P. Diddy on Trial: 7 Fake News Stories You Might Have Believed

Eddie Murphy takes the stand. Justin. Bieber exposes secrets. Diddy fainted in. court. There has been a lot of. misinformation out there about what's. been going on in Shawn Combmes's. criminal trial currently underway in New. York federal court. So, we're here to. debunk some of those rumors, outright. fake information that is spreading on. social media and online. Welcome to. Sidebar, presented by Law and Crime. I'm. Jesse Weber. Hey everybody, this is another law and. crime legal alert. So, recent. allegations against the multibillion.

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to answer less than 10 questions and. check your eligibility to file a claim. There has been a lot so far that's come. up in the Shaun Diddy Combmes criminal. trial. The man facing sex trafficking, racketeering, transportation to engage. in prostitution charges. But there has. also been a lot that hasn't happened. And there has been a lot of. misinformation that has been spreading. online about things that happened at the. trial that really haven't happened at. the trial. So, we thought let's correct.

the record on some of those points. Okay. Now, first of all, what is driving. a lot of this? Well, unfortunately, there are and were a lot of AI generated. videos and photos popping up on video. and social media depicting celebrities. in court or things happening in court. that are just straight up not true. Like. Oprah, Jennifer Lawrence, Tom Cruz, Dwayne the Rock Johnson, all testifying. All not true. If they testified, you. would know about it. If they testified,

it would be the biggest story around the. country. It would be everywhere. Not the. case. You wouldn't be finding it on. these kind of obscure social media. accounts or YouTube pages. It's all not. true. As of right now, these celebrities. who I mentioned, they have no part. whatsoever in this trial. By the way, News Nation, they reported there was. even a video suggesting a mysterious. envelope that was tied to singer Alicia. Keys. It was opened in court while she. testified. Also not true. She didn't.

testify. There was no envelope. Also, according to NewsNation, YouTube and Tik. Tok, they removed videos that were. flagged by NewsNation. Actually, there's. one celebrity that has popped up quite a. bit, a lot in fake thumbnails and titles. on YouTube, and that concerns, we're. talking about, Justin Bieber. There are. photos out there, or were out there that. look like he's testifying, which he. never has. There are titles claiming he. leaked the list of celebrities that. Combmes had sex with or that he.

destroyed Diddy in court. There are fake. quotes like he made me watch. There are. also fake photos of Diddy in court, even. with fake descriptions like he fainted. or broke down. None of that is true. Okay? Anytime you see what appears to be. a picture of Shawn Combmes in court, especially in an orange jumpsuit, it's. fake. You know why? There are no cameras. allowed in federal court. There is no. released audio from court. There is no. photography allowed in that court. The. most we get are courtroom sketches. Even.

though Shawn Combmes took offense to how. he was being illustrated, said that he. looked like a koala. That was the. reports. Anyway, we have the courtroom. sketches and of course we have our. incredible breakdowns from our in court. reporter Elizabeth Milner. Every day we. do our daily recap sidebar episodes. about what happened in court. Anytime. you see any photo purporting to be taken. from his criminal trial, it's not true. It's fake. Now, here's the thing about. Justin Bieber, okay? You know why we're. seeing this? Because there's been a lot. of speculation that Justin Bieber was an. alleged victim of Diddy in some.

capacity. You see, the now 31-year-old. was discovered when he was just 12 years. old. He went on to become one of the. bestselling musical artists of all time. He had some pretty high-profile. influences like R&B superstar Usher, who. became Justin's mentor, and. controversial record executive Scooter. Brawn, who was his manager as the teen. shot to superstardom. But among his. celebrity acquaintances was Shawn. Combmes, who had been, by the way, Usher's mentor in the 90s and early. 2000s. And Bieber spent some time with. Shawn Combmes over the years. Combmes. wild party lifestyle. It's always been.

something of an open secret with him. often joking about it on daytime and. late night talk shows. And it's that. party lifestyle that people made a. connection to Justin Bieber. I'll get to. that in a second, but it's really what. happened right when the trial started. that was interesting because Bieber's. representatives told TMZ, quote, "Although Justin is not among Shawn. Colb's victims, there are individuals. who are genuinely harmed by him. Shifting focus away from this really. detracts from the justice these victims. rightfully deserve." Now, maybe he did.

this because he knew his name might. improperly come up in speculation as the. trial started and there were already. fake videos online and rumors about him. planning to testify. So, none of that. was true. Maybe he wanted to set the. record straight. And particularly since. over the last what year and a half, aside from the criminal charges, Shawn. Combmes has faced a plethora of lawsuits. and there have been allegations in those. lawsuits that he abused not only men but. also minors. So, you can see why people. are making the connection even though.

there was no evidence to support that. when it comes to Justin Bieber and he's. innocent until proven guilty and also he. hasn't been found liable in any of these. civil cases. But also, you just heard. Justin Bieber come out. His. representative say he's not a victim of. Shawn Combmes. But why do people think. that? Well, for example, when Justin. Bieber was 15 years old, he uploaded a. video to his YouTube channel called 48. Hours with Diddy where he said he was. going to be hanging out with the rapper. for a couple of days. So, check this. out. Um Justin, he's in you ever seen. the movie 48 hours right now. He's. having 48 hours with Diddy, him and his.

boy. Um they're having the times of. their lives like like like you know. where we hanging out and what we doing. Um we we can't really disclose, but um it's definitely a 15year-old's. dream. Was it a skit? Was it weird? Whatever you want to call it, people. have thoughts. There was also this this. interaction that reportedly took place. in 2021. And in the video, Bieber with. shaggy hair under a baseball cap greets. Diddy. He's got a big smile on his face. But there's something that seems a.

little strange, a little off about the. whole thing because Comb seems to pat. Bieber's chest. You got some people. thinking that and speculating that he. was making sure Bieber wasn't wearing a. wire. Then he puts his head on his. shoulder appearing to be in quiet. conversation. So, it's stuff like this. that led people to believe incorrectly. or assert that he was a part of this. trial. And this again is probably why he. wanted to put out a statement as this. trial began. And by the way, I got to. say, if you want real AI videos of what.

actually happened in court, on our Law. Crime YouTube page, our channel, we. published generative AI videos of actual. witness testimony and opening statements. that use the exact courtroom transcript. So, it's our best way to try to recreate. what the testimony was maybe like in. that courtroom. You can go check it out. right now. also talking misinformation, talking celebrities. If you go on social. media, particularly Tik Tok, you may get. the incorrect impression, the wrong. impression that Ben Affleck testified at.

Shawn Diddy Combmes trial or was a part. of this case in some way. Not true. either. You see, people make that. connection because the actor famously. was married to pop superstar and actress. Jennifer Lopez, who famously dated Shawn. Combmes from 1991 to 2001. And that was. a time when, by the way, she was. connected to a high-profile legal. matter, the infamous 1999 New York City. nightclub shooting. Combmes was there. with JLo around Christmas time when. there was some sort of argument. Weapons. were drawn, shots rang out, bullets. hitting at least three innocent. bystanders, including a woman named Nata.

Rubin. She would actually go on to. testify against Combmes at trial in. 2001, saying she saw the rapper fire a. gun. Now, Comb's bodyguard, Anthony. Jones and Lopez, they were chased by. police when they left the scene, and a. stolen gun was found in the car when. they stopped. Lopez was detained, which. is why we have this rather unflattering. mug shot of her, but charges weren't. pursued. And Jones, Combmes, and a. former Bad Boy rapper named Shine Barrow. all went to trial. Prosecutors alleged. that Combmes was the one who opened. fire, then tried to bribe the driver of. the car to take the fall for having the.

gun. Jones and Combmes, they were. eventually acquitted of the charges they. were facing. But Shine was convicted of. assault and reckless endangerment for. the shooting, and he was sentenced to 10. years in prison, was released in 2009. But there are those online who say, well, given all the allegations that. Combmes has faced at his criminal trial. and in the mountain of civil lawsuits. that he faces, Lopez has to be a. witness, right? She must know something. Well, first of all, there is no evidence. to support that. But also from a legal. practical point of view, the timeline of.

their relationship doesn't match up to. the allegations in the criminal. indictment. So they dated from 1999 to. 2001, but the indictment says that it. was from 2004 to 2024 that Commes and. others were members of a criminal. organization that engaged in all sorts. of illegal activities. And so that. timeline doesn't overlap. And there was. more speculation that Affleck and Lopez, you know, they may have split last year. in 2024 after Combmes was sued by Cassie. and others. And there was speculation.

that he was being investigated by the. feds and that Ben Affleck didn't want a. part of this or he was angry at Jennifer. Lopez. Again, no evidence to support. that's why they broke up or whether it. even came up with any of their. conversations whatsoever. And no, Lopez. and Affleck do not play a role in this. criminal trial or the allegations. But. it really doesn't stop there because you. go online, there are reportedly fake. courtroom sketches of Eddie Murphy and. Jim Carrey testifying at Comb's trial. Misinformation videos suggesting Murphy. told the jury, "I left Hollywood because.

of Diddy." Another video was apparently. published by Carrie, falsely testifying. that he once took a bath with Diddy to. get famous and testified, "Did he own. me?" Let me be very, very clear. All of. this is fake. Neither Murphy nor Carrie. have testified at this trial or alleged. anything like this. Actually, here is. the closest to Eddie Murphy being a part. of this trial. During cross-examination. of Cassandra Ventura, alleged victim. number one in this case, when she was. questioned why or how she may have been.

upset that she wasn't incorporated into. Shawn Combmes family life, remember she. had a relationship with him. There was. this text that she apparently sent Shawn. Combmes and it was read in part, "As. much as you think you're Bruce Willis, you aren't. He's married and before he. was married, the family as a whole went. on trips together or just with him and. his woman. Eddie Murphy and Paige took. his kids away on their own. He didn't go. with his ex because that's not who he's. in love with. I've been at the edge of. tears this whole week. I don't think. that you sympathize with my feelings. I. understand you feeling like you need to.

protect your children, but after a. while, for what? It's like, for what? They've never known you and Kim to be. together unless there's something that I. just don't know about. And yes, this. actually goes to another issue, too. There seems to be a misconception about. what this trial was going to be about. It seems to me based on the chatter. online and even people that I've talked. to in the leadup to this trial and. during the trial that every diddy party, every white party was going to be. mentioned and all the celebrities who. allegedly participated in illegal sex. acts were going to be exposed. Not the.

case. This is a very, very specific. prosecution. This is about several. select alleged victims and witnesses and. how they were allegedly subjected to. abuse and/or sex trafficking for a. period of time. Again, that window 2004. to 2024. We're talking about alleged. victims like Cassie and Jane who. independently testified that they were. pressured by Combmes into performing. freakoffs or hotel nights with male. performers or sex workers. That Combmes. used intimidation and financial control. and violence and deception and coercive.

tactics to get them to do this. Mia, a. former assistant who claimed Combmes. sexually assaulted her. A former. assistant named Capricorn Clark who. testified she was essentially kidnapped. by Diddy and threatened. Kid Cuddy. testified. His testimony supports the. allegation that his car was blown up by. Shawn Combmes. Briana Bengolan claims. Combmes dangled her off a balcony. Stylist Deontay Nash testified he. observed the alleged abuse of Cassie. Combmes former assistant David James. testified that Combmes essentially.

blackmailed him. That's what this case. is about. There was testimony from Dawn. Rashard that Comolmes beat up Cassie in. front of Neo and Usher and Jimmy Ivine. But this case is not about celebrities. It's not a celebrity fest. Sure, his. connections, his power, his influence. It does go into power dynamics in a sex. trafficking or racketeering case, but. this is not about just listing and. mentioning or allegedly accusing every. celebrity. There are mentions of.

celebrities in this trial, for sure. Capricorn Clark testified that she saw. Cassie as the talent of a studio artist. rather than legends like Whitney Houston. and Mariah Carey. Mia testified that she. had been Mike Meyers's personal. assistant. Suge Knight was mentioned. multiple times because it was alleged. that Combmes at one point had left with. guns to confront Suge Knight, his rival. at Mel's Diner. That's a big allegation. in this case. Taporn Clark mentioned Nas. and Kiss. She was asked during her. testimony, "Did you ever walk in Central. Park other than that one time with Mr.

Combmes?" She replied, "Earlier that. day, we he was giving me the run of the, you know, run of the show, what the job. would be like, and we walked from the. east side of the park to the west side. of the park and we ran into Nas and Kise. in the middle of the park." Deontay Nash. testified about rapper French Montana, saying he was signed to Bad Boy when he. himself had worked for Diddy. He also. testified that A-list rappers were on. Cassy's mixtape back in the day. Rick. Ross, Whiz Khalifa, Meek Mill. Nash also. testified about Cassy's brief fling or.

flirting or romantic relationship with. actor Michael B. Jordan. Said that he. introduced them. Even Cassie testified. that Combmes suspected she was dating. Jordan while she was on a break with the. rap mogul. And there were more. celebrities that were mentioned, too. But by the way, being mentioned in the. Shawn Combmes criminal case doesn't mean. that a celebrity is aware or involved in. any alleged crime. Let me be clear about. that, too. But again, saying all that, celebrities are not what this case is. about or exposing celebrities. Shawn.

Combmes is the sole defendant. It's. about his staff, assistants, bodyguards. that allegedly work with him to commit. crimes and cover them up. The. prosecution probably didn't want to make. this case so broad as to distract the. jurors or take them away from the. specific allegations and elements of the. charges. Although I will say the closest. that we've seen to. something was an allegation made by. accuser Jane. Now she testified to.

something very very interesting. yesterday that while she was on a break. with Shawn Combmes, she apparently went. on this unidentified rapper's private. jet to Vegas in January of 2024. And. while there, she was at this party in a. hotel room where a sex worker that she. allegedly used with Combmes named Anton. was apparently having sex with a woman. while this rapper and others were. watching and he had also with him his. girlfriend or his wife and that Anton. maybe had a relationship with this. rapper and his partner. This rapper was. identified by the defense as quote an.

icon in the music industry and that Jane. was asked by them if they knew anyone in. the lifestyle. Now, it doesn't. necessarily mean they, you know, this is. sex trafficking or racketeering or. anything like that, but just really. interesting that we're hearing that. because Jane claims she recommended a. certain male performer to them. Now, let. me say this, too. I do the lunchtime. show on Long Crimes YouTube page. We do. it every day. We do a breakdown of. what's happening in court for the day. We bring on Elizabeth Milner. We bring. on guests and we take your questions. Fantastic questions. And I will tell. you, I've been getting a lot of. questions about this whole case since it.

started. But really, I want to set the. record clear on a couple of things just. based on the questions we've been. getting. There seems to be some. misconceptions out there. First of all, we get a lot of commentary on Kim. Porter. So, this is Comb's former love. interest who died in 2018 from lowbar. pneumonia. And there have been. conspiracy theories and allegations that. Combmes was somehow responsible for Kim. Porter's death. So, not only is there no. credible evidence to support that, and. we have even dedicated sidebars to. showing how that is incredibly unlikely,

but there's been this idea that his. alleged role in her death would come up. at this trial. That's not the case. That. hasn't been brought up. Really, the most. significant role that Kim Porter plays. in this case was whether or not she was. a source of jealousy for Cassie in her. relationship with Shawn Combmes and how. Porter's memorial was the last time. Cassie had seen Shawn Combmes. There's. also, by the way, based on the questions. we've been getting, there's been this. thought that Diddy is going to name. names, right? First of all, that really. wouldn't serve him any benefit from a.

legal point of view. It's not like if. he, for argument sake, would name the. names of powerful people who were. allegedly involved in illegal sexual. activities that that would necessarily. benefit him legally. The prosecution is. about to finish up their criminal case. against him. Sure, he could take a plea. deal at any point, but it's very. different from taking a deal at the. beginning of trial or before trial to. now. and any leverage that he would have. to be a cooperating witness for more. favorable treatment. I got to make the. argument. I feel like that ship has. seemingly sailed. And by the way, he's.

the top of the organization. It wouldn't. make sense. He is accused of being the. leader of a criminal organization. He's. the big fish. He's at the top. Who else. would you want to get? He's the only one. charged in a racketeering conspiracy. case. Also, by the way, this presumes. there are others that he would even be. able to provide information about. It. presumes that there are other. celebrities or high-powered people that. should be charged. Now, true, he's. charged with racketeering conspiracy, right? This criminal agreement with. others, a criminal association with. others, to engage in a pattern of legal.

activity and cover it up to protect. himself, to benefit him, to benefit his. businesses. So, theoretically, others. could have been charged, but they. aren't. But the government is really. focusing on this case on the staff, the. inner circle who allegedly helped and. facilitate Shawn Combmes's purported. crimes, not so much celebrities or. high-profile people. Also, by the way, this presumes that he would take the. stand, right? He may. It's very, very. unlikely given all the risk involved, particularly in being questioned by the. prosecution during cross-examination,

and perhaps there's little benefit in. him taking the stand. So, the idea that. he's going to spill the beans on. everyone, I think we can throw some. water on that as well. One more thing, as we talk about the danger of. misinformation in a case as public and. high-profile and high interest and. sensitive and important as this one, this whole business of fake AI is. spreading in the entertainment area, too. Did you hear about this? Judge. Faith Jenkins from divorce court and her. husband, R&B singer Kenny Latimore, they. are now facing their own AI battle,

apparently. According to reporting from. the Jasmine brand and your web, they. reportedly filed a lawsuit against. YouTubers who allegedly published videos. featuring AI generated content, fake. court filings, and fake quotes, all to. make it seem like there are issues in. their marriage and their relationship. They apparently posted on Instagram, quote, "Today, we filed a lawsuit in Los. Angeles County to hold anonymous. YouTubers accountable for the defamation. and harassment they've directed at our. family and personal lives. For weeks, we.

remain silent. But that silence should. not be mistaken for acceptance. This. legal action isn't about us. It's about. setting a precedent. No one should be. allowed to profit from defamation on. their platform while hiding behind. anonymity. We remain focused on our. family, our work, and raising a very. precocious 2-year-old. Any inquiries. should be directed to our attorney, Felton Newell of Newell Law Group, a. trusted and experienced advocate on our. team. With love, Faith and Kenny, if. true. Scary stuff. Okay, but we'll tell.

you what. We here at Sidebar, at Lawn. Crime, we will always try to keep an eye. out for false information swirling about. these big stories and set the record. straight. We appreciate you all coming. to us and trusting us. But that's all we. have for you right now here on Sidebar. Everybody, thank you so much for joining. us. And as always, please subscribe on. YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you should get your podcasts. I'm Jesse Weber. Speak to you next time. [Music].