It looks like Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs will have a blue Christmas, as he’ll be spending the holiday at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center after three failed attempts to secure bail.
Combs, 55, whose net worth is estimated by Forbes to be $400 million, has previously used his social media to showcase extravagant holiday celebrations with his family at home and with other celebrities aboard yachts in exotic locations.
Since his arrest on September 16 in Manhattan related to federal sex trafficking charges, the hip-hop mogul and his legal team have been unsuccessful in convincing a judge to grant him bail, leaving him in the facility, which has special activities planned for the holiday.
The MDC Brooklyn jail is organizing a special program for inmates to celebrate the holiday on December 25, according to federal sources who spoke with TMZ on Wednesday.
Planned activities for the day include card games, dominoes, and sporting events such as basketball and soccer, sources told the outlet.
Regarding the meal, the prison’s Christmas Day menu will feature baked Cornish hen, macaroni and cheese, cranberry sauce, dinner rolls, and a festive dessert, TMZ reported.
Combs, 55, who is facing a sex trafficking trial set for May, is the father of seven children: Justin Combs, 30, Christian Combs, 26, Chance Combs, 18, twins Jessie and D’Lila Combs, 17, and one-year-old Love Sean Combs.
Last week, Combs was denied bail by a judge who cited evidence suggesting he poses a ‘serious risk’ of witness tampering and attempts to conceal prohibited communications with third parties while incarcerated.
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian issued a five-page order following a bail hearing last week. During the hearing, Combs’ attorneys argued that a $50 million bail package would be adequate to prevent him from fleeing or attempting to intimidate potential trial witnesses.
Two other judges had previously agreed with prosecutors that the Bad Boy Records founder posed a danger to the community if released, and Subramanian agreed with their assessment.
Subramanian wrote that there is strong evidence of Combs’s tendency toward violence.
Combs’ lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the ruling, and Nicholas Biase, a spokesperson for the prosecutors, declined to comment.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges of coercing and abusing women over the years, with the assistance of his associates and employees. The indictment claims he used blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, arson, and physical assaults, to silence his victims.
A federal appeals court judge denied Combs’ request for immediate release last month, while a three-judge panel from the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan reviews his bail appeal. This appeal was paused while Subramanian, who took over the case after the previous judge recused themselves, reviewed the bail request for the first time.
Subramanian stated that he thoroughly reviewed all the bail arguments and the evidence backing them before making his decision.
Prosecutors have argued that no bail conditions could adequately safeguard the public or prevent the I’ll Be Missing You singer from fleeing.
They claim that even while in a federal detention facility in Brooklyn, Combs has managed to organize social media campaigns aimed at swaying potential jurors and attempted to publicly leak materials he believes could aid his defense. Additionally, they say he has contacted potential witnesses through intermediaries.
Combs’ lawyers argue that any alleged sexual abuse mentioned in the indictment occurred during consensual adult interactions, and new evidence contradicts claims that he used his ‘power and prestige’ to coerce women into participating in drugged, staged sexual acts with male sex workers known as ‘Freak Offs.’
Subramanian highlighted evidence suggesting that Combs posed a serious risk of witness tampering, particularly after he communicated with a grand jury witness over the summer and deleted texts exchanged with that witness.
The judge also referred to evidence showing that Combs violated Bureau of Prisons rules during pretrial detention at MDC Brooklyn by paying inmates for their phone codes, allowing him to call people not on his approved contact list.
Further evidence showed that Combs instructed family members and defense attorneys to add others to three-way calls, making the conversations harder to trace, and attempted to influence the jury pool or contact potential witnesses.
Subramanian emphasized that Combs’ willingness to break jailhouse rules to hide communications was strong evidence that any release conditions wouldn’t prevent similar behavior.
The judge noted that the defense’s claim that Combs had stopped using a particular phone tactic criticized by prosecutors was contradicted by the fact that Combs apparently used it again on Sunday, two days after his bail hearing.
Even a bail proposal involving the strictest home confinement conditions was deemed insufficient by the judge.
“Given the serious nature of the allegations and the evidence provided by the government, the Court doubts whether any conditions relying on Combs and his associates—such as a private security detail—would effectively prevent violations,” Subramanian wrote.