that he had let his family down. And he told the judge that no matter what anybody thinks, including prosecutors, that he is truly sorry.

16:25And he said that he apologized to Cassie. He's apologized in a statement to her family, to Jane, he said, for dragging her into his mess. So he tried to take accountability in that statement, saying that essentially he was broken, that he had lost, he had broken to the core, humbled, had lost his sense of self-respect, which to him was a far greater loss than even losing his businesses, his empire and his reputation.

16:55Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty:Netta, thank you so much for breaking that down for us today, bringing to an end a trial that's taken up nearly a year. And of course, now we will wait and see if Diddy appeals this and what happens going forward. Thank you so much, Netta. That was the BBC's New York correspondent, Netta Talfik, outside the federal court there in the Southern District of New York. Now, if you're thinking what is next for Diddy, we're going to see if he appeals this. he has the right to. We'll see if his lawyers file over the next couple of days. But those civil cases, remember those? Those 27 episodes that we did before we even touched down in New York, all those cases can begin to move forward.

17:29Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty:Now, I want to read you something that Tony Busby said. Do you remember him, the Texan trial lawyer who stood in front of that 1-800 number and told the BBC he had over 150 cases he was going to bring against Diddy? Well, he said, so far we are pursuing, this was yesterday, so far we are pursuing more than 50 cases filed in both New York and California. There'll be many more files. So that can start to move forwards now. The federal is done. The civil gets going from now. That's it for this bonus episode of Fame Under Fire from BBC Sounds with me, Anushka Matandadauti. If you're new to us, we're the podcast that takes a deep dive into the celebrity legal battles, lighting up your social feeds.

18:06Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty:We also bring you exclusive scoops. Yes, we do like how French First Lady Brigitte McCromwell presents scientific evidence in court to fight claims she was born a man. Keep sending in your questions or ideas for stories you'd like us to cover. You can get us on WhatsApp at 0330 678 1114. That's 0330 678 1114. Make sure you subscribe and turn on your push notifications so you never miss a thing.

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