Sean “Diddy” Combs’ past year and a half of legal troubles appears to have taken its toll as the hip-hop mogul wore a full head of grey-white hair during the first day of jury selection in his federal sex trafficking trial.
Courtroom sketches show the 55-year-old Harlem-born Bad Boy sporting a dark sweater and white button-down shirt as he turned to face the gallery in Manhattan federal court, looking significantly older than when he was arrested in September.
Us Weekly reports that hair dye is not permitted at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, where Combs has been held since he was charged with racketeering conspiracy, transportation to engage in prostitution, and sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion.
Combs, who has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him, faces life in prison if convicted on the sex trafficking charge.
In April, Combs lost his bid to delay the trial, which officially starts May 12 and is expected to last around eight weeks.
His name and legacy has come under fire since late 2023, when ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura filed a blockbuster lawsuit accusing him of rape, sex trafficking and longstanding abuse during their years-long relationship. They settled a day later, but similar allegations were soon made by other accusers in their own lawsuits.
The trial comes nearly a year to the day after CNN published a disturbing video of Combs beating Ventura in a hotel hallway in 2016.
Ventura, 38, is set to testify against Combs during his trial. – New York Daily News/Tribune News Service
