Sean “Diddy” Combs is not in any danger of self-harm despite being placed on a suicide watch as he awaits trial, his representatives tell Billboard.
“Mr. Combs is strong, healthy and focused on his defense,” a spokesperson for the music mogul explains. “He is committed to fighting this case and has full confidence in both his legal team and the truth.”
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The decision to put Diddy on suicide watch is “procedural with high-profile clients,” the insider told NBC News. Sources also told People that the move was a preventative measure.
Diddy was arrested Monday (Sept. 16) in New York City, and Manhattan federal prosecutors have since unveiled the substance of their case against Combs — accusing him of operating a criminal enterprise centered on his “pervasive pattern of abuse toward women.”
He was denied bail at his Sept. 17 arraignment, and is currently facing up to life in prison for three felony charges. The next step for Combs will be an initial pretrial conference next week before Judge Andrew L. Carter, Jr., the federal district judge who will oversee his trial.
In a video obtained by CNN earlier this year and dated March 5, 2016, Combs appears to shove his longtime former partner, Cassie Ventura, to the ground near an elevator bank, kick her several times while she lies on the ground and drag her down a hallway. The contents of the video mirror an assault allegation Ventura made in a now-settled lawsuit she filed against Diddy in November.
Ventura was the first to accuse Diddy of sexual assault, filing a lawsuit in November in which attorneys for Cassie claimed she “endured over a decade of his violent behavior and disturbed demands,” including repeated physical attacks and forcing her to “engage in sex acts with male sex workers” while he masturbated. According to the complaint, after she attempted to separate from him in 2018 after an on-and-off public relationship for 11 years, Combs allegedly “forced her into her home and raped her while she repeatedly said ‘no’ and tried to push him away.” The case was soon settled, but Combs was then sued by multiple other women who claimed they were sexually abused by the hip-hop mogul.
If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, please call the confidential National Domestic Violence Hotline toll-free at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org.
