As Sean “Diddy” Combs prepares to face a high-stakes federal trial later this month, Dateline is diving deep into the life of the music mogul, unearthing the controversies and explosive allegations that have surrounded him for years.
The special report promises a no-holds-barred look at Diddy’s rise to fame, his influence in the hip-hop world, and the dark cloud of legal troubles that now threatens his legacy. From lavish success to mounting legal drama, the documentary aims to connect the dots between decades of headlines and the courtroom showdown that could define the next chapter of his career.
The all-new one-hour report — titled “Sean Combs on Trial” and airing Sunday, May 11 at 10/9c p.m. on NBC — looks at the events that led to the five-count federal indictment that includes charges of racketeering and s3x trafficking.
“The humiliating journey from billionaire to inmate doesn’t happen that often,” Dateline correspondent Josh Mankiewicz said in a voiceover in a preview of the episode.
“First came a barrage of lawsuits, then criminal charges — charges so ugly, they could snuff out his stardom for good,” Mankiewicz continued. “Then again, this is Sean Combs.”
Combs made his mark on the music industry, even nurturing the careers of younger artists.
“In many respects, he was a pioneer of hip hop and helping to shape the careers of so many phenomenal artists,” Jasmyne Cannick, a social critic who follows hip hop, told Dateline.
But the artist’s reputation was called into question after allegations of abuse and s3x trafficking began to emerge.
“People chose not to look”
“People chose not to look and not to see,” Natania Reuben, who survived a 1999 nightclub shooting, told Dateline.
Allegations came into wider focus after hotel surveillance video footage from 2016 later emerged in May of 2024, showing Combs dragging, beating, and kicking his ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura, according to NBC News.
“What the whole world saw was so vile and so horrifying, there was a sense that something had to be done,” former federal prosecutor Paul Butler told Dateline.
What is Sean “Diddy” Combs’ accused of?
In September of 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York announced federal charges against Combs, including racketeering conspiracy, s3x trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.
“The indictment unsealed today alleges that between 2008 and the present, Combs abused, threatened, and coerced women and others, and led a racketeering conspiracy that engaged in s3x trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice, among other crimes,” the office stated at the time.
Now, on the verge of his federal trial, Combs’ fate remains hanging in the balance.
“I think justice looks like Diddy being behind bars,” Tiffany Red, a songwriter and friend of Combs’ ex Ventura, told Dateline.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has denied the allegations against him.
Along with Red, Reuben and Butler, Dateline’s one-hour special also includes interviews with celebrity stylist Phillip Bloch.
To find out more about the bombshell case, watch Dateline on Sunday, May 11 at 10/9c p.m. on NBC or stream the episode on Peacock after it becomes available the next day.
Daily recaps of the trial can be heard starting Monday on the Dateline: True Crime Weekly podcast.
And for even more Dateline, sign up for the show’s official newsletter and check out its podcast.
