Front Burner

How the Diddy case fell apart

Sean “Diddy” Combs has been acquitted of the most serious charges facing him in federal court, in what his team considers a major victory. How did that happen and what comes next?
A man wearing sunglasses looks towards the camera. He is shown from the shoulders up, with his face taking up most of the image.
FILE - Sean "Diddy" Combs arrives at the LA Premiere of "The Four: Battle For Stardom" at the CBS Radford Studio Center on May 30, 2018, in Los Angeles. Newly released video Friday, May 17, 2024, appears to show Combs beating his former singing protege and girlfriend Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel in 2016. (Willy Sanjuan/Invision/The Associated Press)

After a long and very public trial, producer and music mogul Sean Diddy Combs has been found not guilty of the most severe charges against him.

On Wednesday he was acquitted of racketeering and sex trafficking, but found guilty on lesser charges - two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. This was widely considered as a huge victory for Diddy.

During the trial, prosecutors had accused him of running an extensive sex trafficking operation. And that he did so with the help of a network of employees.

Diddy's lawyers argued all the sex at issue in the case was consensual.

Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty is a BBC journalist and host of the podcast, Diddy on Trial. She talks to Elaine Chau about the verdict, what led to this win for Diddy in federal court, and what it might mean for the #MeToo movement more broadly.

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

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