The highly anticipated criminal trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs got underway Monday in Manhattan federal court.
Combs was transported to court wearing a white collared shirt, a black crewneck sweater and black pants, according to published reports. U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian granted the music mogul permission last week to wear his own clothes to the trial.
Potential jurors were asked what they know about the mogul’s federal sex trafficking and racketeering case.
Throughout the day, the men and women were shown a list of more than 100 places and people whose names may come up during the trial, NBC News reported.
Related: Here’s What the Judge Says Diddy Can Wear to Court for His Trial
Among the names on the list were Sinners star Michael B. Jordan, although it’s unclear what, if any connection, the actor may have to Combs. Jordan’s reps did not return NBC’s request for comment.
Kanye West, who now goes by Ye, was mentioned as well. The rapper recently released a track titled “Lonely Roads Still Go to Sunshine.” The single features Diddy’s son King Combs, and a recorded call with someone who sounds like the jailed music mogul thanking Ye for “taking care of my kids,” noting that no one else “has called.”
R&B singer Dawn Richard was also mentioned. Richard filed a civil lawsuit against the mogul in September 2024 alleging assault, sexual battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment, stealing her copyrighted work, and withholding earnings. Combs denied all of her allegations. The singer was discovered on MTV’s Making the Band and joined two groups Combs formed — Danity Kane and Diddy Dirty Money.
Albert Joseph Brown III, better known by his stage name Al B. Sure!, was mentioned as well. The R&B singer and producer is the biological father of Diddy’s “adopted” son Quincy Brown. Earlier this year, Al B. Sure! appeared in the Peacock documentary Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy.
He suggested the Bad Boy Records founder may have had something to do with a near-fatal health crisis that left him in a coma. “I kept a record of every single one of you who was sent to set me up, to assist in the attempted murder of Al B. Sure!,” he said in the film. In a statement at the time, Diddy’s legal team denied all of the allegations in the film.
Matthew Russell Lee, a writer, attorney and founder of Inner City Press, live tweeted from court and reported a potential juror who works in the marketing department at Simon & Schuster publishing “is out” because of ties to a reported Al B. Sure! memoir. However, Lee said an HBO employee with knowledge of that network’s The Fall of Diddy documentary was not excused. The employee said they did not work on the film.
Lee also noted that Combs had eight attorneys in court on Monday.
Both the prosecution and defense want to seat an impartial jury of 12, and up to six alternates.
During the voir dire process, attorneys from both sides can ask the judge to dismiss people without reason until they ultimately settle on a jury.
Combs, 55, was arrested on Sept. 16, 2024. Prosecutors initially charged him with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
On April 3, prosecutors added two more charges in a superseding indictment, bringing the total to five counts. He has pleaded not guilty to all five charges.
If a jury convicts him, he faces 15 years to life in prison.
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